Contractor and Cooperator Reports
This study explores participation by Food Stamp Program recipients in other government programs, factors that explain variation in food stamp participation across Virginia's localities, and ways in which the findings support other food stamp participation rate research.
CCR-32 55 pp August 13, 2007
This study explores the administrative cost reimbursement system for Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) sponsors that oversee the family child care homes portion of the CACFP.
CCR-16 51 pp March 21, 2006
This report describes the individual and household characteristics of low-income middle-aged and older women with childrearing responsibilities and documents the extent to which they receive food stamps and other public assistance benefits.
CCR-68 41 pp September 12, 2011
Coordination between the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and Medicaid has been an important component to ensuring access to primary care services for WIC clients. This study examines how increased use of managed care in the Medicaid program has affected WIC program coordination efforts.
CCR-33 71 pp September 19, 2007
This study used administrative records for 50,067 applications and 34,914 benefit spells in South Carolina for the period October 1996-November 2007 to examine households’ applications to and participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
CCR-65 January 27, 2011
This study is a comprehensive analysis of the nutrient adequacy of segments of the population at risk of inadequate nutrient intake, excessive intake, or dietary imbalances, based on the Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals conducted in 1994-96 and 1998.
CCR-11 98 pp October 12, 2005
The report reviews existing data sources and prior research on six programs operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that provide food assistance to American Indians living on or near reservations.
CCR-4 100 pp January 11, 2005
Recent revisions to the food packages provided by the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) added healthy foods and required WIC-authorized stores to make these foods available. This study examined the availability, variety, and prices of healthy foods before and after implementation of the food package revisions in 252 convenience and nonchain grocery stores in Connecticut.
CCR-66 59 pp March 29, 2011
Using 2005 data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Third School Nutrition Dietary Assessment survey, this study examines the contribution of school meals to the food and nutrient intake of children in food-secure, marginally secure, and food-insecure households.
CCR-61 May 11, 2010
Fresh produce growers/shippers believe that consolidations in grocery retailing may empower retailers to act less competitively. This study evaluates the extent to which retailers exercise market power in buying from growers and selling to consumers.
CCR-1 49 pp September 22, 2003
This report examines 1990-2004 data to consider how the policy changes and the changing economic climate have affected the Food Stamp Program (FSP) caseload over time. Results show that the FSP caseload shifted sharply from nearly half receiving cash benefits from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) to less than a fifth.
CCR-50 113 pp January 30, 2009
This study focuses on a set of eating habit questions proposed for inclusion in the U.S. Department of Education's Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey, Birth Cohort. The study assesses the wording and format of a series of questions for mothers of children in kindergarten and/or first grade regarding the child's food consumption habits.
CCR-10 108 pp August 16, 2005
Using data from the third School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study (SNDA-III), this study assessed the quality of school-age children’s overall diets and the relationship to school meal participation, using a version of the Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2005 adapted to use with a school-age population.
CCR-59 120 pp February 25, 2010
The Harvard Service Food Frequency Questionnaire (HSFFQ) has been used in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) in North Dakota, Missouri, and Massachusetts. This project collaborated with those States to improve HSFFQ output to better facilitate nutrition education, food package decisions, and referrals; to design, implement, and evaluate the use of aggregate nutrition data for local and State practices and policy decisions; and to use prospective data to examine the relationships between diet and childhood obesity.
CCR-6 309 pp May 18, 2005
This study uses data on 8,000 children followed from kindergarten through third grade as part of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class to examine predictors of persistent childhood overweight and associated academic and socioemotional outcomes.
CCR-42 42 pp June 13, 2008
Researchers identified six randomized, controlled trials of community-based interventions to address childhood obesity at different ages that demonstrated a significant change in the prevalence of obesity in the target population. The effects obtained in those trials were applied to a new model of obesity through the life course (ages 3-65 years) in order to estimate the health and economic effects from such interventions scaled to the national level.
CCR-62 23 pp September 1, 2010
This study combines data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation, 1996-2003, with data on State-level food stamp, welfare, minimum wage, and Earned Income Tax Credit policy to investigate the effects of policy on food stamp participation.
CCR-36 52 pp January 8, 2008
This study uses a unique combination of State panel data and qualitative interviews to examine the economic and policy factors associated with the sharp increase in the number of Food Stamp Program (FSP) participants between 2000 and 2006.
CCR-56 114 pp August 18, 2009
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) have no eligibility restrictions based on the legal status of immigrants. This study reveals an increase in the number and share of immigrants and their children in WIC and NSLP between the mid-1990s and 2006; however, their share of participants is generally comparable to their share of the eligible population.
