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Resource | Research and Data | Benefit Content/Cost WIC Nutrition Services and Administration Cost Study

The WIC Nutrition Services and Administration cost study examines how program funds are expended by state and local agencies to support the management and operation of WIC. The study analyzed data from a national survey of state and local agencies, cases studies, and FY 2013 WIC administrative data.

11/27/2017
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 | Payment Accuracy and Program Integrity The Extent of Trafficking in the SNAP: 2012–2014

Trafficking of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits occurs when SNAP recipients sell their benefits for cash to food retailers, often at a discount. Although trafficking does not increase costs to the federal government, it is a diversion of program benefits from their intended purpose of helping low-income families access a nutritious diet. This report, the latest in a series of periodic analyses, provides estimates of the extent of trafficking during the period 2012 through 2014.

09/22/2017
Resource | Research and Data | Food/Nutrient Analysis Review of WIC Food Packages: Improving Balance and Choice

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine  convened an expert committee to review and assess the nutritional status and food and nutritional needs of the WIC-eligible population and provide recommendations based on its review and grounded in the most recently available science. The committee produced three reports as part of this task. 

01/05/2017
Resource | Research and Data | Policy Analysis The Characteristics and Circumstances of Zero-Income SNAP Households

This study describes the characteristics, circumstances, and participation and income dynamics of zero-income SNAP households and seeks to assess whether economic and policy changes may have affected this growth.

10/07/2014
Resource | Research and Data | General/Other Nutrition Assistance In Farmers Markets: Understanding the Shopping Patterns of SNAP Participants

This study was undertaken to understand why some SNAP participants shop at farmers markets and others in the same geographic area do not.

10/06/2014
Resource | Research and Data | Assessing/Improving Operations School Foodservice Indirect Cost Study

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.

03/31/2014
Resource | Research and Data | Food/Nutrient Analysis School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study IV

This report summarizes findings from the fourth School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study, which collected data from nationally representative samples of school districts and schools in school year 2009-10. 

12/12/2012
Resource | Research and Data | Assessing/Improving Operations Building a Healthy America: A Profile of SNAP

As the time for reauthorization of SNAP again approaches, it is useful to take stock of its accomplishments, identify those features that have contributed to its success, and look for new opportunities to strengthen operations to achieve program goals more fully. To that end, this is a summary of past research on program operations and outcomes.

04/12/2012
Resource | Research and Data | Promoting Healthy Eating Characteristics and Dietary Patterns of Healthy and Less-Healthy Eaters in the Low-Income Population

The diets of most Americans fall short of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. This exploratory analysis examines dietary patterns of low-income individuals classified as healthy and less healthy eaters based on their score on the Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2005. The HEI-2005 is a 100-point score that measures how well populations adhere to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. 

02/01/2012
Page updated: September 16, 2025