Amber Waves, May 06, 2013
Recent ERS research found that one-third of U.S. households with a working-age adult who was unable to work due to a disability were food insecure in 2009-10. Disability has emerged as one of the strongest known factors that affect a household’s food security.
ERR-147, April 24, 2013
Research has shown that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (formerly the Food Stamp Program) effectively reduces food insecurity, but questions remain about the extent to which it affects the quality of adult participants’ diets. This report compares the Healthy Eating Index scores...
EIB-109, March 15, 2013
In this report, the Economic Research Service uses preliminary data from USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) and several ERS reports to examine trends in U.S. food and nutrition assistance programs through fiscal 2012 (October 1, 2011 to September 30, 2012).
ERR-144, January 10, 2013
This report examines the effects of disabilities on household food security using newly available data on disabilities among adults from the Current Population Survey. The research considers both adults who are unable to work due to their disabilities, and adults with disabilities that do not neces...
EIB-100, September 21, 2012
This study, based on 1976-2010 data, examines the relationship between U.S. economic conditions and participation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s five largest nutrition assistance programs. It also describes how changes in program policy and other factors may have influenced this relationshi...
AP-058, September 05, 2012
This Supplement contains statistics that complement those provided in the Economic Research Report, Household Food Security in the United States in 2011 (ERR-141). The Research Report provides the primary national statistics on household food security, food spending, and use of Federal food and nutr...
ERR-141, September 05, 2012
An estimated 85.1 percent of American households were food secure throughout the entire year in 2011, meaning that they had access at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. The remaining households (14.9 percent) were food insecure at least some time during t...
Amber Waves, June 05, 2012
Adding SNAP benefits to family income reduces the poverty rate and leads to even greater reductions in depth and severity of poverty, particularly among children. The antipoverty effect of SNAP was especially strong in 2009, when the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act increased SNAP benefits lev...
ERR-132, April 09, 2012
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is one of the largest safety net programs in the United States, serving 44.7 million individuals in an average month in 2011. We used Current Population Survey data to examine the effect of SNAP on poverty from 2000 to 2009, by adding program bene...
EIB-93, March 19, 2012
This report examines trends in USDA’s food and nutrition assistance programs through fiscal 2011. It also summarizes a number of ERS research reports on WIC-related topics that were released in fiscal 2011.
Amber Waves, March 01, 2012
Declining and persistently weak economic conditions have played a major role in the SNAP's growth over the past decade, as have policy changes to SNAP that improved accessibility, expanded eligibility, and raised benefit levels.
EIB-86, November 09, 2011
This report uses data from the 2006-08 ERS Eating & Health Module of the American Time Use Survey to present an overview of Americans’ eating and other food-related time use patterns, including grocery shopping and meal preparation, and teenage time use patterns in relation to school meals. On an av...
AP-057, September 07, 2011
This Supplement provides statistics that complement those in the Economic Research Report Household Food Security in the United States in 2010 (ERR-125). The Research Report provides the primary national statistics on household food security, food spending, and use of Federal food and nutrition assi...
ERR-125, September 07, 2011
An estimated 85.5 percent of American households were food secure throughout the entire year in 2010, meaning that they had access at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. The remaining households (14.5 percent) were food insecure at least some time during t...
Amber Waves, June 13, 2011
Food spending by low-income households increased and their food security improved as a result of the increase in SNAP benefit levels authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
ERR-116, April 26, 2011
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 increased benefit levels for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program) and expanded SNAP eligibility for jobless adults without children. One goal of the program changes was to improve the food se...
AP--053, January 28, 2011
This report summarizes ERS's Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program (FANRP) activities and accomplishments in fiscal 2010, including newly awarded projects and recent publications. FANRP supports intramural and extramural research on a wide range of policy-relevant food assistance and nutrit...
AP-051, November 24, 2010
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 f...
ERR-108, November 10, 2010
Eighty-five percent of American households were food secure throughout the entire year in 2009, meaning that they had access at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. The remaining households (14.7 percent) were food insecure at least some time during the yea...
ERR-103, October 01, 2010
USDA’s Economic Research Service uses the Food Assistance National Input-Output Multiplier (FANIOM) model to represent and measure linkages between USDA’s domestic food assistance programs, agriculture, and the U.S. economy. This report describes the data sources and the underlying assumptions and s...
AP-047, April 05, 2010
The Eating & Health (EH) Module of the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) collects additional data to analyze relationships among time use patterns and eating patterns, nutrition, and obesity; food and nutrition assistance programs; and grocery shopping and meal preparation. This User’s Guide provides ...