CCR-63 October 5, 2010
Both joint or separate participation in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and the Food Stamp Program reduces the risk of child abuse or neglect and several nutrition-related health problems, such as anemia, failure to thrive, and nutritional deficiency. This study examines the relationship between WIC and Food Stamp Program participation and young children’s health and mistreatment outcomes.
CCR-27 41 pp December 27, 2006
Historically, low-income seniors ages 60 and older who qualify for FSP benefits participate at low rates because they feel it is not worth the effort to apply. To identify effective strategies for raising participation among this population, USDA designed three models, each using different techniques to reduce the barriers that seniors face in FSP participation.
CCR-9-1 215 pp August 1, 2005
Historically, low-income seniors ages 60 and older who qualify for Food Stamp Program (FSP) benefits participate at low rates because they feel it is not worth the effort to apply. To identify effective strategies for raising participation among this population, USDA designed three models, each using different techniques to reduce the barriers that seniors face in FSP participation.
CCR-9-2 119 pp August 1, 2005
This study examined the iron status of infants and toddlers ages 6-24 months with a prevalence of anemia of at least 10 percent participating in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) in West Virginia counties.
CCR-35 50 pp December 19, 2007
This study investigated factors that influence students’ participation in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP). The analysis used recently collected data on a large, nationally representative sample of students certified for free and reduced-price meals during the 2005–06 school year.
CCR-53 171 pp June 18, 2009
This report summarizes research findings from the Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Innovation and Development Grants in Economics Program (RIDGE), formerly known as the Small Grants Program. The report includes summaries of the research projects that were awarded 1-year grants in summer and fall 2004.
CCR-23 50 pp October 12, 2006
This report summarizes findings from Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Small Grants Program research projects that were awarded 1-year grants in the summer and fall of 2003. The results of the research projects were presented at the December 2004 Small Grants Program Conference.
CCR-12 51 pp October 24, 2005
This report examines the State-level relationships between Food Stamp Program (FSP) certification error rates and certification expenditures, program policies, caseload characteristics, and economic conditions.
CCR-45 118 pp June 20, 2008
This report presents the results of a study of trends in Food Stamp Program (FSP) administrative costs and errors from 1989 to 2001. It describes the trends and composition of FSP administrative costs. It also presents a multivariate regression analysis of the relationship of reported certification costs to FSP error rates.
CCR-15 127 pp January 31, 2006
This study examines the degree to which changes in entry and exit patterns into and out of the Food Stamp Program (FSP) contributed to the FSP caseload growth of the early 1990s and to the decline of the late 1990s.
CCR-8 101 pp July 28, 2005
This study examines retailer pricing behavior for iceberg lettuce shipped from California and Arizona, mature-green and vine-ripe tomatoes shipped from California and Florida, and lettuce-based fresh salads. A switching regression model is used to examine oligopsony power.
CCR-2 52 pp September 22, 2003
This study develops a framework for differentiating true Food Stamp Program (FSP) impacts on food security from those that arise because households with the most severe food-related hardships are more likely to participate in the program.
CCR-38 78 pp March 10, 2008
This study measures SNAP's effectiveness in reducing food insecurity, using the 1996, 2001, and 2004 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) panels and a dummy endogenous variable model with instrumental variables to control for selection bias.
CCR-60 32 pp April 22, 2010
This study used 1999-2004 Current Population Survey data in conjunction with the Urban Institute’s Transfer Income Model (TRIM3) to quantify the impact of the 2002 Farm Bill’s eligibility restorations.
CCR-40 96 pp April 16, 2008
This research examines the impact of providing free formula through the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program and its use of sole-source contracts to control program costs on the wholesale price of infant formula.
CCR-51 141 pp January 30, 2009
The economic effects of trade liberalization in world dairy markets are assessed using a world dairy model developed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The effects on U.S. farm milk prices and production, producer and consumer surpluses, and U.S. Government revenues and program expenditures are determined. The empirical analysis suggests generally modest price and production impacts on U.S. milk producers when multilateral trade liberalization is assumed.
CCR-21 21 pp August 22, 2006
This study compares the effects of importing fresh Mexican Hass avocados into the United States under three scenarios for mitigating pest risks.
CCR-25 61 pp October 26, 2006
This study looks at the relationship between food stamp participation and historical earnings over periods of 10-15 years. Earlier research found that households eligible for the Food Stamp Program that had short-term income declines were less likely to participate than those that had sustained low incomes. This analysis expands on that research by using a data set that matched historical Social Security earnings records to the 1996 Survey of Income and Program Participation, allowing examination of the relationship between participation and earnings over a longer timeframe than available previously.
CCR-46 85 pp July 3, 2008
This study examines the economic coping strategies of low-income families, using data collected through qualitative interviews conducted in 2006-08 with 35 low-income women residing in the Detroit metropolitan area.
