Appendix A7 FNS FY 2014 Research and Evaluation Plan

FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICE
RESEARCH AND EVALUATION PLAN – FISCAL YEAR 2014
FEBRUARY 19, 2014
CONTENTS
STRATEGIC GOAL: ALL OF AMERICA’S CHILDREN HAVE ACCESS
TO SAFE, NUTRITIOUS, AND BALANCED MEALS

IMPROVE PROGRAM ACCESS AND REDUCE HUNGER ....................................................................2
IMPROVE NUTRITION AND REDUCE OBESITY ................................................................................3
PROMOTE PROGRAM INTEGRITY AND REDUCE IMPROPER PAYMENTS........................................6
OTHER SUPPORT FOR PROGRAM MANAGEMENT AND PERFORMANCE ........................................7

Please Note: This plan is a forecast of projects FNS expects to pursue in Fiscal Year 2014, but is
subject to modification without notice based on funding availability and program priorities.

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ALL OF AMERICA’S CHILDREN HAVE ACCESS
TO SAFE, NUTRITIOUS, AND BALANCED MEALS
IMPROVE PROGRAM ACCESS AND REDUCE HUNGER
Demonstrations to End Childhood Hunger and Food Insecurity
The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (Section 141) authorized demonstrations to test
innovative strategies – including alternative models for service delivery and benefit levels – to
end child hunger and food insecurity. USDA is developing a solicitation for States and Indian
tribal organizations to propose potential projects for competitive selection. The Department is
required to conduct an independent evaluation of each demonstration using rigorous methods to
measure the impact on participation, food security, nutrition, and associated behavioral
outcomes. We will share results broadly to inform policy makers, service providers, other
partners, and the public to promote wide use of successful strategies.
Research on Causes, Characteristics, and Consequences of Childhood
Hunger and Food Insecurity
The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (Section 141) authorized a new research program on
the causes, characteristics, and consequences of childhood hunger and food insecurity, with a
focus on efforts to improve the knowledge base regarding contributing factors, geographic
distribution, programmatic effectiveness, public health and medical costs, and consequences for
child development, well-being, and educational attainment. USDA recently sponsored a
Committee on National Statistics workshop to identify topic areas and research methods with the
greatest potential. These ideas and other expert and stakeholder input will inform the
Department’s investment of these funds.
Summer EBT for Children
This project would use the remaining funds from the Summer Food for Children appropriation to
extend the demonstration in existing sites and assess the effectiveness of benefit delivery. The
project would provide EBT-based benefits in the summer of 2014 to the families of NSLP-free
and reduced price certified children in a several counties in States participating in 2013. The
evaluation would use administrative data from issuance, redemptions and school meals
applications to determine the effectiveness of benefit delivery.
Assess the Barriers that Constrain the Adequacy of SNAP Allotments
The IOM committee report SNAP: Examining the Evidence to Define Benefit Adequacy
recommended that FNS assess the individual, household, and the environmental factors that limit
adequacy of the SNAP allotment. This study would develop and implement a new data
collection to survey SNAP participants to determine these factors. The survey will include
questions about cooking skills, shopping patterns, nutritional literacy, financial literacy, time
available for preparing food, and other constraints.
Child Nutrition Program Coordination in Rural Counties with Persistent Child Poverty
Counties with persistently high levels of child poverty are likely to also experience significant
food insecurity among children. For low income families with children, school meals and other
child nutrition programs supplement household resources and SNAP benefits to provide access