ERR-92, February 19, 2010
In 1996, the safety net for poor households with children fundamentally changed when Federal legislation replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). This study investigates participation in, and benefits received from, AFDC/TANF and fo...
ERR-83, November 16, 2009
Eighty-five percent of American households were food secure throughout the entire year in 2008, meaning that they had access at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. The remaining households (14.6 percent) were food insecure at least some time during the yea...
ERR-85, October 29, 2009
Self-selection by more food-needy households into the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly called the Food Stamp Program) makes it difficult to observe positive effects of the program in survey data. This study investigates self-selection and ameliorative program effects by exam...
EIB-61, October 23, 2009
From 2000 to 2007, median spending on food by U.S. households declined by 12 percent relative to the (rising) cost of USDA’s Thrifty Food Plan, and by 6 percent relative to the (rising) Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Food and Beverages. Over the same period, the national prevalence of very low food ...
AP-040, September 30, 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 Economic Research Service created the program in 1998 to stimulate new and innovative research on f...
EIB-56, September 21, 2009
Eighty-four percent of U.S. households with children were food secure throughout 2007, meaning that they had consistent access to adequate food for active, healthy lives for all household members. Nearly 16 percent of households with children were food insecure sometime during the year, including 8....
EIB-46, March 24, 2009
The Food Stamp Program reduces benefits to households as their earnings rise. This reduction is affected by household participation in other Government assistance programs (cross-program effects) and by the wide variation in State-specific reduction rates for earnings in Temporary Assistance for Nee...
EIB-41, December 18, 2008
The Food Stamp Program is designed to provide low-income families with increased food purchasing power to obtain a nutritionally adequate diet. As in most other Federal Government assistance programs, benefits are adjusted in response to rising prices—in this case, rising food prices. The current me...
AP-029, July 31, 2008
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 f...
EIB-34, March 21, 2008
Results from reviewed studies indicate that for most participants in the Food Stamp Program—children, nonelderly men, and the elderly—use of food stamp benefits does not result in an increase in either Body Mass Index (BMI) or the likelihood of being overweight or obese. However, for nonelderly wome...
AP-022, January 23, 2008
The Farm Security Act of 2002, which governs Federal farm programs for 2002-07, was signed into law on May 13, 2002. This publication presents an overview of the Act and a side-by-side comparison of 1996-2001 farm legislation and the 2002 Act. For selected programs, information is provided to additi...
ERR-54, January 07, 2008
Households have a number of needs and wants that all compete for scarce resources. Given this situation, are low-income households, in particular, generally willing and able to budget for healthful foods like fruits and vegetables, or are other goods and services, including other foods, more of a pr...
MP-1598, December 06, 2007
Since 1998, Congress has provided funds to ERS to study and evaluate the Nation’s domestic food and nutrition assistance programs. ERS has become the premier source of food and nutrition assistance research in the United States, sponsoring over 600 publications on a wide range of topics related to f...
ERR-66, November 17, 2007
Eighty-nine percent of American households were food secure throughout the entire year in 2007, meaning that they had access at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. The remaining households (11.1 percent) were food insecure at least some time during the yea...
ERR-49, November 14, 2007
Eighty-nine percent of American households were food secure throughout the entire year in 2006, meaning that they had access at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. The remaining households (10.9 percent) were food insecure at least some time during the yea...
EIB-29, September 27, 2007
Food stamp recipients, like other Americans, struggle with nutrition problems associated with choice of foods, as well as amounts. This series of Economic Information Bulletins compiles evidence to help answer the question of whether the Food Stamp Program can do more to improve the food choices of ...
EIB-29-1, September 27, 2007
The increased food purchasing power offered by the Food Stamp Program can promote food security and improve the overall economic well-being of low-income households. Now, as Americans struggle with obesity and other diet-related health problems, there is interest in whether the program can be more e...
EIB-29-2, September 27, 2007
Significant regional differences in food prices affect how far food stamp benefits can go toward enhancing the diet of low-income consumers in a given region. In regions where average food prices exceed the national average, food stamp benefits may not provide the same level of coverage as the same ...
EIB-29-3, September 27, 2007
The cost of “enough food,” estimated from the amount that low- and medium-income households in a geographic area report needing to spend to just meet their food needs, differs substantially across States and among metropolitan areas. In areas with high food costs, many food-stamp recipients are like...
EIB-29-4, September 27, 2007
The Food Stamp Program provides benefits that low-income households can use to purchase food in grocery stores. The rise in obesity has raised the question of whether food stamp participants would purchase more healthy foods, such as fruits and vegetables, if food stamp benefits were higher. This re...
