Appendix - D Food And Nutrition Act Of 2008 Enacted 122018v2

Appendix – D: Food And Nutrition Act of 2008 Enacted 12202018 for SNAP Studies and Evaluations-Section 17
[7 U.S.C. 2026]

FOOD AND NUTRITION ACT OF 2008
[As Amended Through P.L. 115–334, Enacted December 20, 2018]
øCurrency: This publication is a compilation of the text of Public Law 88-525. It was
last amended by the public law listed in the As Amended Through note above and
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øNote: While this publication does not represent an official version of any Federal
statute, substantial efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of its contents.
The official version of Federal law is found in the United States Statutes at Large
and in the United States Code. The legal effect to be given to the Statutes at
Large and the United States Code is established by statute (1 U.S.C. 112, 204).¿
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1
Sec. 1. 2011 note Short title.
Sec. 2. 2011 Declaration of policy.
Sec. 3. 2012 Definitions.
Sec. 4. 2013 Establishment of the supplemental nutrition assistance program.
Sec. 5. 2014 Eligible households.
Sec. 6. 2015 Eligibility disqualifications.
Sec. 7. 2016 Issuance and use of program benefits.
Sec. 8. 2017 Value of allotment.
Sec. 9. 2018 Approval of retail food stores and wholesale food concerns.
Sec. 10. 2019 Redemption of program benefits.
Sec. 11. 2020 Administration.
Sec. 12. 2021 Civil penalties and disqualification of retail food stores and wholesale food concerns.
Sec. 13. 2022 Collection and disposition of claims.
Sec. 14. 2023 Administrative and judicial review.
Sec. 15. 2024 Violations and enforcement.
Sec. 16. 2025 Administrative cost-sharing and quality control.
Sec. 17. 2026 Research, demonstration, and evaluations.
Sec. 18. 2027 Authorization for appropriations.
Sec. 19. 2028 Consolidated block grants for Puerto Rico and American Samoa.
Sec. 20. 2029 Workfare.
Sec. 22. 2031 Minnesota Family Investment Project.
Sec. 23. 2032 Automated data processing and information retrieval systems.
Sec. 25. 2034 Assistance for community food projects.
Sec. 26. 2035 Simplified supplemental nutrition assistance program.
Sec. 27. 2036 Availability of commodities for the emergency food assistance program.
Sec. 28. 2036a Nutrition education and obesity prevention grant program.
Sec. 29. 2036b Retail food store and recipient trafficking.
Sec. 30. 2036d Pilot projects to encourage the use of public-private partnerships
committed to addressing food insecurity.

1 This

table of contents is not part of the Act but is included for user convenience. The
numbers in brackets refer to section numbers in title 7, United States Code.

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As Amended Through P.L. 115-334, Enacted December 20, 2018

The Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agri- culture of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Ag- riculture,
Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate an interim report on the
results of such study no later than February 1, 1984, and a final
report on the results of such study no later than March 1, 1985.
(c) In order to encourage States to plan, design, develop, and
implement a system for making supplemental nutrition assistance
program benefits available through the use of intelligent benefit
cards or other automated or electronic benefit delivery systems, the
Secretary may conduct one or more pilot or experimental projects,
subject to the restrictions imposed by subsection (b)(1) and section
7(f)(2), designed to test whether the use of such cards or systems
can enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of program operations
while ensuring that individuals receive correct benefit amounts on
a timely basis. Intelligent benefit cards developed under such a
demonstration project shall contain information, encoded on a computer chip embedded in a credit card medium, including the eligibility of the individual and the amount of benefits to which such
individual is entitled. Any other automated or electronic benefit delivery system developed under such a demonstration project shall
be able to use a plastic card to access such information from a data
file.
(d) In order to assess the effectiveness of the employment and
training programs established under section 6(d) in placing individuals into the work force and withdrawing such individuals from the
supplemental nutrition assistance program, the Secretary is authorized to carry out studies comparing the pre- and post-program
labor force participation, wage rates, family income, level of receipt
of supplemental nutrition assistance program and other transfer
payments, and other relevant information, for samples of participants in such employment and training programs as compared to
the appropriate control or comparison groups that did not participate in such programs. Such studies shall, to the maximum extent
possible—
(1) collect such data for up to 3 years after the individual
has completed the employment and training program; and
(2) yield results that can be generalized to the national
program as a whole.
The results of such studies and reports shall be considered in developing or updating the performance standards required under
section 6.
(e) The Secretary shall conduct a sufficient number of demonstration projects to evaluate the effects, in both rural and urban
areas, of including in financial resources under section 5(g) the fair
market value of licensed vehicles to the extent the value of each
vehicle exceeds $4,500, but excluding the value of—
(1) any licensed vehicle that is used to produce earned income, necessary for transportation of an elderly or physically
disabled household member, or used as the household’s home;
and

