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The Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program (FANRP)
at ERS addresses research issues associated with the Nation’s
food assistance and nutrition programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—SNAP (formerly the
Food Stamp Program); the Special Supplemental Nutrition
Program for Woman, Infants, and Children (WIC); and the
Child Nutrition Programs. FANRP’s research is designed
to meet critical needs of USDA, Congress, program managers
and participants, the research community, and the public
at large. Our goal is a high-quality, multidisciplinary
program that supports “Economic Research for a Healthy,
Well-Nourished America.”
For an overview of FANRP activities during the year, see Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program, Final Report: Fiscal 2008 Activities.
FANRP research is conducted both within ERS and outside
of ERS. Internal research uses ERS’s research capital
and specialized knowledge base. Extramural research, often
conducted jointly with ERS staff, draws upon the multidisciplinary
expertise of outside researchers and the resources of
numerous institutions and universities across the country.
See the ERS electronic database of peer-reviewed reports
and articles based on FANRP-supported research published
at ERS and elsewhere.
FANRP uses a variety of funding mechanisms in its extramural
programs:
- Contracts are used when a very specific product
is required, such as collection of data.
- Competitive
grants and cooperative agreements are used when the
intent is to stimulate new and innovative research or
to undertake projects conducted jointly with ERS researchers.
- Interagency agreements are used to enhance food
assistance data development through cost-sharing partnerships
and to fund cooperative interagency research on program
interactions and policy issues. See the ERS elecontric database of projects:
FANRP also supports extramural research through the RIDGE Program which seeks to:
- stimulate new and innovative research on food assistance and nutrition issues
- broaden the participation of social science scholars in these issues. See the ERS electronic database of RIDGE Projects and Summaries.
Research Themes
FANRP recognizes the importance of adopting a multi-program
view rather than restricting research to an individual
program-by-program approach; for example, cross-program
interactions between SNAP/FSP, Temporary Assistance
for Needy Families (TANF), and Medicaid are important.
FANRP’s research is less targeted to specific operational
details of programs. Instead, research is oriented more
toward core policy issues, such as the overall success
of the package of food assistance and nutrition programs
in terms of diet and health outcomes, program coverage,
gaps and overlap between programs, and outcome-based performance
for the target population.
The three overarching themes of FANRP are:
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Program Outcomes and Economic Well-Being of Participants—Studies how the
programs influence economic well-being and enhance access to and choices of palatable,
nutritious, and healthy diets.
-
Program Access and Economic Determinations of Participation—Gauges the
success of programs aimed at needy, at-risk population
groups and examines program gaps and overlaps; differences
between rural and urban delivery; outreach; waste,
fraud, and abuse; commodity procurement and distribution;
public and private partnerships; and alternative ways
to deliver benefits.
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Program Dynamics and Efficiency—Focuses
on how program needs change with local labor market
conditions, economic growth, recession, and inflation
in food prices and the general economy, and how changing
State welfare programs interact with food and nutrition
programs.
Within these general themes, the topic areas for upcoming
research are determined annually. ERS holds annual priority-identification
conferences to listen
to the interests and concerns of many experts and to help
establish topic areas for upcoming research.
The priority research areas for fiscal 2008 were:
- Food Choices: Economic Determinants and Consequences
- Economic Incentives in Food Assistance Programs
- Food Assistance as an Economic Safety Net
The competitive
grants and cooperative agreements for the year incorporate
the above research areas, supplemented by the RIDGE
Program with its site-specific research agendas.
FANRP Activities
FANRP funds a portfolio of extramural research, including
grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts that are
competitively awarded through a tightly run peer review
process. The publication
Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program, Final
Report: Fiscal 2008 Activities provides an overview
of FANRP's research themes, principles,
publications, and activities and describes the objectives
of individual research projects.
Studies conducted by ERS staff are an integral part of
the FANRP program. An internal study can have rapid turnaround
from project conception to delivery and monitor sensitive
policy issues. Interagency agreements and cooperative
agreements enable ERS staff to supplement their own expertise
with the knowledge and resources of other government agencies
and academic institutions. The diverse backgrounds of
ERS staff enable the agency to adopt interdisciplinary
or discipline-specific approaches, as warranted by each
research topic.
A key objective of FANRP is supporting research that provides policymakers with information to improve food assistance programs. FANRP has conducted a number of congressionally mandated studies. For example, in fiscal 2008, Congress asked USDA to study food deserts—areas with limited access to affordable and nutritious foods, particularly low-income communities. This one-year study will provide a national assessment of the size, scope and characteristics of areas with limited access to affordable and nutritious food, consider the causes and public health consequences of such areas, and highlight policy options for reducing the effects of living in such areas. A report will be published in summer 2009.
Program Principles
The program principles upon which FANRP is built ensure
the reliability and usefulness of the research.
- Research that meets the needs of all stakeholders—program
participants, USDA, Congress, and the public.
- Integrated, comprehensive program that conducts research
in the broader context of current and future economic
and social environments.
- Broad array of public and private entities directly
involved in research, evaluation, and review efforts.
- Integration of ERS staff expertise in the development,
implementation, and accomplishment of research projects.
- Scientifically rigorous studies and evaluations with
verifiable and unbiased results.
- Rigorous internal and external review of research
results.
- Public availability of data.
- Wide distribution of research findings.
- Development and maintenance of continuous data sets.
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