The Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program (FANRP) at ERS addresses the research needs of the Nation's food assistance and nutrition programs.

FANRP research analyzes diet and nutritional outcomes and well-being of needy Americans, food program targeting and delivery, and program dynamics and administration. These programs include the Food Stamp Program; the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); and child nutrition programs, such as the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs.

FANRP research on food assistance programs is designed to meet the critical information needs of the Administration, Congress, program managers, policy officials, clients, the research community, and the public at large.

FANRP research is conducted through internal research at ERS and through a portfolio of external research. Through partnerships with other agencies and organizations, FANRP also enhances national surveys to maintain a food assistance dimension. Related websites have background information about surveys with which FANRP has been involved.

"A Healthy, Well-Nourished Population" is our research emphasis. Our goal is a high-quality, multidisciplinary program that focuses on today's problems and addresses tomorrow's issues.

Research themes
FANRP recognizes the importance of adopting a multi-program view rather than restricting research to an individual program-by-program approach; cross-program interactions between food stamps, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and Medicaid can be important. FANRP's research is less targeted to specific operational details of programs. It is more oriented toward core policy issues, such as the overall success of the package of food assistance and nutrition programs in terms of diet and health outcomes, program coverage, gaps and overlap between programs, and outcome-based performance for the target population.

The three long-term themes of FANRP are:

• Diet and Nutritional Outcomes—Studies how the programs enhance access to and choices of palatable, nutritious, and healthy diets.

• Food Program Targeting and Delivery—Gauges the success of programs aimed at needy, at-risk population groups and examines program gaps and overlaps; differences between rural and urban delivery; outreach; waste, fraud, and abuse; commodity procurement and distribution; public and private partnerships; and alternative ways to deliver benefits.

• Program Dynamics and Administration—Focuses on how program needs change with local labor market conditions, economic growth, recession, and inflation in food prices and the general economy and how changing State welfare programs interact with food and nutrition programs.

Within these general themes, the topic areas for upcoming research are reexamined and re-selected annually. ERS holds annual priority-identification conferences, the first of which was convened under the auspices of the National Academy of Sciences, to listen to the interests and concerns of many experts and help establish topic areas for upcoming research. ERS seeks input from a broad constituency, including the Food and Nutrition Service, the agency responsible for USDA's food and nutrition assistance programs, State-level program administrators, service providers, associations, industry groups, public-interest groups, advocates, and researchers.

The Priority Research Areas identified for fiscal 2004 are:

• Strengthening economic incentives in food assistance programs
• Food assistance as a safety net
• Obesity, diet quality, and health outcomes

The cooperative agreements and grants for the year incorporate those research areas, supplemented by the Small Grants Program that continues with its site-specific research agendas.

FANRP activities
FANRP funds a portfolio of extramural research, including grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts that are competitively awarded through a tightly run peer review process. The publication Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program, Final Report: Fiscal 2003 Activities has descriptions of past awards. Information on Research Funding Opportunities describes opportunities to submit proposals for grants and cooperative agreements.

Studies conducted by ERS staff are an integral part of the FANRP program. Such studies use ERS's large research capacity, making use of the agency's internal research capital and knowledge base. An internal study can have rapid turnaround from project conception to delivery, and monitor sensitive policy issues. Interagency agreements and cooperative agreements enable ERS staff to supplement their own expertise with the knowledge and resources of other government agencies and of academic institutions. The diverse backgrounds of ERS staff enable the agency to adopt interdisciplinary or discipline-specific approaches, as warranted by each research topic.

FANRP conducts legislatively mandated studies. In fiscal 1998, FANRP began three such studies: "Family Child Care Homes Legislative Changes Study," "Use of Food Stamps to Purchase Dietary Supplements," and "State Use of Funds to Increase Work Slots for Food Stamp Recipients." In fiscal 1999, a mandated study on "WIC Cost Containment Practices" was started. In fiscal 2001, two mandated studies were conducted on "Plate Waste in School Nutrition Programs" and on "Infant Formula Prices and Availability."

FANRP contributes to basic science that relates to program implementation and evaluations. It has supported research by the World Health Organization (WHO) on breast-fed infants' growth rates and work by the National Academy of Sciences on the use and interpretation of new dietary reference intakes (DRI's) that are replacing the Recommended Dietary Allowances.

In accordance with the program's principles, the results of FANRP research are widely disseminated. To convey results, FANRP uses such means as ERS reports, articles in professional periodicals, and papers at conferences, as well as taking advantage of the latest in Internet technology through the ERS website. Research is most effective when it is available to those decisionmakers who need the information, be they members of the public, State and local government, USDA and other departments or agencies, or the U.S. Congress.

• Research that meets the needs of all stakeholders—program participants, USDA, Congress, and the public.
• Integrated, comprehensive program that conducts research in the broader context of current and future economic and social environments.
• Broad array of public and private entities directly involved in research, evaluation, and review efforts.
• Integration of ERS staff expertise in the development, implementation, and accomplishment of research projects.
• Scientifically rigorous studies and evaluations with verifiable and unbiased results.
• Rigorous internal and external review of research results.
• Public availability of data.
• Wide distribution of research findings.
• Development and maintenance of continuous data sets.

for more information, contact: Victor Oliveira
web administration: webadmin@ers.usda.gov
page updated: April 6, 2004