EIB-29-5, September 27, 2007
This brief examines how consumers respond to food prices and how consumers’ response to price influences their purchases of particular foods, using examples drawn from previous ERS research. Implications of the findings for the use of price interventions to improve food choices are considered.
EIB-29-6, September 27, 2007
The Food Stamp Nutrition Education (FSNE) component of the Food Stamp Program is intended to improve the food choices, diet quality, and health of program participants. This brief discusses the FSNE program, how it operates, and how it has grown over time. The brief also considers the challenges of ...
EIB-29-7, September 27, 2007
With obesity the most prevalent nutrition problem facing Americans at all economic levels, promoting diets that provide adequate nutrition without too many calories has become an important objective for the Food Stamp Program. Findings from behavioral economics suggest innovative, low-cost ways to i...
EIB-29-8, September 27, 2007
Currently, the effects of the Food Stamp Program on the food choices and diet quality of participants are the subject of much debate. Improved evaluation of the nutrition and health effects of the program would be of use to program and policy officials, but most of the existing research is limited b...
ERR-48, September 21, 2007
Economic Research Reports present original economic analysis, findings and implications primarily for public and private decisionmakers’ staff and researchers. This Economic Research Report analyzes multiple years of cross-sectional data to understand trends in the relationship between food assistan...
ERR-43, June 01, 2007
As obesity has come to the forefront of public health concerns, there is growing interest in finding ways to guide consumers’ food choices to be more beneficial for their long-term health. About one in five Americans participates in at least one nutrition assistance program sponsored by the U.S. Dep...
EIB-25, May 31, 2007
This Economic Information Bulletin describes characteristics of low-income households that had very low food security in 2005. The U.S. Department of Agriculture monitors the food security of low-income households to assess how effectively the Government’s domestic nutrition assistance programs meet...
ERR-40, May 04, 2007
Households participating in the Food Stamp Program are increasingly headed by a single parent or two working parents. As this trend continues, more low-income households may find it difficult to allocate the time needed to prepare meals that fit within a limited budget and meet dietary requirements....
ERR-37, February 07, 2007
In fall 2005, Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma devastated areas along much of the Gulf Coast resulting in large increases in food stamp caseloads and benefits issued. In November 2005, the number of people receiving food stamps reached a record 29.7 million, or about 4 million more participants t...
ERR-29, November 15, 2006
Eighty-nine percent of American households were food secure throughout the entire year in 2005, meaning that they had access, at all times, to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. The remaining households were food insecure at least some time during that year. The preva...
EIB-6-3, September 15, 2006
USDA expenditures for its 15 food assistance programs totaled $27.7 billion during the first half of fiscal 2006 (October 2005-March 2006), a 7-percent increase over the first half of fiscal 2005. Five programs—the Food Stamp Program; the National School Lunch Program; the Special Supplemental Nutri...
EB-8, April 20, 2006
USDA’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides supplemental foods to participants, in most cases through vouchers for retail purchase of foods designated as approved by the program. WIC food packages were initially designed to include foods rich in nutr...
AP-018, March 17, 2006
ERS's Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program accepted proposals for grants and cooperative agreements for fiscal 2006. The three priority research areas were (1) Economic Incentives in Food Assistance Programs, (2) Food Assistance as a Safety Net, and (3) Food Choices, Obesity, and Human Cap...
EIB-6-2, February 15, 2006
One in five Americans participates in at least one of USDA's food and nutrition assistance programs during the year. In fiscal 2005, an estimated 55 percent of USDA's budget supported the programs that provide children and low-income people with access to food, a healthful diet, and nutrition educat...
EIB-6-1, October 04, 2005
USDA expenditures for its 15 food assistance programs totaled $25.9 billion during the first half of fiscal 2005 (October 2004-March 2005), an 11-percent increase over the first half of fiscal 2004. Five programs—the Food Stamp Program, the National School Lunch Program, the Special Supplemental Nut...
AP-016, March 18, 2005
ERS's Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program accepted proposals for grants and cooperative agreements for fiscal 2005. The three priority research areas were (1) Strengthening Economic Incentives in Food Assistance Programs, (2) Food Assistance as a Safety Net, and (3) Food Choices, Diet Qua...
AIB-796, February 14, 2005
The five summaries in the Nutrition and Health Characteristics of Low-Income Populations series highlight key findings of the multi-volume Nutrition and Health Outcomes Study. The summaries examine the nutritional and health status of: Food Stamp Program (FSP) participants; Special Supplemental Nutr...
