Navigating SNAP waiver submissions: an Iowa case study

This case study describes the process to assess the need, gather information, build partnerships, and develop an evaluation for a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) waiver application to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that would have allowed the state of Iowa to test healthy food incentives paired with disincentives. These waivers to test SNAP purchase restrictions and disincentives have been proposed at the national level and have received support from multiple states across the country. Following the rejection of a request to Iowa Health and Human Services (Iowa HHS) to submit a waiver to USDA in November 2024, we conducted a post-hoc evaluation of our efforts to develop the proposed waiver with a focus on building strategic partnerships with state officials and other essential partners. We will present the steps taken by the research team to build partnerships with state officials (including challenges experienced with maintaining these partnerships) and the other types of partners who were recruited to move the waiver application forward. We also describe the hurdles that we were unable to overcome and why these hurdles remain despite our efforts. The successes, challenges, and pitfalls of this project offer insights for investigators and state planners hoping to submit similar waiver applications to the USDA.