Food Stamp Program: How Well Is It Working

{Contents:] Background --- How Do Food Stamp Shoppers Use Their Stamps? --- What Is the Economic Impact of Food Stamps? --- Evidence of Better Health

Implications of Restricting the Use of Food Stamp Benefits

By most standards, almost all American diets are in need of improvement, and obesity has emerged as the Nation’s most pressing health and nutrition issue. Because of concerns about poor diet, overweight, and obesity among low-income Americans, there is considerable interest in using Federal nutrition assistance programs to promote healthy choices. Some argue that food stamp recipients should be prohibited from using their benefits to buy foods with limited nutritional value (commonly described as “junk” foods). The Food Stamp Act currently places few limits on the use of food stamp benefits, as long as they are used to buy food to eat at home. The idea of restricting the use of food stamp benefits may be appealing on its face. However, upon closer examination, serious concerns emerge regarding the feasibility and rationale for the proposed restriction

Food Assistance Programs

Food Program Facts [on]: Food Stamp Program --- National School Lunch Program --- The School Breakfast Program --- The Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) --- Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) --- The Nutrition Assistance Programs in Puerto Rico and the Northern Marianas --- The Child and Adult Care Food Program --- The Summer Food Service Program --- The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) --- The Special Milk Program --- The Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) --- Nutrition Program for the Elderly (NPE) --- The Food Distribution Program for Charitable Institutions --- USDA’s Commodity Donation Programs

Evaluating the Nutrition and Health Benefits of the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children

Excerpt from the report Summary: An Advisory Committee on Nutrition Evaluation was established pursuant to Public Law 94-105 to determine how best to evaluate the health benefits of the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC Program). The Committee consists of 12 members representing various health care professions. In this report, nutrition evaluations performed in the United States, which may have application to future evaluations of the WIC Program, are summarized. Information derived from these previous evaluations was used in the development of the four proposed evaluations of the WIC Program which the Committee presents in this report. Recommendations on how best to evaluate the WIC Program are also made

An Examination of an Alternative WIC Food Cost Inflation Index – Final Report to Congress

Excerpts from the Introduction: The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) attempted to develop a new inflation index to consider for use in the funding formula used to allocate food funds to States in the Special Supplemental Program for Women, Infants, and Children, commonly known as the WIC Program. In 1990, in response to a large and unanticipated rise in food costs, FNS began developing the index with the goal to better project inflationary trends in the WIC Program. Later that year, in the language accompanying the FY 1991 WIC appropriation, Congress directed FNS to "develop an inflation index for use in adjusting the WIC allocations based upon foods that are prescribed for use in the WIC food package." The index was developed by USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS) with assistance from the Office of Analysis and Evaluation, FNS and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the U. S. Department of Labor. The index was developed to determine if it could eventually replace the Thrifty Food Plan Index in the WIC funding formula used to allocate WIC grants to states and potentially to develop WIC budget and participation estimates and to monitor WIC food costs. This paper presents the index model, discusses issues related to its use, and includes recommendations regarding the use of the WIC index

Let Them Eat Lunch: The Impact of Universal Free Meals on Student Performance

Children need healthy and balanced meals to perform well in school. Universal Free Meal programs improve English and Math test scores and may even reduce obesity among middle school students. District and school leaders nationwide should consider adopting this program

Children\u27s Consumption of Fruits and Vegetables: Do School Environment and Policies Affect Choices at School and Away from School?

School environment and policies may affect children\u27s ability to make healthy food choices both at and away from school. Using data from the third School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study conducted in 2005 we estimate the effect of environment and policies on children\u27s fruit and vegetable intakes. We use an instrumental variable approach to control for the endogeneity of participation in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). On an average school day, school lunch participants consume more fruits and vegetables, including relatively more at school and less away from school compared to nonparticipants. Meal policies had little effect on NSLP participation itself. Policies that restrict high fat milks or desserts and restrict the sale of competitive foods are associated with greater fruit and/or vegetable intake at school; some policies affected consumption at home as well

Dietary diversity score is a useful indicator of micronutrient intake in non-breastfeeding Filippino children

Micronutrient malnutrition remains a problem of public health concern in most developing countries, partly due to monotonous, cereal-based diets that lack diversity. The study objective was to assess whether dietary diversity score (DDS) based on a simple count of food groups consumed and DDS using a 10-g minimum intake for each food group (DDS 10g) are good indicators of adequate micronutrient intake in 24–71-mo-old non-breast-feeding Filipino children. Pearson’s correlation and linear regression were used to assess the utility of DDS and DDS 10g as indicators of micronutrient intake. Sensitivity and specificity analysis were used to determine the most appropriate cut-off point for using DDS to categorize children with high probability of adequate micronutrient intake. The average diet of the sample population consisted of 4–5 food groups. The mean probability of adequate nutrient intake (MPA) of 11 micronutrients was 33%. The Pearson’s correlation coefficient between MPA and DDS was 0.36 (P , 0.001) and for DDS 10g it increased to 0.44 (P , 0.001). Intake of individual micronutrients was correlated to DDS for most nutrients. When maximizing sensitivity and specificity, the best cut-off points for achieving 50 and 75% probability of adequate micronutrient intake were 5 and 6 food groups, respectively. DDS and DDS 10g were both significant predictors of adequate micronutrient intake. This study demonstrates the utility of indicators of dietary diversity to predict adequate intake of micronutrients in the diets of young non-breast-feeding childre

Did Revisions to the WIC Program Affect Household Expenditures on Whole Grains?

The food packages provided by the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program changed in 2009. This article examines purchases of whole grain products before and after the change. Nielsen Homescan panel data from 2008 to 2010 provide information on households’ food purchases, demographics, and self-reported WIC participation status. We estimate the effect of WIC participation and the 2009 package change on whole grains purchases using a difference-in-difference method, and find that participation in the WIC program was associated with more whole grain purchases during the observed period; the package change in 2009 roughly doubled the associated effect of WIC participation on the purchases of whole grain products. These results are consistent with recommendations in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and suggest that moderate innovations in the design of food assistance programs can lead to beneficial dietary choices