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to nutritious food. However, it is unclear whether these counties are using the programs as
effectively as possible. This grant project would target two counties in each of the 15 States with
the most counties with high child poverty. Grantees would assess eligibility for and participation
in food and nutrition assistance, and the service integration and coordination of these programs
with each other and other health and social services. Using a community involvement model, the
grantee would work with representatives from each of these communities to identify barriers and
facilitators to increasing access to Federally-funded and other food and nutrition assistance
programs, and recommend improvements specific to each community.
Asset Limits and Their Impact on SNAP Participation and Financial Stability
Evidence suggests that asset limits may prevent low-income families from maintaining resources
to protect them from a financial shock or unanticipated expense. This study will examine
whether asset limits (1) keep low-income families from participating in mainstream financial
markets; (2) prevent low-income families from maintaining a buffer against major financial hits
or other income shocks, and (3) contribute to longer SNAP spells due increased financial
hardship related to a lack of assets. The first phase of the project will be a feasibility assessment
to assess the appropriateness of available data sources and determine the best methodology for
addressing the research questions. The second phase will carry out the study based on the results
of the first phase.
Assessment of Tribal Administration of Federal Nutrition Assistance Programs
The Agricultural Act of 2014 (Section 4004) provides funds for a study to determine the
feasibility of Indian Tribal Organizations (ITOs) administering Federal nutrition assistance
programs in lieu of State agencies or other administering entities. The study will determine
which programs, services, functions, and activities it is feasible for ITOs to administer. The
study will also determine whether statutory or regulatory changes would be necessary to allow
for the change in administration.
Examination of Cash Nutrition Assistance Program Benefits in Puerto Rico
Currently 25 percent of a household’s allotment of Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in
Puerto Rico is provided in the form of cash. The Agricultural Act of 2014 contains a provision
(Section 4025) that over a 5-year period transitions the cash portion of the benefit to electronic
benefit transfer by 2021. The Act also provides funds to carry out a review of the history,
purpose, and usage of the cash portion of the benefit. The study is also to include an assessment
of the potential adverse effects of discontinuation of cash benefits for both program participants
and retailers.
Assessment of Nutrition Assistance Program Administration in the Commonwealth of
Northern Mariana Islands
The Agricultural Act of 2014 (Section 4031) provides funds to assess the capabilities of CNMI
to operate the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in a similar manner to State
agencies and to assess alternative models of SNAP operation and benefit delivery to best meet
the nutrition assistance needs of CNMI. The study is to include assessments of CNMI’s ability
to fulfill the responsibilities of a State agency as defined in the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 in
regards to certifying eligible households, issuing benefits through electronic benefit transfer,
maintaining program integrity including operation of a quality control system, implementing

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work requirements including operation of an employment and training program, and paying a
share of administrative costs with non-Federal funds.
IMPROVE NUTRITION AND REDUCE OBESITY
Annual Assessment of Changes in Local Wellness Policies and Competitive Foods Practices
Federal policymakers and child nutrition program managers need up-to-date information on
changes in school local wellness policies and competitive foods practices. States, local
education agencies, academic institutions and other stakeholders are interested in tracking such
changes; a partnership in this effort has the potential to provide consistent reporting at a reduced
cost. This grant would enable FNS to serve as the Federal coordinating point for funds from
FNS and other Federal partners in the National Collaborative on Child Obesity Research
(NCCOR) into a consolidated grant to support annual assessment and reporting by an
independent academic institution. The base grant amount would support three years of core
measures of interest to FNS. Contributions from other NCCOR partners would fund modules of
specific interest to them, such as assessment of local wellness policies on physical activity.
Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs (BEN)
This funding will support an additional year of FNS and ERS’s continuing partnership with
Cornell University’s Behavioral Economics in Nutrition (BEN) Center, the leading research
organization examining the impact of behavioral economics principles on students’ choices in
school lunchrooms. The Center’s “Smarter Lunchroom” strategies are affecting important
changes in school cafeterias nationwide. The Center is also examining plate waste in school
lunch programs. This year’s funding will support a special focus on expanding the adoption of
Smarter Lunchroom strategies broadly among NSLP schools.
USDA Center for WIC Nutrition Education Innovations
In 2012, FNS established the USDA Center for WIC Nutrition Education Innovations via a
competitive grant to Baylor University. This Center provides competitive sub-grants for
innovative research on effective WIC nutrition education and promotes delivery of science-based
quality nutrition services in WIC. This second round of funding supports the continued work of
this Center and additional innovative sub-grants with a focus on preventing development of child
overweight and obesity.
WIC Food Package Contents Study
In 2011, FNS published a report on the choices each WIC State agency had made in 2009 in
exercising the flexibilities allowed under the new WIC food packages. Since this early
implementation, States have made numerous adjustments to their policy choices. This study
would update the previous study with an examination of which foods States offer in their food
packages after 5 years of experience with the new food packages.
USDA Foods Healthy Eating Index Update
In 2012, FNS published the report "Nutrient and MyPyramid Analysis of USDA Foods in Five
of Its Food and Nutrition Programs" which includes assessment of NSLP and other USDA Foods
using the CNPP's Healthy Eating Index 2005. Since this analysis was completed, CNPP has
updated to the Healthy Eating Index 2010 (HEI-2010). This report will provided updated

