The SNAP Characteristics report provides information about the demographic and economic circumstances of SNAP households in FY 2020. Because the coronavirus COVID-19 public health emergency affected data collection starting in March 2020, statistics are reported by prepandemic period of October 2019 through February 2020 and the early pandemic period of June to September 2020 (March through May were not reported).
The WIC Food Cost-Containment Practices Study describes the voluntarily approaches state agencies used in 2018 to reduce food costs when selecting and authorizing WIC foods. This study is the second of its kind; the first was conducted by the USDA Economic Research Service in 2003. This report examines how six types of food cost-containment practices are associated with food costs and WIC participant satisfaction, benefit redemption, and food consumption in 12 state agencies.
USDA's nutrition assistance programs touch the lives of one in four American consumers annually and the nutrition education efforts associated with select programs offer a powerful opportunity to promote food security and improve dietary quality among eligible individuals and families.
This report responds to the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, which directs the FNS to provide a report on the amount of added sugars in school meals.
FNS has historically estimated the participation rate of SNAP by using Census data and samples of SNAP administrative data, but modeling SNAP eligibility using survey data has a number of challenges. In response, FNS, the Economic Research Service, and the Census Bureau sought potential solutions to these issues by linking Census survey data with monthly administrative records at the person level.
Since 1988, FNS has produced biennial reports on WIC participant and program characteristics for use in program monitoring and managing WIC information needs. The PC 2020 report summarizes demographic, income and health-related characteristics and behaviors of participants certified to receive WIC benefits in April 2020.
This report, the latest in a series of annual reports on WIC eligibility, presents 2019 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. The report also provides estimates by region, state, U.S. territory and race and ethnicity.
Since 1988, FNS has produced biennial reports on WIC participant and program characteristics (PC) for use in program monitoring and managing WIC information needs. The PC 2020 report summarizes demographic, income and health-related characteristics and behaviors of participants certified to receive WIC benefits in April 2020. As a response to COVID-19, the PC 2020 report also compares participant and program characteristics between participants certified to receive benefits in April 2020 and those certified to receive benefits in November 2020 in nine select state agencies.
This study is the fourth in a series that uses the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data to examine the relationship between SNAP participation and indicators of diet quality, nutrition, and health. As in previous studies, this study compares SNAP participants with income-eligible and higher income nonparticipants, by age and gender.
The National Survey of WIC Participants (NSWP) study series is designed to describe state and local agency characteristics, examine participants’ characteristics, assess participants’ experiences with WIC, and estimate improper payments resulting from certification errors in WIC. The study is conducted approximately every 10 years, and the current study is the third iteration (NSWP-III) in the series.