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Resource | Research and Data | Demonstrations Evaluation of the USDA Summer EBT Demonstrations: Lessons Learned From More Than a Decade of Research

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.

03/12/2024
Resource | Research and Data | Benefit Content/Cost Analysis of Robotic Process Automation in SNAP: Three Case Studies

​This study examines the use of robotic process automation technologies by three state agencies—Georgia, New Mexico, and Connecticut—to administer SNAP.

09/20/2023
Resource | Research and Data | Assessing/Improving Operations Survey of USDA's SNAP E&T Program Case Management

The purpose of this study is to help FNS better understand how states are implementing the SNAP E&T case management requirement, including how they assess individuals’ needs for services and supports and provide participant reimbursements and other support services. It was also intended to identify promising practices and lessons learned that can be used to support states as they work to provide case management services aligned with their participants’ needs, available resources, and program priorities.

03/15/2023
Resource | Research and Data | Breastfeeding National and State Level Estimates of WIC Eligibility and Program Reach in 2020

These graphics, the latest in a series of annual reports on WIC eligibility, present 2020 national and state estimates of the number of people eligible for WIC benefits and the percentages of the eligible population and the US population covered by the program, including estimates by participant category.

01/09/2023
Resource | Research and Data | Assessing/Improving Operations The Use of State Administrative Data to Improve SNAP Eligibility Estimates: Findings and Recommendations from an Expert Panel

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.

04/05/2022
Resource | Research and Data | Breastfeeding National and State-Level Estimates of WIC Eligibility and WIC Program Reach in 2016

This report, the latest in a series of annual reports on WIC eligibility, presents 2016 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.

02/12/2019
Resource | Research and Data | Assessing/Improving Operations Examination of the Effect of SNAP Benefit and Eligibility Parameters on Low-Income Households

This study examines how the policies that determine benefit levels for the USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program compare to current low-income spending patterns by analyzing the expenditures of low-income households across the United States in 2013 and 2014.

10/27/2017
Resource | Research and Data | Assessing/Improving Operations WIC Vendor Peer Group Study

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of state agencies current peer group systems, and to provide guidance to state agencies on how to evaluate and update their systems. Specifically, it uses empirical analysis to identify one or more effective models for establishing vendor peer groups that could apply to most state agencies.

05/31/2017
Resource | Research and Data | Assessing/Improving Operations Feasibility Study of Capturing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Purchases at the Point of Sale

This study examined the feasibility of creating a data collection system capable of directly and automatically providing USDA with item-level data on purchases made by SNAP households. Data would be captured at the point of sale from purchases made using EBT cards.

11/18/2016
Resource | Research and Data | Assessing/Improving Operations School Nutrition Program Operations Study - SY 2012-13

The information in this second year report (school year 2012-13), the first year new lunch standards were implemented, will provide data for observing the improvements resulting from the implementation of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. Data was collected from a survey of all state child nutrition directors and a nationally representative sample of school food authorities.

10/31/2016
Page updated: September 16, 2025