Massachusetts Healthy Incentives Program
Mill City Grows is proud support the Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) which gives families greater access to fresh food
STARTING JULY 1, 2025!
The monthly HIP benefit will increase to $40 per household
If you use SNAP, the DTA will notify you about this increase to your HIP benefit.
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.
Though this $40 increase is a step in the right direction, The MA Food System Collaborative is still focused on securing $25.4 million in the FY26 budget to bring the HIP benefit back to the previous $40/$60/$80 limits.
Here is how you can help!
Please click here to see details on emailing the conference committee and your state legislatures. Please ask them to support the Senate’s proposed $25.4 million for HIP in the remaining fiscal year 2026 budget process, and to allow the DTA to raise the benefit caps as soon as possible. Your voice has made a huge impact so far!
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.