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information on USDA Foods using the HEI-2010, and allow for testing to determine the impact
of potential changes in USDA Foods on the HEI-2010 score.
FNS-ARS Collaboration on School Meals Nutrient Analysis
This project will support a thorough nutrition analysis of school foods in the School Nutrition
and Meal Cost Study. The Food Surveys Research Group of the Agricultural Research Service
will provide nutritional information for 250 new foods identified in the study but not found in
existing data bases.
Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program Pilot to Include Canned, Frozen and Dried
Fruits and Vegetables
Section 4214 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 directed the Food and Nutrition Service to
implement and evaluate a pilot in at least five States, expanding the scope of the Fresh Fruit and
Vegetable Program (FFVP). Currently, FFVP only allows participating schools to serve fresh
produce. The pilot would allow schools to add canned, frozen, or dried fruits and vegetables to
the items they offer. The evaluation of the pilot would consider its impact on fruit and vegetable
consumption, participation, implementation strategies at the schools, and stakeholders’
perceptions of the program. The legislation directs that the pilot should be implemented in
School Year 2014-2015, and that an interim report be published by January 1, 2015, and a final
report be published at the end of the pilot.
IMPROVE PROGRAM INTEGRITY AND REDUCE IMPROPER PAYMENTS
Improper Payments in CACFP Centers
This study will provide a comprehensive measure of the level of erroneous payments (dollars and
rates) to child care centers and center sponsors participating in CACFP. It builds on the methods
developed for school meals in the Access, Participation, Eligibility and Certification (APEC)
study series. Estimates will be designed to meet the measurement requirements of the Improper
Payments Elimination and Recovery Act (IPERA) of 2010. The findings from this study would
complement the annual measure of reimbursement “tiering” errors in family day care homes for
IPERA reporting on CACFP.
CACFP Family Day Care Homes Meal Claims Feasibility Study
The study would examine ways to provide a measure of erroneous payments to family day care
homes (FDCH) FDCHs participating in CACFP. Different methods of estimating improper
payments and their rates will be developed and a feasibility study will be conducted in an effort
to determine the best means to meet requirements under the Improper Payments Elimination and
Recovery Act (IPERA) of 2010.
Developing Recommendations for Scoring SNAP Retailer Applications
FNS is considering changes to SNAP retailer authorization requirements to ensure that the
profile of authorized retailers provides program participants with access to healthful foods while
also protecting program integrity. This project would review data available to FNS at the time of
retailer application to identify tools and strategies to evaluate applications and inform choices
about which retailers would best further the purposes of the program. The project will design
one or more options for scoring retailer applications, assess thresholds for approval of retailer

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applications given program objectives, and assess potential impacts that implementation of
scoring systems would have on the SNAP food retail environments, both in terms of availability
of healthful choices and food access.
Regional Office Review of Applications (RORA)
This project reviews a national sample of NSLP applications collected annually by FNS regional
offices to determine the extent of administrative error in the local process of approving
applications for free and reduced-price school meals. These error rates are reported to comply
with the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act (IPERA) of 2010.
Child and Adult Care Food Program Tiering Error Measurements
This project supports IPERA requirements by collecting and analyzing nationally-representative
data on the accuracy of child care sponsor determinations of reimbursement rates (“tiers”) for
family day care home providers in 2014. A report of findings will include the 2014 annual
measure and comparison to prior years.
Methods for State-Specific Rates of NSLP/SBP Erroneous Payments
The FNS-sponsored Access, Participation, Eligibility and Certification Study-2 (APEC-2)
includes a follow-on report that will provide statistically-derived State-level estimates of school
meals erroneous payments. However, while the APEC-2 can provide a rough indicator of
relative risk for groups of States (e.g., higher than average, about average, lower than average), it
is not a State-representative direct measure, and creating actual annual measures of such
erroneous payments at the State level using APEC methodology is cost-prohibitive. This project
will explore alternative approaches to developing measurement-based State-specific estimates
that are responsive to year-to-year changes in the actual underlying rate in each State. It will
provide cost and burden estimates for the implementation of each of these methods.
WIC Vendor Error Aging for IPERA Reporting
This project funds the annual aging of data on erroneous WIC vendor payments for reporting in
the USDA financial reports. It helps fulfill the requirements of the Improper Payments
Elimination and Recovery Act (IPERA) of 2010. Data from a study of vendor payments in 2012
are adjusted using administrative reports of findings from covert compliance purchases at WIC
vendors conducted on an ongoing basis by State WIC agencies.
OTHER SUPPORT FOR PROGRAM MANAGEMENT AND PERFORMANCE
Measuring SNAP Access, Trends and Impacts (Microsimulation)
This on-going project supports several key analytic tools and analyses to address SNAP
participation trends and impacts; generates annual reports on the characteristics, participation
rates and patterns of participation; and supports the Agency’s capacity to assess cost and
distributional impacts of proposed changes to SNAP and other nutrition assistance programs.
Review of Child Nutrition Data and Analysis for Program Management
The current routine data collection requirements for the child nutrition programs have their roots
in the paper and early computer eras and reflect concerns with paperwork and reporting burden.
In many cases, data collected at the service delivery point (e.g., school or child care provider) are