AIB-796-1, February 14, 2005
The Healthy Eating Index measures how well American diets conform to recommended healthy eating patterns, looking at 10 dietary components. The Nutrition and Health Characteristics of Low-Income Populations study examined the Healthy Eating Index using 1988-94 National Health and Nutrition Examinati...
AIB-796-3, February 14, 2005
The Nutrition and Health Characteristics of Low-Income Populations study examined several measures of body weight status for children and adults using 1988-94 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data. The measures provide a baseline to monitor the weight status of Americans, fo...
AIB-796-4, February 14, 2005
The Nutrition and Health Characteristics of Low-Income Populations study examined several eating behaviors for children and adults using 1988-94 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES-III) data. The measures provide a baseline to monitor eating behaviors of Americans, focusing on t...
AIB-796-5, February 14, 2005
The Nutrition and Health Characteristics of Low-Income Populations study examined several eating behaviors for children and adults using 1988-94 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES-III) data. This summary focuses on the nutritional biochemistry blood tests and bone density measu...
FANRR-26-11, February 14, 2005
This study compared consumption patterns of WIC children with those of three different comparison groups: eligible nonparticipating children living in non-WIC households, eligible nonparticipating children living in WIC households, and children living in households whose income is too high to be eli...
FANRR-44, February 14, 2005
This study compared consumption patterns of WIC children with those of three different comparison groups: eligible nonparticipating children living in non-WIC households, eligible nonparticipating children living in WIC households, and children living in households whose income is too high to be eli...
FANRR--39-2, January 03, 2005
This report develops an economic model that provides the theoretical framework for the econometric analyses presented in the report’s companion volume, WIC and the Retail Price of Infant Formula (FANRR-39-1). The model examines supermarket retail prices for infant formula in a local market area, and...
EFAN-04013, December 03, 2004
This study analyzes the relationship between Food Stamp Program (FSP) caseloads and the macroeconomy using annual State-level panel data for 1980-99. It is the first study to link the time-series properties of the data to an interpretation of public assistance program policy. A longrun relationship ...
EFAN-04014-1, December 01, 2004
Data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES-III), conducted in 1988-94, were used to compare the nutrition and health characteristics of participants and nonparticipants in the Food Stamp Program (FSP). FSP participants were compared with two groups of nonparticipant...
EFAN-04012, November 12, 2004
Quality control (QC) reviews of Food Stamp Program (FSP) cases show that error rates across States range from less than 5 percent to more than 25 percent when both overpayment and underpayment error are combined. This study uses QC data for 1997-2001 and a Markov probability framework to characteriz...
AIB-792, November 04, 2004
USDA's Food Guide Pyramid recommends 2-4 servings of fruit and 3-5 servings of vegetables daily. As a member of the 5-A-Day public-private partnership, USDA partners with other government agencies and private sector groups to promote the health benefits of fruits and vegetable. Yet consumption of th...
AP-014, March 19, 2004
ERS's Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program accepted proposals for grants and cooperative agreements for fiscal 2004. The three priority research areas were (1) Strengthening Economic Incentives in Food Assistance Programs, (2) Food Assistance as a Safety Net, and (3) Obesity, Diet Quality,...
FANRR-35, October 30, 2003
Eighty-nine percent of American households were food secure throughout the entire year 2002, meaning that they had access, at all times, to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. The remaining households were food insecure at least some time during that year. The prevalen...
AP-012, March 13, 2003
ERS's Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program accepted proposals for grants and cooperative agreements for fiscal 2003. The three priority research areas were (1) Program Design and Operations, (2) Food Assistance as a Safety Net, and (3) Obesity, Diet Quality, and Health Outcomes. This publi...
AP-011, February 24, 2003
ERS's Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program (FANRP) supports intramural and extramural research on a wide range of policy-relevant food assistance and nutrition topics. The three perennial program themes are (1) diet and nutritional outcomes, (2) food program targeting and delivery, and (3)...
FANRR-26, October 01, 2002
Nearly 1 in 6 Americans is served by 1 or more of the 15 domestic food assistance programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture at some point during the year. In 2001, food assistance programs accounted for about half of total USDA outlays. ERS's Food Assistance and Nutrition Research ...
FANRR-26-7, October 01, 2002
This issues brief examines the link between unemployment and food stamps, with an emphasis on the potential magnitude of economic and policy changes on food stamp caseloads. We find that a 1-percentage-point increase in the unemployment rate leads to about 700,000 more food stamp recipients in the f...