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(2) one licensed vehicle used to obtain, continue, or seek
employment (including travel to and from work), used to pursue employment-related education or training, or used to secure food or the benefits of the supplemental nutrition assistance program.
(f) The Secretary shall conduct, under such terms and conditions as the Secretary shall prescribe, for a period not to exceed 4
years, projects to test allowing not more than 11,000 eligible households, in the aggregate, to accumulate resources up to $10,000 each
(which shall be excluded from consideration as a resource) for later
expenditure for a purpose directly related to improving the education, training, or employability (including self-employment) of
household members, for the purchase of a home for the household,
for a change of the household’s residence, or for making major repairs to the household’s home.
(g) The Secretary shall use up to $4,000,000 of the funds provided in advance in appropriations Acts for projects authorized by
this section to conduct demonstration projects in which State or
local supplemental nutrition assistance program agencies test innovative ideas for working with State or local law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute benefit trafficking.
(h) PILOT PROJECTS TO EVALUATE HEALTH AND NUTRITION
PROMOTION IN THE SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out, under
such terms and conditions as the Secretary considers to be appropriate, pilot projects to develop and test methods—
(A) of using the supplemental nutrition assistance program to improve the dietary and health status of households eligible for or participating in the supplemental nutrition assistance program; and
(B) to reduce overweight, obesity (including childhood
obesity), and associated co-morbidities in the
United
States.
(2) GRANTS.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this subsection, the
Secretary may enter into competitively awarded contracts
or cooperative agreements with, or provide grants to, public or private organizations or agencies (as defined by the
Secretary), for use in accordance with projects that meet
the strategy goals of this subsection.
(B) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a contract,
cooperative agreement, or grant under this paragraph, an
organization shall submit to the Secretary an application
at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require.
(C) SELECTION CRITERIA.—Pilot projects shall be evaluated against publicly disseminated criteria that may include—
(i) identification of a low-income target audience
that corresponds to individuals living in households
with incomes at or below 185 percent of the poverty
level;
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(ii) incorporation of a scientifically based strategy
that is designed to improve diet quality through more
healthful food purchases, preparation, or consumption;
(iii) a commitment to a pilot project that allows for
a rigorous outcome evaluation, including data collection;
(iv) strategies to improve the nutritional value of
food served during school hours and during afterschool hours;
(v) innovative ways to provide significant improvement to the health and wellness of children;
(vi) other criteria, as determined by the Secretary.
(D) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds provided under this paragraph shall not be used for any project that limits the use
of benefits under this Act.
(3) PROJECTS.—Pilot projects carried out under paragraph
(1) may include projects to determine whether healthier food
purchases by and healthier diets among households participating in the supplemental nutrition assistance program result
from projects that—
(A) increase the supplemental nutrition assistance
purchasing power of the participating households by providing increased supplemental nutrition assistance program benefit allotments to the participating households;
(B) increase access to farmers markets by participating households through the electronic redemption of
supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits at
farmers’ markets;
(C) provide incentives to authorized supplemental nutrition assistance program retailers to increase the availability of healthy foods to participating households;
(D) subject authorized supplemental nutrition assistance program retailers to stricter retailer requirements
with respect to carrying and stocking healthful foods;
(E) provide incentives at the point of purchase to encourage households participating in the supplemental nutrition assistance program to purchase fruits, vegetables,
or other healthful foods; or
(F) provide to participating households integrated communication and education programs, including the provision of funding for a portion of a school-based nutrition coordinator to implement a broad nutrition action plan and
parent nutrition education programs in
elementary
schools, separately or in combination with pilot projects
carried out under subparagraphs (A) through (E).
(4) EVALUATION AND REPORTING.—
(A) EVALUATION.—
(i) INDEPENDENT EVALUATION.—
(I) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide
for an independent evaluation of projects selected
under this subsection that measures the impact of
the pilot program on health and nutrition as described in paragraph (1).
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(II) REQUIREMENT.—The independent evaluation under subclause (I) shall use rigorous methodologies, particularly random assignment or
other methods that are capable of producing scientifically valid information regarding which activities are effective.
(ii) COSTS.—The Secretary may use funds provided to carry out this section to pay costs associated
with monitoring and evaluating each pilot project.
(B) REPORTING.—Not later than 90 days after the last
day of fiscal year 2009 and each fiscal year thereafter until
the completion of the last evaluation under subparagraph
(A), the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report that includes a description of—
(i) the status of each pilot project;
(ii) the results of the evaluation completed during
the previous fiscal year; and
(iii) to the maximum extent practicable—
(I) the impact of the pilot project on appropriate health, nutrition, and associated behavioral
outcomes among households participating in the
pilot project;
(II) baseline information relevant to the stated goals and desired outcomes of the pilot project;
and
(III) equivalent information about similar or
identical measures among control or comparison
groups that did not participate in the pilot project.
(C) PUBLIC DISSEMINATION.—In addition to the reporting requirements under subparagraph (B), evaluation results shall be shared broadly to inform policy makers,
service providers, other partners, and the public in order
to promote wide use of successful strategies.
(5) FUNDING.—
(A) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are
authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary
to carry out this section for each of fiscal years 2008
through 2012.
(B) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Out of any funds made
available under section 18, on October 1, 2008, the Secretary shall make available $20,000,000 to carry out a
project described in paragraph (3)(E), to remain available
until expended.
(i) COOPERATION WITH PROGRAM RESEARCH AND EVALUATION.—
Subject to the requirements of this Act, including protections under
section 11(e)(8), States, State agencies, local agencies, institutions,
facilities such as data consortiums, and contractors participating in
programs authorized under this Act shall—
(1) cooperate with officials and contractors acting on behalf
of the Secretary in the conduct of evaluations and studies
under this Act; and
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(2) submit information at such time and in such manner
as the Secretary may require.
(1) to carry out this section.

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As Amended Through P.L. 115-334, Enacted December 20, 2018