“Churning” in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is defined as when a household exits SNAP and then re-enters the program within 4 months. Churning is a policy concern due to the financial and administrative burden incurred by both SNAP households and State agencies that administer SNAP. This study explores the circumstances of churning in SNAP by determining the rates and patterns of churn, examining the causes of caseload churn, and calculating costs of churn to both participants and administering agencies in six States.

The study generates national estimates of administrative error in eligibility determinations and benefit issuance for free or reduced-price school meals.  For school year 2012-2013, local education agencies correctly certified 96.4% of students who applied for meal benefits.  LEAs assigned the correct free, reduced-price, or paid status to a slightly smaller 96.2% of students. 

The purpose of this study is to describe current methods of direct certification used by state and local agencies and challenges facing states and local education agencies in attaining high matching rates. 

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act directed USDA to study the extent to which school food authorities  participating in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs pay indirect costs to local education agencies. It specifically requested an assessment of the methodologies used to establish indirect costs, the types and amounts of indirect costs that are charged and not charged to the school foodservice account, and the types and amounts of indirect costs recovered by LEAs.

This study provides national estimates of the food acquisitions of public unified school districts participating in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. It describes the type, quantity, and value of foods purchased by public school districts and the relative importance of foods donated to these school districts by the USDA,

The analysis conducted in this study builds on these two strands of the literature and uses three alternate definitions of breakfast: Consumption of any food or beverage. Breakfast intake of food energy greater than 10 percent of the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA). Consumption of foods from at least two of five main food groups and intake of food energy greater than 10 percent of the RDA. 

This report inventories technological approaches to portable on-line authorization and reports on their technical and cost feasibility, advantages/disadvantages and potential impacts.

The 1996 study of WIC program and participant characteristics, like PC92 and PC94, is substantially different from earlier efforts to collect data on WIC participants. PC96 employs the prototype reporting system which was developed by FNS for the collection of participant information from state WIC agencies.

The USDA budget for fiscal year 1997 (FY) included $4.2 million to support Food Stamp Program retailer authorization site visits to help prevent ineligible retailers from participating in the FSP. This money is being used primarily to fund store visits by contracted vendors, who will provide the information gathered to the Food and Nutrition Service field office staff making the eligibility decisions.

From October 1, 1993 to September 30, 1996, the Food and Nutrition Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture sponsored demonstration projects in Georgia, Hawaii, Missouri, South Dakota, and Texas to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of operating the Food Stamp Employment and Training (E&T) program under the same legislative and regulatory terms as the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) program for Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) recipients. Common objectives of the demonstrations were to increase compliance with E&T participation requirements among mandatory work registrants, target services to individuals most at risk of long-term dependency and those most likely to benefit from E&T services, improve participant outcomes, and improve the cost efficiency of welfare to work services.