Measuring the Reach and Value of Illinois SNAP-Ed
Overview
Since 2021, Altarum has served as the external evaluator for University of Illinois Extension’s SNAP-Ed program, a statewide nutrition education initiative delivered through Illinois Extension and the Chicago Partnership for Health Promotion. Recent work includes a comprehensive evaluation of the Eat.Move.Save. social marketing campaign and a return-on-investment (ROI) analysis of the program overall.
Challenge: Measuring Reach, Assessing Impact
For more than 30 years, Illinois SNAP-Ed has supported statewide nutrition education aimed at improving healthy eating and physical activity among families with limited incomes, increasing access to healthy foods, and building community collaboration around obesity prevention.
To strengthen and inform the program, Illinois Extension needed rigorous external evaluation to answer two distinct questions: Was the social marketing campaign reaching the right audiences and changing behavior? What was the broader economic and societal value of SNAP-Ed programming?
Solution: Rigorous Evaluations
Altarum conducted a thorough evaluation of Illinois SNAP-Ed’s Eat.Move.Save. social marketing campaign, which was designed to promote healthy eating and physical activity in communities with high concentrations of families with lower incomes. The evaluation included population-level surveys of the priority audience, followed by surveys of local staff and partners to gather feedback about the campaign.
In parallel, Altarum led an ROI analysis to assess the potential societal value and expected ROI from improved health and behavior change caused by Illinois SNAP-Ed programming. Using SNAP-Ed participation data and evidence from the scientific literature, Altarum developed an economic model to estimate future health and societal benefits associated with SNAP-Ed activities, including social marketing, direct and indirect education, and policy, systems, and environmental changes. This analysis quantified avoided cases of food insecurity and obesity, and estimated downstream impacts on health care spending, life expectancy, and lifetime earnings.
Results: Reach, Impact, and Economic Value
Altarum’s evaluation demonstrated that the Eat.Move.Save. campaign reached its priority populations and was associated with meaningful actions toward healthier behaviors. Local staff felt the messages supported their work, and partners believed the content aligned with their organization’s efforts, was appropriate, community-centered, and effective for reaching low-income households.
The ROI analysis estimated that, in one year, Illinois SNAP-Ed averted 586 cases of food insecurity and 5,056 cases of obesity, generating a projected total societal value of between $75 million and $135.3 million dollars through increased future earnings, longer life expectancy, and reduced future health care costs.