Healthy Food Voucher Programs: Global Evidence on Structure, Implementation, and Nutrition-Related Outcomes
Jonathan Lara-Arevalo1, Camila Corvalan2, Isabel Pemjean2
1Department of Nutrition, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States.
Advances in Nutrition (Bethesda, Md.)
|October 3, 2025
Summary
Healthy food voucher programs (HFVPs) improve diet and food security for low-income individuals. Program design elements like benefit value, eligible foods, and nutrition education are key to effectiveness and reducing health disparities.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Nutrition Science
- Health Policy
Background:
- Healthy food voucher programs (HFVPs) aim to improve dietary and nutritional outcomes for lower-income populations.
- HFVPs can complement existing policies to reduce unhealthy food consumption and address nutritional disparities.
- Updated evidence on structural factors influencing HFVP effectiveness and acceptability is limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize global evidence on program structure components influencing the impact of healthy food voucher programs.
- To summarize diet and nutrition-related outcomes associated with HFVPs, considering country income levels.
- To identify key determinants of HFVP acceptability and effectiveness.
Main Methods:
- This narrative review synthesized global evidence on HFVP structure components.
- Key components examined included eligibility, benefit delivery, eligible products, benefit value, duration, retail venues, and nutrition education.
- Diet and nutrition outcomes were summarized by country income level where possible.
Main Results:
- Program acceptability was enhanced by positive staff interactions, multilingual information, electronic benefits, diverse healthy food options, and local market inclusion.
- Effectiveness was influenced by remote enrollment, electronic/mail benefits, inflation-adjusted benefits, varied retail options, and integrated nutrition education.
- HFVPs generally increased healthy food purchase/consumption, improved food security, and enhanced nutrition knowledge, but diet quality and health outcomes showed mixed results.
Conclusions:
- Healthy food voucher programs show potential for improving diets and reducing nutritional disparities.
- Program design elements such as adequate benefit levels, inflation adjustments, and engaging nutrition education are crucial for maximizing impact.
- Addressing identified barriers in program design and implementation is essential for achieving HFVP goals.
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