The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service will host a webinar on July 18, 2019 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET to discuss the use of intermediaries in the administration of SNAP E&T programs. Intermediaries are organizations that conduct required administrative tasks and support State SNAP programs by centralizing operations and fiscal reporting. The webinar will include speakers from Goodwill of North Georgia, Portland (Oregon) Community College, and Worksystems (the local Workforce Investment Board in Portland, Oregon) who will discuss the benefits, challenges, and opportunities of each of their models.

This study from the University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research analyzed the long-term consequences of severity, frequency, and timing of food insecurity exposure in childhood on health and health care utilization later in adulthood, based on approximately 20 years of data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Study findings highlight how young adults experiencing childhood food insecurity have higher psychological distress, even after adjusting for socioeconomic status, parents’ health, overall health during childhood, and food insecurity during adulthood. The study points out how receiving SNAP benefits during childhood reduces the effects of childhood food insecurity on health when these children become adults.

This comprehensive dataset from the University of Kentucky’s Center for Poverty Research profiles state-level data on every state, reflecting numbers, rates, amounts, and/or percentages of population; employed and unemployed individuals; three food insecurity levels; personal income; low-income uninsured children; and recipients receiving workers’ compensation, AFDC/TANF, SNAP, SSI, Medicaid, and EITC credits from 1980 to 2017. This dataset was updated in May 2019 to reflect 2017 in this longitudinal data collection that assembles information from multiple sources into one place.

This Urban Institute brief examines how variations in work schedules for participants in TANF and other safety net programs affect their ability to comply with weekly work requirements for reasons beyond participants’ control. Some challenges participants face include nonstandard work schedules, fluctuation in number of weekly working hours, capacity to receive advance notice of work schedules, and controlling or setting the number of hours per week they can work. While facing these challenges, participants also need to address work requirements so they can receive food assistance and attain child or dependent care or other case assistance.

This blogpost from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service identifies the activities and experiences that occurred at the first SNAP E&T State Institute, “Taking SNAP E&T to Scale.” The blog highlights best practices shared, as well as the strategic planning processes used to develop a road map for an effective state SNAP E&T program. Successful programs find in-demand jobs and pair them with skills training that employers need for high-growth occupations.

This Upjohn Institute issue brief notes strategies to ensure SNAP benefit retention. Data from seven states showed that almost half of SNAP participants exit from assistance within one year, and one half of these exiters remain eligible but are dropped from caseloads since they fail to meet administrative filing requirements. The issue brief illustrates how many states, including Michigan, have tried to reduce administrative burdens by allowing participants to track and manage their benefits online.

This Urban Institute study examines the effect of reinstating SNAP work-related time limits in Kentucky on a county-by-county basis. The review covers SNAP participation of able-bodied adults without dependents and reviews caseload data from January 2017 to September 2018.

This Upjohn Institute working paper reviews the impact of SNAP work requirements. The research draws from American Community Survey data from 2010 to 2016 to assess the effects of work requirements on employment and SNAP participation for able-bodied adults without dependents. Initial findings suggest that SNAP work requirements decrease SNAP participation and lead to marginally increased employment for the target population.

Piloted in Michigan and expanded to other communities nationally, Double Up Food Bucks is an innovative program for reducing food insecurity and has generated benefits for families relying on SNAP, farmers, and the communities in which they live. The program doubles the value of SNAP benefits spent on locally grown fruits and vegetables at participating farmers markets and grocery stores; this enables families to purchase healthy produce in greater quantities and at the same time supports local farmers.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has created National Nutrition Month, an annual nutrition education and information campaign. Celebrated during March, this campaign highlights the importance of choosing food wisely and maintaining healthy eating and exercise habits.