CCR-57 52 pp August 31, 2009
The U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module was translated into Spanish and adapted for use in the Dominican Republic. Qualitative assessment in a focus group was conducted to confirm the relevance of the concepts and to refine the questions. A pilot survey of 110 households in a rural, economically vulnerable community was conducted, and the data were analyzed to assess the validity of the questions as a multiple-item measure of household food insecurity.
CCR-47 52 pp August 8, 2008
This project develops a data collection methodology to evaluate outcomes of Team Nutrition, a voluntary USDA school-based initiative to promote nutrition education, healthy eating, and physical activity.
CCR-20 101 pp June 28, 2006
Overweight among children has increased rapidly over the past two decades. A prevalent belief is that characteristics of the local food supply, such as the affordability of fresh produce and the density of food markets and restaurants, are associated with children's diet and weight gain. This study investigates these issues and finds an association between the relative cost of fruits and vegetables and excessive weight gain by elementary-age children.
CCR-14 4 pp December 30, 2005
Greater flexibility in U.S. farm programs, with elimination of the restriction on the planting of fruit and vegetable crops, is likely to be a major issue in congressional farm policy discussions in 2007. To capture the diversity of situations that would apply among crops covered by the current policy, this research has examined a broad set of Michigan fruit, vegetable, and wild rice crops (dry beans, pickling cucumbers, processing tomatoes, fresh market tomatoes, squash, and blueberries).
CCR-29 58 pp February 26, 2007
Children’s consumption of National School Lunch Program (NSLP) meals is associated with several positive dietary quality outcomes but concerns remain. Students who consumed mainly NSLP food reported higher intake of most nutrients, milk, fruits, and vegetables and lower intakes of sweetened beverages and candy than students who consumed mainly non-NSLP food, including a la carte items, food from vending machines, and food from home.
CCR-30 17 pp June 6, 2007
This study uses a unique dataset to examine parental influence on children's dietary intake and whether or not the children will become obese. The study shows that household income, parents' time spent with children, and parents' work experiences significantly affect children's energy and fat intake and obesity-related outcomes.
CCR-19 263 pp June 14, 2006
This study developed and administered a questionnaire to identify feeding practices among low-income African-American mothers and eating behaviors in their preschool children that are associated with childhood obesity. The findings do not appear to implicate feeding practices to childhood obesity in this sample of preschoolers.
CCR-3 18 pp January 10, 2005
This study uses administrative records from participants in a longitudinal study of low-income families in three U.S. cities to determine whether enrollment in the Food Stamp Program increased in households with U.S.-born children and foreign-born heads after legal immigrants’ access to the program was restored under the Farm Bill Act of 2002.
CCR-67 32 pp August 26, 2011
This report describes a dynamic bioeconomic simulation model that represents the biological, economic, and regulatory features of a specific invasion management problem: the late 1990s invasion of California strawberries by the greenhouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum, and the pesticide use restrictions imposed by California regulators to manage pesticide resistance.
CCR-43 236 pp July 2, 2008
This report summarizes the methodologies, results and empirical insights of research on nonindigenous species (NIS) introduction risk. This research on trade-related NIS introductions highlights the welfare and biological implications of both broad policy instruments (such as tariffs) and differentiated policy instruments (such as inspections), and the challenge of empirically supporting the latter.
CCR-41 24 pp June 19, 2008
This report examined how decisions to invest in invasive species management on public lands could incorporate economic concepts to better gauge the level of social benefits generated and how optimization models could be applied to produce the maximum potential gains in ecosystem services.
CCR-44 138 pp July 2, 2008
Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) are the most recent set of nutrient-based reference values, which, together with recommended dietary assessment methods, are being used to update estimates of nutrient adequacy of population subgroups. Recent estimates suggest both dramatic dietary deficiencies and excesses for selected nutrients among some subgroups. This report takes a critical look at the studies and methods used to set DRIs.
CCR-28 96 pp February 1, 2007
This report summarizes research findings from the Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Innovation and Development Grants in Economics Program (RIDGE), formerly known as the Small Grants Program. The Economic Research Service created the program in 1998 to stimulate new and innovative research on food and nutrition assistance issues and to broaden the network of social scientists that collaborate in investigating the food and nutrition challenges that exist across communities, regions, and States.
CCR-31 52 pp August 2, 2007
This study used data from the School Nutrition Dietary Assessment III Study to examine the dietary patterns of school meal program participants and nonparticipants and the relationship between school meal participation and children’s Body Mass Index (BMI).
CCR-55 166 pp July 16, 2009
This study uses a microsimulation model to assess the effect of changes to State-level Food Stamp Program (FSP) asset rules on household eligibility and on the benefits that eligible households would receive.
