‘Add Milk!’ Program to Launch in Mother’s Nutritional Center Stores Across Southern California

The Healthy Fluid Milk Incentive Project titled “Add Milk!” provides a dollar-for-dollar match to SNAP participants who purchase nutrient-dense, non-fat and low-fat (1%) milk products, including lactose-free options

A nutrition incentive program that helps low-income families purchase healthy fluid milk products is expanding to California. The Add Milk! program is being launched in grocery stores to provide a dollar-for-dollar match for participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, when they purchase low-fat or non-fat milk. A community event will be held at Mother’s Nutritional Center in San Bernardino, Calif., on May 30, 2024, to mark the launch of the HFMI project, Add Milk!, at 78 participating Mother’s Nutritional Center grocery stores across Southern California.

Approximately 1 in 8 California residents participate in SNAP, formerly the food stamps program, making the Add Milk! program a potential boon for low-income individuals and families utilizing SNAP. Add Milk! gives SNAP participants buying power to add more milk to create a healthier diet. According to USDA, milk and milk products contribute many nutrients, such as calcium, vitamin D (for products fortified with vitamin D), and potassium, to the diet. Consuming milk and milk products is linked to improved bone health, especially in children and adolescents, who get the majority of their protein and calcium from milk.

The Add Milk! program is being administered by Auburn University’s Hunger Solutions Institute (HSI) in partnership with Mother’s Nutritional Center in California.

WHAT: Launch of the Add Milk! SNAP Healthy Fluid Milk Incentive Program in California

WHEN: 10:00-11:00 a.m. PT, Thursday, May 30, 2024 – Media should arrive no later than 9:45 a.m. PT 

WHERE: Mother’s Nutritional Center, 1535 E. Highland Ave., Suite E, San Bernardino 92411

WHO: The following officials are confirmed to speak at this event:

• Richard Flores, President, Mother’s Nutritional Center
• U.S. Representative Pete Aguilar, D-CA-33
• Chad Davis-Montgomery, USDA Food and Nutrition Service, Western Regional Office (WRO), Supplemental Nutrition Division Director
• Alicia Powers, PhD, Managing Director, Auburn University’s College of Human Sciences Hunger Solutions Institute (HSI)
• Donald Grady, Senior Director, Legislative Affairs, International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA)
• Victor Gastelum, General Manager, Alta Dena Dairy

The Add Milk! program is made possible by a $3 million cooperative agreement between the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Auburn University’s College of Human Sciences Hunger Solutions Institute (HSI) through a program named Healthy Fluid Milk Incentives Projects. 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. 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. HFMI pilot projects will be operating in more than 700 locations across 18 states by the end of 2024, and Congress recently appropriated an additional $3 million to expand the program to more stores and more locations in the coming years.

The Add Milk! program provides an incentive to SNAP participants using CalFresh EBT to purchase healthy milk options. The participant receives a dollar-for-dollar match for every dollar spent on non-fat and low-fat (1%) milk products, including lactose-free options, to use for any CalFresh EBT eligible item. Participants can receive up to $10 in rewards per transaction.

The program is operating in all Mother’s Nutritional Center stores across Southern California. Find more information about Add Milk! in California, as well as a list of locations here.

The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, D.C., represents the nation’s dairy manufacturing and marketing industry, which supports more than 3.2 million jobs that generate $49 billion in direct wages and $794 billion in overall economic impact. IDFA’s diverse membership ranges from multinational organizations to single-plant companies, from dairy companies and cooperatives to food retailers and suppliers, all on the cutting edge of innovation and sustainable business practices. Together, they represent most of the milk, cheese, ice cream, yogurt and cultured products, and dairy ingredients produced and marketed in the United States and sold throughout the world. Delicious, safe and nutritious, dairy foods offer unparalleled health and consumer benefits to people of all ages.