Effects of Food Assistance and Nutrition Programs on Nutrition and Health: Volume 3, Literature Review

Electronic Publications from the Food Assistance & Nutrition Research Program No. (FANRR-19-3) 330 pp, December 2004

This report provides a comprehensive review and synthesis of published research on the impact of USDA's domestic food and nutrition assistance programs on participants' nutrition and health outcomes. The outcome measures reviewed include food expenditures, household nutrient availability, dietary intake, other measures of nutrition status, food security, birth outcomes, breastfeeding behaviors, immunization rates, use and cost of health care services, and selected nonhealth outcomes, such as academic achievement and school performance (children) and social isolation (elderly). The report is one of four volumes produced by a larger study that includes Volume 1, Research Design; Volume 2, Data Sources; Volume 3, Literature Review; and Volume 4, Executive Summary of the Literature Review. The review examines the research on 15 USDA food assistance programs but tends to focus on the largest ones for which more research is available: food stamps, school feeding programs, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Over half of USDA's budget—$41.6 billion in fiscal year 2003—was devoted to food assistance and nutrition programs that provide low-income families and children with access to a healthy diet.

Keywords: Dietary intake, food expenditures, nutrient availability, nutrient intake, nutritional status, nutrition and health outcomes, USDA food assistance and nutrition programs, Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program, FANRP

In this publication...

• Abstract, Acknowledgments, Contents, and List of Tables,   115 kb
• Introduction,   139 kb
• Research Methods,   85 kb
• Food Stamp Program,   628 kb
• WIC Program,   797 kb
• National School Lunch Program,   385 kb
• School Breakfast Program,   284 kb
• Child and Adult Care Food Program,   102 kb
• Summer Food Service Program,   41 kb
• The Emergency Food Assistance Program,   41 kb
• Nutrition Services Incentive Program,   249 kb
• Nutrition Assistance Program in Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the Northern Marianas,   53 kb
• Commodity Supplemental Food Program,   30 kb
• Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations,   44 kb
• WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program,   34 kb
• Special Milk Program,   31 kb
• Team Nutrition Initiative and Nutrition Education and Training Program,   54 kb
• Entire Report,   2,722 kb

Need help with PDFs?

Effects of Food Assistance and Nutrition Programs on Nutrition and Health: Volume 2, Data Sources, FANRR-19-2

Effects of Food Assistance and Nutrition Programs on Nutrition and Health: Volume 4, Executive Summary of the Literature Review, FANRR-19-4

Nutrition and Health Characteristics of Low-Income Populations: Volume I, Food Stamp Program Participants and Nonparticipants, E-FAN-04-014-1

Nutrition and Health Characteristics of Low-Income Populations: Volume II, WIC Participants and Nonparticipants, E-FAN-04-014-2

Nutrition and Health Characteristics of Low-Income Populations: Volume III, School-Age Children, E-FAN-04-014-3

Nutrition and Health Characteristics of Low-Income Populations: Volume IV, Older Adults, E-FAN-04-014-4

Last updated: Wednesday, July 24, 2013

For more information contact: Mary Kay Fox, William Hamilton, and Biing-Hwan Lin