The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 authorized Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children (Summer EBT) as a permanent federal food assistance entitlement program beginning in summer 2024. Summer EBT has been tested through evaluations of demonstration projects since 2011. With pending implementation of this new program, this is an appropriate time to reflect on what USDA, FNS research has learned through more than a decade of study.

Authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill, the USDA Pilot Project for Procurement of Unprocessed Fruits and Vegetables was designed to provide states with additional flexibility in the procurement of unprocessed fruits and vegetables. Participating states and school food authorities can purchase approved items with existing USDA Foods National School Lunch Program entitlement funds from any USDA Pilot-authorized vendor in support of the school meal standards.

This report is the latest in a series of annual reports presenting information on estimated national SNAP participation rates among people eligible for benefits under federal income and asset rules.

This report assesses that pilot and includes a qualitative evaluation of the vendor and ITO experiences and an assessment of pilot costs.

This study updates a 2009 analysis of the nutrient and food group content of the USDA Foods offered and delivered through federal nutrition assistance programs. The study also estimated the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) scores under the HEI-2010 and the HEI-2005 scoring systems for each program’s benefits.

This annual report provides details on the demographic characteristics and economic circumstances of SNAP households at both the national and state level. In 2013, most participants were children or elderly - 44 percent of participants were under age 18 and 9 percent were age 60 or older. 

This report is the latest in a series of annual reports presenting information on national participation rates among people eligible for program benefits.  In 2012, SNAP served 83 percent of all eligible individuals, and the program provided 96 percent of the benefits that all eligible individuals could receive.

The diets of most Americans fall short of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. This exploratory analysis examines dietary patterns of low-income individuals classified as healthy and less healthy eaters based on their score on the Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2005. The HEI-2005 is a 100-point score that measures how well populations adhere to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. 

The Food Stamp Program provides millions of Americans with the means to purchase food for a nutritious diet. This report presents the characteristics of food stamp households nationwide in fiscal year 1999 (October 1998 to September 1999).