1 

NUTRITION ASSISTANCE STUDY AND EVALUATION PLAN 

FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICE 

FISCAL YEAR 2006 

November 17, 2005 

The fiscal year 2006 study and evaluation agenda for the nutrition assistance programs 

administered by the Food and Nutrition Service addresses three key program priorities:

• Improve program access so that all those eligible for nutrition assistance are able to 

participate. 

• Improve program integrity to strengthen operations and safeguard taxpayer investments. 

• Build a HealthierUS and address obesity by better integrating nutrition education and 

promoting healthy eating and physical activity among those eligible for nutrition assistance. 

Improve Program Access

• Measuring Program Access, Trends, and Impacts – This project supports several key 

analytic tools used to analyze program participation trends and impacts. It provides annual 

estimates of the percentage of eligible individuals who receive food stamps, for the nation as 

a whole and for individual states, providing a key measure of the program’s effectiveness in 

reaching its target population. The project also generates annual reports on the 

characteristics of food stamp participants. In addition, the project is the primary mechanism 

through which FNS estimates the caseload and budgetary impact of actual and proposed 

policy changes.

• Improving the Food Stamp Certification Process – Program policies and procedures 

combine to either encourage or discourage individuals from completing the application 

process. Among the suggestions for improving certification procedures are: adopting simpler 

and more standardized policies; incorporating alternatives to face-to face interviews; using 

technology to replace paper processing; and engaging non-governmental staff to carry-out 

key application functions. This study will examine the application process as it now operates 

and document the performance of current procedures in terms of applicant contacts, number 

of applications completed, number of approved/denied applications, and application 

processing times, accuracy and costs. The purpose of this study is to identify potential 

approaches that show promise for enhancing the application process and compare their 

performance. 

• Nebraska CACFP Rural Eligibility Pilot Project – The Child Nutrition and WIC 

Reauthorization Act of 2004 reduces the area eligibility threshold for Tier I family or group 

day care homes in rural Nebraska from 50 percent to 40 percent of the children eligible for 

free and reduced price school meals. The evaluation is expected to examine the impact of the 

threshold change on the number of family day care homes (FDCHs) offering meals, the 

number of FDCHs in Tier I as a result of the demonstration, the geographical location of the 
2 

FDCHs, the services provided to eligible children, and the characteristics of eligible children. 

An evaluation is due to Congress by March 31, 2008.

Improve Program Integrity

• School Lunch and Breakfast Meal Cost Study II – Congress is concerned about the effect 

of rising food and labor costs on school meal programs. FNS awarded a contract in 2005 to 

update meal cost information. The study is using the same methodology used in SY 1992-93 

to estimate the cost of producing reimbursable meals. This study is examining all revenues 

and expenditures as they relate to activities conducted by food service, including a la carte 

sales, joint food sales conducted with other organizations within the school and the National 

School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. The treatment of indirect costs and indirect 

cost rates as they relate to the food service account is of particular interest. In addition, this 

study will examine the amount of operating dollars remaining in the School Food Service 

account, reasons for these balances, and potential future outlays. 

• WIC Vendor Payment Error Estimation – The Improper Payments Information Act 

requires that FNS make annual estimates of the amount of payment error in its major

programs. Periodically, FNS conducts a national survey of WIC vendors in order to produce 

valid measures of payment error based on in-store compliance buys. This project will (1) 

explore methods (such as the post-stratified sampling procedures used to produce estimates 

of trafficking in the Food Stamp Program) to age the data from the national surveys so that 

annual estimates of WIC-vendor payment errors can be produced, (2) help FNS select among 

possible alternative methods, and (3) apply the chosen method to produce an annual payment 

error estimate for 2006/2007. 

• Evaluation of Direct Verification – The CN and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 permits 

local educational agencies to directly verify approved household applications for school 

meals using income and program participation information form Food Stamps, FDPIR, 

TANF, Medicaid or similar income-tested programs. The Congressionally-directed 

evaluation will examine the effectiveness of direct verification in decreasing the portion of 

the verification sample that must be verified by contacting the household, while ensuring that 

adequate verification information is obtained. The evaluation is due to Congress by July 

2008. 

Build a HealthierUS/Obesity Prevention

• Effect of Peer Counseling on Breastfeeding Initiation and Duration – New peer 

counseling interventions (based on a literature review and input from practitioners and an 

expert panel) and an evaluation design have been completed. This project uses this design to 

assess the implementation and effectiveness of peer counseling interventions in the WIC 

program.

• Evaluation of South Carolina Food Stamp Nutrition Education Demonstration – This 

project will (1) examine the State’s capacity to target nutrition education to women and their 

families participating in or eligible for food stamp benefits in a community with high rates of 
3 

diet-related health problems, and (2) assess the impacts of that education on dietary 

knowledge, motivation and behavior. The study will also test the usefulness of new and 

unique data sources to carry out the intervention and evaluate results. These data systems 

include the State’s extensive information on client well-being and use of public services and 

food purchase information generated at the point-of-sale.

• Food and Nutrition Information Center – These funds will support the Food and Nutrition 

Information Center (FNIC) within the National Agriculture Library to systematically store 

and disseminate information on USDA’s food assistance programs, nutrition education, and 

related nutrition topics.