Many states have a program called Double Food Bucks that makes fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables 50% off if you’re paying with government benefits. The problem is, you usually have to be at a farmer’s market in a huge city.
Federal funding can be supplied to supplement state budgets so they can offer this expanded benefit at EVERY RETAILER AND GROCER.
There is literally NO DOWNSIDE. It encourages healthy food choices, it provides more food for those who need help affording food, it makes the program accessible for rural americans, it increases the customer base downstream of farmers that make table food instead of industrial base ingredients, and most importantly it doubles the consumer buying power in food deserts, creating demand for PRODUCE among the least price-sensitive shoppers: people spending food stamps.
The program should ultimately be oriented toward rewarding/incentivizing consumers for buying foods with no ingredients list: milk, butter, flour, eggs, meat, nuts, spring water, fruits and vegetables, spices, coffee, tea, etc.
But produce is already being implemented in some states in limited fashion–that is the place to start.
This is a program with zero downsides. Every dollar spent is money well spent incentivizing and feeding wholesome ingredients to those we are already paying to feed.