Everyone benefits from Healthy Incentives

As Donald Trump and his allies in the Republican- dominated Congress continue their efforts to pull the safety net out from beneath middle-class and low-income American families to pay for tax cuts for the rich, it becomes incumbent on state governments to step in to protect the most vulnerable among us.

“Hunger and poverty are policy choices,” the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute said in a statement after the passing of the so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill.”

“Massachusetts cannot undo the choices made by the president and Congressional Republicans. The duty to protect our most vulnerable neighbors now falls on the Commonwealth.”

Credit the state of Massachusetts for doing just that, by helping provide low-income state residents with more fresh, healthy food from local farms.

The state Department of Transitional Assistance recently announced it will reinvest in the Healthy Incentives Program, which offers additional Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to families so they can buy fruit and vegetables from local farms and vendors.

The program is especially popular at local farmers markets. That means it benefits small farms as well as the low-income families looking for nutritious fare. Massachusetts families have spent $85 million on local produce through the program since it began in 2017, according to the department.

The program had cut benefits to an extra $20 a month above SNAP payments during the COVID-19 budget crisis. As of July 1, the limit was once again set at $40 a month. It will rise again as of Sept. 1, thanks to a $7.5 million boost added to a spending bill that passed the Legislature earlier this summer and was signed by Gov. Maura Healey. Under the new plan, households of up to two people will have a $40 cap, households of three to five people will have a $60 limit, and households of six or more will have an $80 cap. “President Trump’s cuts are going to force millions of people — children, seniors, veterans, people with disabilities — into hunger,” Healey said in July when the potential impact of the federal cuts began to come into focus. “They’re also going to hurt local farmers and retailers who rely on these programs to support their business and create jobs. In Massachusetts, we won’t accept that.” In one sense, the move to restore the Healthy Incentives Program to its previous levels is a modest move.

There will be plenty more challenges in the weeks and years to come as the state is forced to make up for the cuts in federal funding.

Still, this is real, sorely needed aid at a time when food prices are still rising and the federal government is moving to cut food aid for the neediest among us. One in 6 Massachusetts residents receives SNAP benefits, and as many as 175,000 could be pushed from the program thanks to changes at the federal level.

“The timing of this funding is vital for our farmers and communities,” Department of Agricultural Resources Commissioner Ashley Randle told the State House News Service.

“By creating this tiered structure, we’re making it easier for families to access fresh, nutritious food while ensuring that our farmers have a strong market for their produce. This initiative will not only increase food security but also strengthen our local agricultural economy.”

That’s good news in tough times.