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Resource | Research and Data | General/Other National and State-Level Estimates of WIC Eligibility and Program Reach in 2023

This report, the latest in an annual series, presents 2023 national and state-level estimates of the number of people eligible to receive benefits provided through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children and the percentage of the eligible population and the general U.S. population participating in the program.

12/04/2025
Resource | Research and Data | General/Other National- and State-Level Estimates of WIC Eligibility and Program Reach in 2022

This report, the latest in a series of annual reports on WIC eligibility, presents 2022 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.

08/08/2024
Resource | Research and Data | Participation Characteristics CACFP Family Day Care Home Participation Study

This study examines the characteristics of current and former CACFP participants among family day care home providers using a nationally representative survey. It examines patterns of CACFP enrollment, perceptions of CACFP, challenges to participating in CACFP, and recommendations for improving the program. Former participants were defined as ones who had participated in 2019 and were no longer operating by 2023. The main reason they cited for leaving CACFP was because they were no longer operating as childcare providers.

06/26/2024
Resource | Research and Data | Participation Characteristics CACFP Participation Among U.S. Childcare Providers

The analysis in this report uses data from the 2019 National Survey of Early Care and Education to compare the general characteristics of childcare providers, both centers and day care homes, by CACFP participation status and eligibility. The report also provides the first known estimates of provider participation rates in CACFP. The analysis also uses a follow-up data set to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic affected provider operations and CACFP participation. 

06/26/2024
Resource | Research and Data | Participation Characteristics Characteristics of SNAP Households - FY 22

This report uses SNAP Quality Control data to describe the demographic and economic circumstances of households and individuals who participated in SNAP in fiscal year 2022.
 

06/05/2024
Resource | Research and Data | Assessing/Improving Operations CN Program Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic, July 2020 - Dec. 2021

This data collection fulfills states’ reporting requirements and describes trends in program participation during the COVID-19 pandemic from July 2020 through Dec. 2021. It is part of an ongoing study series examining CN program operations, repurposed to collect waiver reports from all states. A previous report in the series detailed waiver usage and trends in program participation and operations from March through Sept. 2020.

04/30/2024
Resource | Research and Data | Participation Characteristics WIC Participant and Program Characteristics 2022

Since 1988, FNS has produced biennial reports on WIC participant and program characteristics for program monitoring and managing WIC information needs. The 2022 report summarizes demographic, income, and health-related characteristics of participants with active certifications in April 2022.
 

02/20/2024
Resource | Research and Data | Food Security Trends in USDA SNAP Participation Rates: Fiscal Years 2016 to 2020

This report is the latest in a series on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation rates, which estimate the proportion of people eligible for benefits under federal income and asset rules to those who actually participate in the program. Because the coronavirus COVID-19 public health emergency affected data collection starting in March 2020, this summary covers only the pre-pandemic period of October 2019 through February 2020.

12/07/2022
Resource | Research and Data | Participation Characteristics Characteristics of SNAP Households: FY 2020 and Early Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Characteristics of SNAP Households

The SNAP Characteristics report provides information about the demographic and economic circumstances of SNAP households in FY 2020. Because the coronavirus COVID-19 public health emergency affected data collection starting in March 2020, statistics are reported by prepandemic period of October 2019 through February 2020 and the early pandemic period of June to September 2020 (March through May were not reported). 

11/29/2022
Resource | Research and Data | Benefit Content/Cost WIC Food Cost-Containment Practices Study

The WIC Food Cost-Containment Practices Study describes the voluntarily approaches state agencies used in 2018 to reduce food costs when selecting and authorizing WIC foods. This study is the second of its kind; the first was conducted by the USDA Economic Research Service in 2003. This report examines how six types of food cost-containment practices are associated with food costs and WIC participant satisfaction, benefit redemption, and food consumption in 12 state agencies. 

11/09/2022
Page updated: September 16, 2025