The food assistance programs take a variety of forms and provide different types of food benefits to the various target recipients. A variety of outcomes have been used to measure the impact of these programs on diet and health. These outcomes include food expenditures, food security, nutrient availability, nutrient intake, nutritional status, and health status. A small number of studies have also considered the effects of the programs on nonrecipients.

ERS conducts cross-program research on outcomes of the Nation's domestic food and nutrition assistance programs, including the Food Stamp Program, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and the child nutrition programs.

ERS is also responsible for studying and evaluating food assistance program operations and integrity, vulnerable populations, the relationship between food assistance programs and the macroeconomy, and food security in the United States. ERS established the Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program (FANRP) to carry out these responsibilities. FANRP's research on these programs is designed to meet the critical information needs of program managers, policy officials, the research community, and the public at large.

features
Food Stamp Benefits and Childhood Poverty in the 1990s—In 2000, 8.8 million children received food stamps, making the Food Stamp Program a significant component in the well-being of children in many low-income households. To shed light on the efficacy of food stamps in helping households meet basic needs, ERS researchers added the value of food stamp benefits to household income and then measured the effect on child poverty rates. The analysis in this report indicates that the Food Stamp Program plays an important role in reducing the depth and severity of poverty.

The Food Assistance Landscape—This twice-yearly publication provides a brief overview of USDA's domestic food assistance programs. Each issue contains recent program statistics, such as expenditure, participation, and benefit levels, as well as information on related economic and social indicators, such as unemployment rates, income growth, and food price inflation. Issues also discusses recent ERS research related to food assistance.

Examining the Well-Being of Children—Articles in this issue of FoodReview discuss the well-being of America's children, children's diet quality, the problem of overweight children in America, foodborne disease among children, the economics of breastfeeding, and food assistance programs that help children and their families.

recommended readings
Evaluation of the USDA Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program: Report to Congress—This recent ERS study found that one program was successful in getting kids to eat more fruits and vegetables. The congressionally funded pilot program, which provided $6 million in funding for the 2002-03 school year, supplied fruits and vegetables free to children in 100 schools in 4 States. Most participating schools considered the pilot program to be very successful and felt strongly that it should continue. A two-page Research Brief on ERS's evaluation of the program is also available.

Household Food Security in the United States, 2002—The latest in a series of reports provides the most recent statistics on the food security of U.S. households, how much they spent on food, and the extent to which food-insecure households participated in Federal and community food assistance programs.

America's Eating Habits: Changes and Consequences—Healthier diets might prevent $71 billion per year in medical costs, lost productivity, and the value of premature deaths associated with these conditions. This compendium provides different perspectives on nutrition problems in the United States and examines how different government programs and regulations influence food expenditures and consumption.

Effects of Food Assistance and Nutrition Programs on Nutrition and Health: Volume 1, Research Design—This is the first of four reports in the "Nutrition and Health Outcome Study," which assesses the effects of USDA's food assistance and nutrition programs on nutrition and health. This report reviews the research designs available to evaluators for assessing the effect of USDA's food assistance and nutrition programs.

See all recommended readings…

recommended data products
FANRP Project Database—Provides details on FANRP research projects, both past and ongoing, including the project's objective, funding level, researchers, and expected completion date.

National data useful in food and nutrition assistance research—Brief descriptions of national surveys and data sets with links to their sources. The following three surveys are particularly useful for analyzing program outcomes:

• Current Population Survey (CPS) Food Security Supplement data—Annual data on food expenditures, food security, hunger, and use of food assistance programs and other strategies for coping with or ameliorating food deprivation.
• Survey of Program Dynamics (SPD), 1998 Food Security Status file, data, and technical documentation—The SPD was designed specifically to monitor and assess outcomes of welfare program changes begun in 1996. It includes questions on a broad array of topics including income, employment, use of food and nutrition assistance programs, and receipt of cash welfare. ERS prepared a food security status file to facilitate analysis of food security in households interviewed in the SPD.
• The Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) data—The PSID is an ongoing longitudinal survey, begun in 1968, of a representative sample of U.S. individuals and their families. It contains data on participation in the Food Stamp Program, WIC, and Reduced Cost Meals, as well as information on food security and healthy eating habits.

recent research developments
Reducing Food Insecurity in the United States: Assessing Progress Toward a National Objective—This issues brief on food insecurity assesses progress toward the U.S. Government's Healthy People 2010 objective of reducing the rate of food insecurity in the Nation to half of its 1995 level by 2010. It describes methods used to measure and monitor food security, trends in food insecurity and hunger from 1995 to 2000, the extent to which the strong economic growth during the period was responsible for the improvements in food security, and characteristics of food-insecure households. The brief is part of the Issues in Food Assistance series from ERS's Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program. The series addresses a variety of topics related to the USDA food assistance programs.

newsletters
Sign Up Now—Keep current on activities in the Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program (FANRP) by subscribing to our free e-mail notification service. You will receive announcements of our latest reports and other news. You can also get the latest on other activities at ERS. To become a subscriber, please submit this short application form. Be sure to check "Food & Nutrition Assistance Programs" under Particular Topic Areas to receive information about FANRP activities.

related links
Food and Nutrition Information Center (FNIC)—One of several information centers at the National Agricultural Library (NAL), part of USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS). You can access all of FNIC's resource lists and databases, as well as many other food- and nutrition-related links.

Food and Nutrition Service—Administers USDA's food assistance programs and provides program guidelines, data, and research on the Food Stamp Program, WIC, and child nutrition programs.

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning & Evaluation (ASPE)—A web site on "leavers" and diversion studies, plus other studies of welfare outcomes.

images gallery
Food and nutrition assistance programs at a glance—Charts, tables, and data on food stamps, WIC, child nutrition programs, and more.

for more information, contact: Constance Newman
web administration: webadmin@ers.usda.gov
page updated: October 19, 2004