Research

Energy balance

Fixed-amount food vouchers are less effective per person in larger households, requiring higher dollar values to achieve the same dietary improvement as in smaller households.

If you manage a food assistance program, do not give a flat $20 voucher to a family of 8 and expect the same per-person dietary benefit as for a single person. The subsidy is diluted. To help larger families achieve similar health outcomes, you must either increase the total dollar amount or provide additional non-financial support to help them navigate purchasing for more people.

GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
The change in FV intake during the trial decreased with household size (0.10 cups per day, p ¼ 0.02), implying that the voucher purchased fewer daily FV cups per person when there were more individuals in the household.
Justin S. White et al. · American Journal of Health Promotion · 2020

Why this rating

Statistically significant association (p=0.02) in a randomized trial, though observational in nature regarding household size.

Source

Heterogeneity in the Effects of Food Vouchers on Nutrition Among Low-Income Adults: A Quantile Regression Analysis

Justin S. White et al. · American Journal of Health Promotion · 2020

DOI 10.1177/0890117120952991

rct · n=359Cited 10×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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