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For the third consecutive year, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) awarded the Hunger Solutions Institute (HSI) in Auburn University’s College of Human Sciences another multi-million dollar grant to support the Healthy Fluid Milk Incentives (HFMI) program, bringing the overall funding to nearly $10 million since 2022.

For 2024, HSI will receive a $2.79 million grant that will be used to continue leading development and testing methods to increase the purchase and consumption of qualifying fluid milk among Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants by providing a discount at the time of purchase. The new grant will expand the current pilot to several new states and geographical regions previously untested by the current project. HSI plans to partner with two participating retailers, under which 438 participating locations across 18 states will be added to the HFMI network.

Hunger Solutions Institute logo

HFMI co-investigators include Kara Newby, outreach program manager for HSI, and Joel Cuffey, an assistant professor and graduate program officer in Auburn’s College of Agriculture. They are investigating the use and effectiveness of Add Milk! along with determining how the nutrition incentive influences use of SNAP dollars. Analyses to-date revealed SNAP households are utilizing the incentive to stretch their SNAP dollars throughout the month and support the purchase of healthier foods.

“I am extremely proud of our team’s accomplishments as we celebrate the astounding growth and effective leadership of the Add Milk! Initiative,” said Susan Hubbard, dean of the College of Human Sciences. “Since its launch by the Hunger Solutions Institute team with support from the USDA only three years ago, this remarkable program has made a significant impact on families across the nation, ensuring that nutritious milk reaches the kitchen tables of children in need. With the new funding, we are excited to expand our reach even further, reinforcing our mission in Human Sciences to improve quality of life for all.”

“Since its launch by the Hunger Solutions Institute team with support from the USDA only three years ago, this remarkable program has made a significant impact on families across the nation, ensuring that nutritious milk reaches the kitchen tables of children in need. With the new funding, we are excited to expand our reach even further, reinforcing our mission in Human Sciences to improve quality of life for all.”

College of Human Sciences Dean Susan Hubbard

HSI launched Add Milk! in 2022 with a nearly $3 million grant from USDA. In 2022, the program operated in four states at 116 locations. The success of Add Milk! is evident and with this new funding, the program will continue to expand to reach more consumers at participating locations across several additional states.

Add Milk! seeks to increase the purchase of healthy fluid milk (nonfat and low-fat) by low-income consumers participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. For every dollar of SNAP benefits a participant uses to purchase healthy fluid milk, Add Milk! provides a dollar incentive as a coupon or discount to redeem for additional SNAP items.

“USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service is proud to continue its partnership with Auburn University’s Hunger Solutions Institute to expand the Healthy Fluid Milk Incentive project,” said USDA Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services Deputy Under Secretary Cindy Long. “This grant will continue to bring affordable, healthy milk options to SNAP participants in more locations across the country.”

The HFMI pilot program was established as part of the 2018 Farm Bill to promote milk as part of a healthy, balanced diet consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Overall, Americans are consuming less milk and in particular, low-income households usually purchase more high-fat milk than low-fat milk. Low-fat milk is an important part of a healthy diet, and health researchers have warned these declines over time could have health impacts on future generations. Studies have shown that incentive programs, like Add Milk!, increase purchase and consumption of the incentivized food.

For more information on the Healthy Fluid Milk Incentives (HFMI) program, click below.

Hunger Solutions Institute Healthy Fluid Milk Incentives (HFMI) program