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Resource | Research and Data | Promoting Healthy Eating FDPIR Food Package Nutritional Quality: Report to Congress

This report, required under the 2008 Farm Bill, reviews the nutritional quality of the food package provided through USDA’s Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, comparing its content to scientific standards including the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the Dietary Reference Intakes, the Thrifty Food Plan nutrient standards and the Healthy Eating Index-2005. 

11/25/2008
Resource | Research and Data | Assessing/Improving Operations Report to Congress: The Nebraska Rural Area Eligibility Determination Pilot for the CACFP

The Child and Adult Care Food Program subsidizes nutritious meals and snacks served to participants in child care nationwide, providing different levels or “tiers” of meal reimbursement based on the income level of participating children, providers, and nearby geographic areas. Policymakers have long been concerned that programs such as CACFP are not as accessible to eligible children in rural areas as in urban areas.

07/23/2008
Resource | Research and Data | Food/Nutrient Analysis Diet Quality of American Young Children by WIC Participation Status: Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999-2004

This study uses the most recent data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to examine the diets of children who received WIC benefits. The report compares the diets of WIC-participant children to the diets of income-eligible nonparticipant children and higher income children who were not eligible for WIC benefits. 

07/01/2008
Resource | Research and Data | Promoting Healthy Eating Diet Quality of Americans by Food Stamp Participation Status: Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999-2004

Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 1999-2004) provide a comprehensive picture of the nutrient intakes, diet quality, and food choices of Food Stamp Program participants. Data are presented for FSP participants, income-eligible nonparticipants, and higher income non-participants, broken out by age and gender. 

07/01/2008
Resource | Research and Data | Assessing/Improving Operations The Pennsylvania SFSP Rural Area Eligibility Pilot Evaluation

The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 authorized a pilot to operate in rural Pennsylvania during the summers of 2005 and 2006. The purpose was to test whether lowering the site eligibility threshold from 50 percent to 40 percent would increase the number of children participating in the program. 

02/28/2008
Resource | Research and Data History of the National School Lunch Program

School food service programs such as we have in 1971 did not just happen over-night nor even during the past decade. Preceding today's programs is a long history of more than a hundred years of development, of testing and evaluating, and of constant research to provide the best in nutrition, nutrition education, and food service for the nation's millions of children in school. 

01/17/2008
Resource | Research and Data | Policy Analysis Imposing a Time Limit on Food Stamp Receipt: Implementation of the Provisions and Effects on Food Stamp Program Participation

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 imposed a work requirement and time limit on food stamp recipients viewed as fit to work – able-bodied adults without dependents. ABAWD participants are limited to three months of benefits in a three-year period unless they meet a work requirement. This study provides a national picture of how states implemented the ABAWD provisions and who was affected.

09/01/2001
Resource | Research and Data | Food Security The Decline in Food Stamp Participation: A Report to Congress

Over the last decade, food stamp participation rose more sharply than expected following the relatively short and mild recession in the early 1990s and fell more sharply than expected after 1994 during the sustained period of economic growth. Report language accompanying the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2001 directed the Food and Nutrition Service to study the decline in participation in the Food Stamp Program.

07/01/2001
Resource | Research and Data | Food/Nutrient Analysis School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study - II

This report summarizes findings of the second School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study. The study provides up-to-date information on the nutritional quality of meals served in public schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program.

07/01/2001
Resource | Research and Data | Assessing/Improving Operations School Meals Initiative Implementation Study: Second Year Report

The National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program are central parts of a national policy designed to safeguard and promote the nutritional well-being of the Nation’s children. The programs are administered by FNS, operating through state agencies that have agreements with the local school systems in their states. Despite the progress that has been achieved over the years in enhancing the quality of school meals, results of research conducted in the early 1990s indicated that school meals, on balance, were failing to meet certain key nutritional goals.

07/01/2001
Page updated: September 16, 2025