Massachusetts Healthy Incentives Program
Mill City Grows is proud support the Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) which gives families greater access to fresh food
JOIN MILL CITY GROWS AND TAKE ACTION TODAY TO FULLY FUND HIP!
Effective December 1, 2024, the DTA is drastically reducing the monthly HIP reimbursement to just $20 per household, regardless of household size.
Communities across Massahusetts have learned that the state-approved budget for the Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) is $15 million, which is $10 million short of the $25 million budget that was requested by Governor Healey. This reduction is absolutely unacceptable and poses severe health and food access risks to more than 175,000 households across the state. This cut also greatly reduces the amount of nutritious food Mill City Grows can provide to our HIP customers through our CSA Farm Share and Mobile Market Programs.
What is the Healthy Incentives Program?
HIP is a year-round benefit managed by the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) that helps Massachusetts residents purchase more fresh fruits and vegetables at no extra cost. Each month, the HIP benefit provides a dollar-for-dollar reimbursement to SNAP users when they buy fresh food directly from Massachusetts farmers. This reimbursement ranges from $40-$80, depending on household size. The current budget cut to HIP is reducing the reimbursement amount to just $20 per household, regardless of household size.
TODAY, we ask you to join Mill City Grows and our statewide partners in a critical CALL TO ACTION to support the current Campaign for HIP Funding. We need to make our voices heard to get HIP fully funded!
Please Take Action Today!
We need HIP! Personal stories from Lowell, MA
I’ve been using the HIP program as much as I can. It is a real convenience for me as I am a compromised vegetarian. I need a lot of vegetables. The people at the market are always lovely and Mill City Grows has an excellent program, as do other participating HIP vendors. This is an important program and I want to keep using it continually. I am very sorry to see the benefit decrease to just $20.
I work at Mill City Grows in Lowell and work at our mobile farmers markets 3-4 times a week. I’ve seen how many people are using SNAP and HIP to purchase produce from us. When we told one of our customers about her HIP benefit, she literally cried because it just made such a huge difference at a time when she was in a really bad financial situation. Honestly, I think it’s a travesty that the DTA decided to drop the HIP benefit to just $20 per household. This is harmful for so many families, even for just ONE month.
I benefit from the HIP program, and it would be a horrible thing for the state to cut it because I cannot afford to buy vegetables at a regular grocery store — they’re just too expensive. I’m a diabetic, so I need fresh vegetables and fruits. I would really appreciate the program getting the funding it needs. I really benefit from HIP — it’s the best thing for my health.