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Data Visualization
SNAP Eligibility and Access

This visualization represents a joint effort of the U.S. Census Bureau, the Food and Nutrition Service, the Economic Research Service and our state partners to use state administrative records to estimate SNAP eligibility rates at the state and county levels.

07/15/2019
Resource | Research and Data | Report to Congress Child Nutrition Reporting Burden Analysis Study

The Child Nutrition Reporting Burden Analysis Study was commissioned by FNS in response to a legislative requirement of House Report 114-531. The study examined challenges faced by SAs and SFAs related to child nutrition program administrative and reporting requirements and identifying those that contribute most to the workload for SAs and SFAs that operate CN programs.

07/02/2019
Resource | Research and Data | Report to Congress Multi-Agency Task Force Report to Congress, January 2018

The 2014 Farm Bill established a Multi-Agency Taskforce to provide coordination and direction for USDA Foods administered by FNS. The Task Force is responsible for evaluating and monitoring USDA commodity programs to ensure that through the distribution of domestic agricultural products, the programs support the U.S. farm sector and contribute to the health and well-being of individuals in the United States. This third annual report to Congress describes the activities of the taskforce in 2017.

03/22/2019
Resource | Research and Data USDA Listening Session: SNAP Provisions of the 2018 Farm Bill

The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) held a listening session regarding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Farm Bill provisions on March 19, 2019. 181 people registered for the call and 132 people called into the session.

03/19/2019
Resource | Research and Data USDA Listening Session: TEFAP and CSFP Provisions of the 2018 Farm Bill

The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) held a listening session regarding the provisions of The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) on March 13, 2019.

03/13/2019
Resource | Research and Data | Breastfeeding National and State-Level Estimates of WIC Eligibility and WIC Program Reach in 2016

This report, the latest in a series of annual reports on WIC eligibility, presents 2016 national and state estimates of the number of people eligible for WIC benefits and the percents of the eligible population and the US population covered by the program, including estimates by participant category.

02/12/2019
Data Visualization
Estimates of WIC Eligibility and Program Reach

Each year, FNS estimates the number of eligible individuals for WIC during an average month of the calendar year. FNS uses estimates of the number of individuals eligible for WIC and the number likely to participate to better predict future funding needs, measure WIC performance, and identify potentially unmet nutrition assistance needs.

11/03/2014
Resource | Research and Data Special Nutrition Program Operations Study: State and SFA Policies and Practices for School Meals Programs SY 2011-12

The information in this first year study (school year 2011-12) will provide a baseline for observing the improvements resulting from the implementation of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.

03/20/2014
Resource | Research and Data | Impacts/Evaluations Community Eligibility Provision Evaluation

Under the Community Eligibility Provision, schools do not collect or process meal applications for free and reduced-price meals served in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. Schools must serve all meals at no cost with any costs in excess of the federal reimbursement paid from non-federal sources. 

02/25/2014
Resource | Research and Data | Assessing/Improving Operations Study of Direct Certification in the National School Lunch Program

The NSLP offers free and reduced-price school meals to students from eligible households. Households with incomes at or below 130 percent of poverty are eligible for free meals, and households with incomes between 131 percent and 185 percent of poverty are eligible for reduced-price meals. Traditionally, to receive these benefits, households had to complete and submit application forms to schools or be directly certified. Direct certification, on the other hand, is a method of eligibility determination that does not require families to complete school meal applications. Instead, school officials use documentation from the local or state welfare agency that indicates that a household participates in AFDC or food stamps as the basis for certifying students for free school meals.

09/01/2000
Page updated: September 16, 2025