We conduct a variety of studies, evaluations, and related activities that respond to the needs of policy makers and managers and help ensure that nutrition assistance programs achieve their goals effectively. These plans provide short descriptions of projects that have been funded in each fiscal year.
Trends in SNAP Participation Rates: fiscal year 2010 to 2017 is the latest in a series on SNAP participation rates, which estimate the proportion of people eligible for benefits under federal income and asset rules who actually participate in the program.
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.
The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 added a new Section 23 on Childhood Hunger Research to the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act. This section provides substantial new mandatory funding to research the causes and consequences of childhood hunger and to test innovative strategies to end child hunger and food insecurity.
This report – part of an annual series – presents estimates, by state, of the percentage of eligible persons and working poor individuals who participated in SNAP during an average month in FY 2016 and in the two previous fiscal years.
This report responds to the requirement of PL 110-246 to assess the effectiveness of state and local efforts to directly certify children for free school meals. Direct certification is a process conducted by the states and by local educational agencies to certify eligible children for free meals without the need for household applications.
The eSFSP projects test changes to the existing structure and delivery mechanism of SFSP to determine if they lead to increased participation.
SEBTC demonstration offered a rigorous test of the impact of providing a monthly benefit of $60 per child - using existing electronic benefit transfer (EBT) systems - on food insecurity among children during the summer when school meals are not available.
This is the eighth in a series of annual reports that examines the administrative accuracy of eligibility determinations and benefit issuance for free or reduced-price meals in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). In School Year (SY) 2011/12, about 97 percent of students submitting applications for meal benefits were certified for the correct level of meal benefits, based on information in the application files. This was slightly higher than the 96-percent accuracy rate found in the previous school year.