This report examines the dietary knowledge and attitudes of low-income individuals, including FSP participants and nonparticipants, describes their dietary intake, and estimates participation-dietary intake relationship. 

This is the second report in a series of publications that presents estimates of the percentage of eligible persons, by state, who participate in the Food Stamp Program. This issue presents food stamp participation rates for states in September 1997 and the changes in state rates between September 1994 and September 1997. This information can be used to examine states’ performance over this period and help understand the effects on food stamp participation rates of a strong economy with expanding job opportunities and the very early consequences of welfare reform and food stamp changes that were brought about by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996.

This report fulfills a Congressional request for the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) to report on "a comprehensive, integrated approach to nutrition education as a complement to the various nutrition assistance programs." FNS reviewed its current nutrition education efforts, and consulted with a wide range of nutrition education experts and stakeholders.

This report responds to PL 105-379, which mandated the USDA  examine options for the design, development, implementation and operation of a national database to track participation in federal means-tested public assistance programs.

One activity that reflects USDA’s commitment to nutrition promotion is the development of state nutrition networks. Since October 1995, FNS has awarded cooperative agreements to 22 states to create nutrition networks that would develop innovative, large-scale and sustainable approaches to providing nutrition education to low-income families that participate or are eligible to participate in the Food Stamp Program.

The WIC Nutrition Education Assessment Study was conducted by Abt Associates Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts, under contract with the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The study was designed by FNS to fill several important gaps in information about the nutrition education component of the WIC Program.

This pamphlet provides estimates for Food Stamp Program participation rates by states. It will be the first widely-released document showing the percentage of eligible people, by state, who actually participate in the program. Because the data are from January 1994, prior to the enactment of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, they provide baseline data on participation rates prior to the enactment of welfare reform.

This report presents the findings of a study sponsored by FCS that examined the food-choice behavior of low-income families. FCS undertook the study to better understand the food-purchasing and food choice decisions of the population the program serves.

FNS asked Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., (MPR) to assess the CPS estimates in relation to alternative estimates from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), which collects longitudinal monthly income data.

The Conference on Access to Food, held in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 18 and 19, 1995, was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Consumer Service. The conference was held to bring together food access experts to share their knowledge and help USDA build an agenda to increase access to food for low-income Americans.