CCR-49 126 pp October 30, 2008
Using data for 2003 from the Food Stamp Program Quality Control and Current Population Survey, this study examined factors that help to explain the variation. Results show that different population characteristics across States are a major factor because different types of eligible people tend to participate at different rates.
CCR-37 145 pp March 10, 2008
This study examines the role of program "clocks," economic conditions, and other circumstances on participation in South Carolina's cash and food assistance programs.
CCR-17 62 pp April 3, 2006
Several recent changes in the Food Stamp Program (FSP) have been directed at households without children. Some of the changes, such as new work requirements and time limits for able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs), are intended to encourage economic self-sufficiency and to reduce program dependence. Other changes are intended to raise low program participation rates among vulnerable groups. This study examines administrative records for adult-only households from South Carolina's public assistance and Unemployment Insurance systems during 1996-2003.
CCR-18 51 pp April 3, 2006
This study examines data from a survey of families in South Carolina who left the Food Stamp Program (FSP) between 1998 and 2000. We combined the survey data with earnings data and subsequent food stamp receipt to investigate personal and family characteristics associated with three types of well-being outcomes: food hardships, other adverse events, and subjective assessments of life changes.
CCR-22 38 pp September 3, 2006
Elderly adults (ages 60 or older) participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly the Food Stamp Program, at lower rates than other eligible people. This report provides State information on the characteristics of elderly SNAP participants and eligibles and elderly participation rates that can be used both in assessing the success of past efforts and when considering additional efforts to increase elderly SNAP participation.
CCR-64 November 1, 2010
This report examines interstate variation in household food security. Using hierarchical modeling, we identify several contextual dimensions that appear linked to household food security: the availability and accessibility of Federal nutrition assistance programs, policies affecting economic well-being of low-income families, and States' economic and social characteristics.
CCR-13 60 pp October 18, 2005
This study compares the Food Stamp Program (FSP) with eight other public assistance programs across four measures of program effectiveness—administrative costs, error payments, program access, and benefit targeting.
CCR-39 67 pp April 4, 2008
This report uses 1985-2000 data from the 1979 cohort of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to examine the effects of the Food Stamp Program on obesity. The effects are found to differ by gender, level of benefits, and duration of participation.
CCR-34 110 pp September 21, 2007
Low participation rates in the Food Stamp Program (FSP) by poor elderly individuals have been a persistent problem. Historically, no more than one-third of eligible elderly have participated in the FSP—a participation rate far lower than that of any other major demographic group. To address the low participation rates among the elderly, USDA is funding the Elderly Nutrition Demonstrations—six separate pilot programs that are testing three alternative ways to increase elderly participation in the FSP. This report discusses the logistical considerations for evaluating the impacts of the six demonstrations.
CCR-5-2 81 pp March 28, 2005
Low participation rates in the Food Stamp Program (FSP) by poor elderly individuals have been a persistent problem. Historically, no more than one-third of eligible elderly have participated in the FSP—a participation rate far lower than that of any other major demographic group. To address the low participation rates among the elderly, USDA is funding the Elderly Nutrition Demonstrations—six separate pilot programs that are testing three alternative ways to increase elderly participation in the FSP. This report presents the design for evaluating the six demonstrations.
CCR-5-1 209 pp March 28, 2005
This report introduces the Monthly Income Dynamics, Survey of Income and Program Participation (MID-SIPP) model, developed to simulate the effects of changes in rules on eligibility, participation, and costs in the Food Stamp Program (FSP).
CCR-24 80 pp October 4, 2006
This study—the first in-depth study of the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) since 1982—looks at how CSFP operates, who participates in it, and how it fits into the overall food assistance landscape.
CCR-48 71 pp August 29, 2008
This report examines the determinants of participation in the School Breakfast Program among third grade public school students, as well as the impacts of the program on food insecurity and children‘s risk of skipping breakfast.
CCR-54 54 pp July 16, 2009
Many low-income American Indians and Alaskan Natives residing on or near reservations may participate in either of two USDA food assistance programs: the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly called the Food Stamp Program) or the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR). This report combines findings from site visits to seven reservations that participate in FDPIR with analysis of administrative and survey data to compare the two programs with regard to eligibility, participation, administration, and possible effects on health and nutrition.
CCR-58 166 pp December 8, 2009
The effect of nutrition education—an important component of many Federal Food Assistance programs—on participants’ food consumption behavior is difficult to ascertain. This study finds that combining point-of-purchase data with State data on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is a feasible method to assess behavioral changes in WIC participants.
CCR-26 45 pp January 8, 2007
This study examines how earnings variability affects Food Stamp Program participation and how the effects differ depending on a household’s income position relative to the eligibility threshold. The study uses survey data from the Three-City Study, which is a longitudinal survey of low-income families with children living in Boston, Chicago, and San Antonio.
CCR-52 35 pp May 26, 2009