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aggregated at one or more level before reporting to FNS as State data, resulting in a significant
loss of potentially valuable information along the way. Some States/school districts have
developed more sophisticated systems; however, there is no comprehensive approach to utilizing
program data timely and effectively for program oversight and management improvement at the
Federal, State and local levels. This project would provide for a comprehensive assessment of
the FNS child nutrition management information needs and make recommendations for
information system improvements, as well as identify the reporting and recordkeeping
requirements and costs needed to support such improvements.
Updating the WIC Participant Characteristics (PC) Reporting System
This project will form and support a task force of subject matter experts to examine WIC data
and analysis needs and develop potential improvements. Recent changes in WIC have
highlighted the need to ensure that FNS and its partners have the information necessary for
effective program management, performance assessment and monitoring. In addition, the
closure two years ago of CDC’s Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance System, which complemented
WIC PC, left an important information gap. This task force will examine what data are currently
available to States, what FNS collects through PC and other resources, and recommend possible
modifications to PC data collection timing, data elements, analyses and reporting, along with
other opportunities for using and analyzing data to further the program’s management, health and
nutrition goals, without unnecessary burden.
Cost Dynamics of USDA Foods Usage in School Meals
This project will provide an examination of how USDA Foods impact USDA school meal
program costs. While recent study data shows that USDA Foods represent 10 to 15 percent of
the total cost of food acquisitions in the National School Lunch Program, these data reflect the
nominal Federal cost of these foods. They do not include costs associated with the processing of
USDA Foods into products more useable by the school district. This study would examine the
true value of USDA Foods to schools, and how this varies based on factors such as State
policies, school district size, meal participation rates, urbanicity/rurality, participation in buying
cooperatives and State of origin of the food item. The information may help to identify potential
changes to the procurement and distribution process that could make the use of USDA Foods
more cost-efficient for schools.
Analysis of FY 2013 SNAP Employment and Training (E&T) State Plans and Program
Data for All States
The purpose of this project is to assess the availability of the data to examine the reach and the
scope of SNAP E&T programs implemented by the States, in order to facilitate monitoring of
E&T services and develop guidance for best practices. The analysis will use State E&T plans for
FY13, program activity report data for FY13, and expenditure data. It will assess how well
planned participation levels and program costs align with results, how costs vary by program
type, and whether additional data collected by the program could inform program performance.
Direct Certification in the National School Lunch Program: Report to Congress
This supports the statutorily required annual report to Congress on the effectiveness of State and
local efforts to directly certify SNAP participant children for free school meals. The measures
developed for this report are used by USDA to make performance awards to States with high

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direct certification rates or substantial improvement in their rates, and to identify States whose
performance falls below statutory thresholds and are required to develop and implement
continuous improvement plans. The school year 2013-2014 report will be the first to use State
reported data from new and revised forms intended to improve the report’s estimates of direct
certification performance.
Pricing Behavior of WIC Participants
WIC participants have little incentive to pay attention to the price of products on their food
instrument. This study will provide a white paper based on consultations with experts that
explores methods States could consider to incentivize WIC clients to be more conscious of the
prices charged for WIC foods. In addition to identifying opportunities, it will describe the
challenges that would be faced in implementing these price sensitizing changes.
FDPIR Regional Vendor Pilot Evaluation
This operational pilot began to collect administrative data earlier this year. This project will
analyze the data to examine whether the new distribution method produced cost savings over the
regular distribution method.
Special Nutrition Quick Response Surveys
This blanket purchase agreement will be used to support development, pretesting, OMB
approval, fielding, analysis and reporting of small, fast-turnaround data collections. This
functionality will enable FNS to produce short, limited-topic analyses and memoranda or short
reports to answer key questions about the program, further understanding of issues, facilitate
decision-making for policy concerns and provide information for regulatory impact analyses.
WIC Quick Response Surveys
This project will support development and testing of a questionnaire, OMB clearance, and rapid
data collection, analysis and reporting on a limited number of topics of pressing policy interest in
FY2014.
CN Program Analytic Support
This provides additional funds for an existing contract to support a variety of small-scale data
collections and quick turnaround analyses to support legislative, budget and policy development.
Analyses to be conducted could include analysis of the School Food Purchase Study data set
focused on USDA Foods.
WIC Program Analytic Support
This project adds funds to an existing contract to prepare estimates for WIC eligible populations
used in the program’s funding formula, as well as a variety of quick turnaround analyses to
support legislative, budget and policy development. It may also be used to support small-scale
data collections such as periodic determination of the State average redemption rate for WIC
cash value vouchers for fruits and vegetables.

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