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Food Assistance and Nutrition Program Outcomes: Recommended Readings


Overview Background Recommended Readings Recommended Data Recent Research Developments Recommended Links Charts


Food Stamps and Obesity: What We Know and What It Means

This page lists key publications:

Recent Highlights
Health and Nutrition Outcomes
Food Security and Food Insufficiency Outcomes
Economic Well-Being Outcomes
Other Outcomes

Recent Highlights

Nutrient Adequacy of Children Participating in WIC—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 nutrients that were lacking in the diets of low-income participants. This brief summarizes two recent ERS-sponsored studies that provide new assessments of nutrient intakes of WIC children, income-eligible children not participating in the program, and children ineligible for the program. (April 2006)

Food Stamps and Obesity: Ironic Twist or Complex Puzzle?—This article examines the relationship between Food Stamp Program participation and body weight. In contrast to earlier years, recent data show that women who receive food stamps are no more likely to be overweight or obese than eligible nonparticipating women or those with low to moderate incomes. The relationship between program participation and weight is also examined by age, sex, race, and ethnicity. (February 2006)

Issues in Food Assistance-Effects of WIC Participation on Children's Food Consumption—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 with income too high to be eligible for WIC. The study provides strong evidence that participation in the WIC program increases consumption of at least some types of WIC-approved foods. (February 2005)

Effects of Food Assistance and Nutrition Programs on Nutrition and Health: Volume 4, Executive Summary of the Literature Review—This report provides a comprehensive review and synthesis of published research on the impact of USDA's domestic food assistance and nutrition programs on participants' nutrition and health outcomes. The outcome measures reviewed include food expenditures, household nutrient availability, dietary intake, other measures of nutrition status, food security, birth outcomes, breastfeeding behaviors, immunization rates, use and cost of health care services, and selected nonhealth outcomes, such as academic achievement and school performance (children) and social isolation (elderly). The report is one of four volumes produced by a larger study that includes Research Design (Volume 1), Data Sources (Volume 2), and Literature Review (Volume 3). (December 2004)

Image of 3 children eating apples with their teacher

The USDA Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program Evaluation—The Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program for the 2002-03 school year provided fresh and dried fruits and fresh vegetables free to children in 107 elementary and secondary schools—100 schools in 4 States (25 each in Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, and Ohio) and 7 schools in the Zuni Indian Tribal Organization in New Mexico. The pilot was popular among most students, parents, school teachers, principals, pilot managers, foodservice staff, and State representatives. Schools reported that 80 percent of students were very interested in the pilot and 18 percent were somewhat interested; 71 percent of the schools believed that students’ interest had increased during the pilot period. (November 2004)