FANRR-26-8, October 01, 2002
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 dramatically altered the welfare system. Among the changes: work-related requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) and tighter limitations on their participation in the Food Stamp Program. The Economic ...
FANRR-26-9, October 01, 2002
The costs of USDA's three largest food assistance programs—food stamps, school means and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)—are easier to measure than the benefits of those programs. In 2000, the three programs' direct costs were $28 billion. As shown i...
FANRR-26-6, August 01, 2002
The Food Stamp Program (FSP) provides assistance to more households during recessions and to fewer households during times of economic expansion. These changes in FSP expenditures can have stabilizing effects on the economy, stimulating economic activity during recessions and slowing demand during e...
EFAN-02-013, July 01, 2002
This report provides a toolkit of standardized measurement tools for assessing various aspects of community food security. It includes a general guide to community assessment and focused materials for examining six basic assessment components related to community food security. These include guides ...
FANRR-26-3, June 03, 2002
This issue brief explains the role of the standard deduction in the food stamp benefit formula and analyzes options for changing the level of the standard deduction.
TB-1898, April 19, 2002
The economic well-being of the U.S. population with incomes below 130 percent of the official poverty guideline is of special interest to policymakers and food assistance program administrators. For example, the Food Stamp Program uses gross income below this level as one of several criteria for det...
AP-010, March 08, 2002
ERS's Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program accepted proposals for grants and cooperative agreements for fiscal 2002. The five priority research areas were (1) Program Design and Operations, (2) Food Assistance as a Safety Net, (3) Obesity, (4) Eating Patterns, Diet Quality, and Health Outc...
FANRR-21, March 01, 2002
The latest in a series of annual statistical reports on the prevalence of food security, food insecurity, and hunger in U.S. households, based on the September 2000 Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement. This year's report, in addition to statistics on food security, includes informatio...
AP-009, January 03, 2002
ERS's Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program (FANRP) supports intramural and extramural research on a wide range of policy-relevant food assistance and nutrition topics. The three perennial program themes are (1) diet and nutritional outcomes, (2) food program targeting and delivery, and (3)...
FANRR-14, April 20, 2001
This report develops an accounting tool for measuring how the average benefit amount in the U.S. Food Stamp Program is affected by each major component of the rules that determine the benefit level. This tool is used to compare the benefits received by different subpopulations, distinguished by pove...
AP-008, April 06, 2001
ERS's Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program accepted proposals for grants and cooperative agreements for fiscal 2001. The five priority research areas were (1) Workforce Attachment, Income Volatility, and Administrative Costs, (2) Food Assistance as a Safety Net, (3) Targeting High Needs Su...
AP-007, March 07, 2001
ERS's Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program (FANRP) supports intramural and extramural research on a wide range of policy-relevant food assistance and nutrition topics. The three perennial program themes are (1) diet and nutritional outcomes, (2) food program targeting and delivery, and (3)...
AP-006, March 01, 2000
ERS's Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program accepted proposals for grants and cooperative agreements for fiscal 2000. The four priority research areas were (1) Reaching Underserved Populations, (2) Food Programs as a Safety Net and Client Well-Being, (3) Child Nutrition, and (4) Behavioral ...
AP-005, January 03, 2000
ERS's Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program (FANRP) supports intramural and extramural research on a wide range of policy-relevant food assistance and nutrition topics. The three perennial program themes are (1) diet and nutritional outcomes, (2) food program targeting and delivery, and (3)...
AP-004, February 24, 1999
ERS's Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program accepted proposals for grants and cooperative agreements for fiscal 1999. The five priority research areas were (1) The Food Stamp Program as a Safety Net, (2) Better Serving the Working Poor, (3) WIC Program Research, (4) Child Nutrition Issues, ...
AP-003, November 20, 1998
ERS's Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program (FANRP) supports intramural and extramural research on a wide range of policy-relevant food assistance and nutrition topics. The three perennial program themes are (1) diet and nutritional outcomes, (2) food program targeting and delivery, and (3)...
AP-002, April 06, 1998
ERS's Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program accepted proposals for grants and cooperative agreements for fiscal 1998. The three priority research areas were (1) Dietary and Nutrition Outcomes, (2) Food Program Targeting and Delivery, (3) Program Forecasting and Budget Analysis. This publica...
AIB-729, September 01, 1996
This report provides an item-by-item description and explanation of the new Act, which will guide agricultural programs from 1996-2000. Signed into law in April, the act makes significant changes in long-standing U.S. agricultural policies. Major changes in U.S. commodity programs are included in th...