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Data & Research

Resource | Research | Assessing/Improving Operations Third National Survey of WIC Participants

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. 

12/14/2021
Resource | Research | Assessing/Improving Operations Study of Nutrition and Activity in Childcare Settings in USDA’s Child and Adult Care Food Program (SNACS)

Centers and family daycare homes participating in CACFP play an important role in supporting the health and wellness of the children they serve. The Study of Nutrition and Activity in Childcare Settings  is the first nationally representative, comprehensive assessment of the CACFP. Data were collected in program year 2016–17 from CACFP providers and participating children on nutritional quality of meals served, nutrient intake of participating children, meal costs and revenues, and more. Findings serve as an important baseline for the subsequent updates to the meal pattern and nutrition standards, which were implemented in October 2017. 

10/25/2021
Resource | Research | Assessing/Improving Operations USDA Summer Meals Study

The Summer Meals Study provides a comprehensive, nationally representative assessment of the two summer meal programs operated by USDA: the Summer Food Service Program and the National School Lunch Program Seamless Summer Option. It is the first national study to simultaneously examine the facilitators and barriers to program participation among participating and nonparticipating families, sponsors, and sites. This study examines the characteristics of participating and nonparticipating children, including sociodemographic characteristics, household food security status, reasons for participation or nonparticipation, and satisfaction with the meals served to children in the summer of 2018. 

10/20/2021
Resource | Research | Assessing/Improving Operations School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study

This study is the first nationally representative, comprehensive assessment of the school meal programs since the updated nutrition standards for school meals were phased in beginning School Year 2012-2013. A study methodology report that describes the study design, sampling and data collection and a summary report that provides a brief overview of the study and key findings from the various reports are also available.

10/19/2021
Resource | Notices | Assessing/Improving Operations Comment Request - School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study-II

This collection is a revision of a currently approved collection for the School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study-II. The purpose of SNMCS-II is to provide a comprehensive picture of school food service operations and the nutritional quality, cost, and acceptability of meals served in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program.

09/14/2021
Resource | Research | General/Other National- and State-Level Estimates of WIC Eligibility and WIC Program Reach in 2018 With Updated Estimates for 2016 and 2017

This report, the latest in a series of annual reports on WIC eligibility, presents 2018 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. 

05/25/2021
Resource | Research | Participation Characteristics Characteristics of SNAP Households: FY 2019

The Characteristics report is published annually, dating back to 1976, and provides information about the demographic and economic circumstances of SNAP households. Using a sample of SNAP Quality Control data that is representative at both the state and national level, this report summarizes the characteristics of households and individuals who participated in SNAP in fiscal year 2019.  Because SNAP is available to most low-income households, participants represent a broad cross section of the Nation's poor. 

03/29/2021
Resource | Research | Participation Characteristics Characteristics of SNAP Households: FY 2014

This is the latest in a series of annual reports providing information about the demographic and economic circumstances of households participating in SNAP at both the national and state level. In fiscal year 2014, as in prior years, nearly two-thirds of SNAP participants were children (44 percent), elderly (10 percent), or disabled nonelderly adults (10 percent).

12/21/2015
Resource | Research | Participation Characteristics National and State-Level Estimates of WIC Eligibles and Program Reach 2013

This report offers updated estimates of the number of people eligible for WIC benefits in 2013, including (1) estimates by participant category (including children by single year of age) and coverage rates; (2) updated estimates in U.S. territories; and (3) confidence intervals. The national estimates presented in this report are based on a methodology developed in 2003 by the Committee on National Statistics of the National Research Council (CNSTAT). The report’s State-level estimates use a methodology developed by the Urban Institute that apportions the national figures using data from the American Community Survey.

12/17/2015
Resource | Research | Assessing/Improving Operations WIC Participant and Program Characteristics 2014

WIC Participant and Program Characteristics 2014 (PC 2014) summarizes the demographic characteristics of participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) nationwide in April 2014. It includes information on participant income and nutrition risk characteristics, estimates breastfeeding initiation rates for WIC infants, and describes WIC members of migrant farm-worker families. PC 2014 is the most recent in a series of reports generated from WIC State management information system data biennially since 1992.

11/23/2015
Page updated: May 28, 2024