Best Practices in Disaster SNAP (D-SNAP) Operations and Planning

Project Overview The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) plays a vital role in providing supplemental nutrition assistance in the wake of a disaster. As part of this response, FNS administers the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP), which provides short-term food assistance benefits to households affected by a disaster. In recent years, as weather-related disasters[...]

FFCRA WIC Waiver Reporting Project

Project Overview Passed in March 2020 and amended by the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021, and Other Extensions Act (P.L. 116–159), the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) allowed the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) to grant two types of waivers to Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) state agencies. First, FNS[...]

Military Family Research Services: Millennium Cohort Family Study

Project Overview To support the Deployment Health Department at the Naval Health Research Center (NHRC), Insight conducts multiple projects designed to assess the risk and protective factors for military family well-being and evaluate the interventions that could promote family well-being in military populations. These include the Millennium Cohort Family Study and the Military Community and[...]

U.S. Marine Corps Gender-Integrated Recruit Training Study

Project Overview The U.S. Marine Corps funded this study to provide an assessment of the Marine Corps’ current approach to gender integration at entry-level training (ELT) and make recommendations for models that integrate genders to the greatest extent possible while continuing to train Marines to established standards. Specifically, this work addresses the sociological effects of[...]

Study for Measuring the Cost of the Thrifty Food Plan in Puerto Rico

Project Overview The Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP) currently maintains four food plans that represent a nutritious diet for home consumption at different cost levels: Thrifty, Low Cost, Moderate Cost, and Liberal. The Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) serves as the “national standard for a nutritious diet at a minimal cost” and is used[...]

Modernizing Channels of Communication With SNAP Participants

Project Overview The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the largest program in the domestic nutrition assistance safety net; after unemployment insurance, it is the most responsive federal program providing additional assistance during economic downturns. The goal of this study is to better understand how participants use various communication channels, such as smartphones, social media,[...]

SNAP-Ed Data Collection Practices

Project Overview Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) is the nutritional compass for the country’s largest food assistance program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). SNAP provides more than 40 million people with low incomes with more than $60 billion in supplemental benefits to purchase groceries each month. SNAP-Ed is essentially a grant program that[...]

SNAP Certification Notices Technical Assistance

Project Overview Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) certification notices are the primary way state agencies communicate with people in need of food assistance. Developing effective SNAP notices can be a challenge. For example, there may be difficulty in clearly conveying SNAP decisions to clients, the reasoning behind them, and required actions—especially when the household’s situation[...]

Data Visualizations for FNS Research and Analysis Activities: Child Nutrition Programs Data

Project Overview The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) operates several child nutrition programs that provide nutritious breakfasts, lunches, and snacks to children during both the school year and summer months. To best serve these children, monitor program operations and financials, and process reimbursements, FNS collects a wide array of data from[...]

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