The Institute for Research on Poverty released a discussion paper that explored whether exposure to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) increased during the Great Recession. The study also examined how participation in the program was divided across various racial/ethnic and socioeconomic groups. Findings from the study demonstrated that age was a prominent indicator of participation in WIC, and that socioeconomic differences decreased due to an increase of WIC participation by children from wealthier families.

PolicyLink developed an online access portal for users to browse resources designed to improve healthy food access in communities, build local economies, and enhance public health.

The Economic Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, released a food access research atlas that presents a spatial overview of food access indicators for low-income and other Census tracts using different measures of supermarket accessibility. The mapping tool also provides food access data for populations within Census tracts and offers Census-tract-level data on food access for download for community planning or research purposes. Users are also able to create maps showing food access indicators by Census tract using different measures and indicators of supermarket accessibility, view indicators of food access for selected subpopulations, and download Census-tract-level data on food access measures.

The University of Kentucky's Center for Poverty Research released a discussion paper that explores whether the safety net reduces food insecurity for families and children who receive any of the five major safety net programs: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Medicaid. The results indicated that the various safety net programs do improve food security.

The Institute for Research on Poverty released a discussion paper exploring the reasoning behind why some low-income Americans do not capitalize on nongovernmental free food assistance programs in their communities. The study focused on data collected from 63 in-depth interviews with low-income residents from San Francisco who did not use this available assistance. Overall, the report indicated that respondents did not feel that the free food assistance outweighed the psychological costs involved with accepting assistance. Such psychological costs include moral objections with accepting food from others and the emotional toll of accepting assistance.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA) released a letter that discusses the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Summer Food Service Program, a program that ensures that children have access to meals when school is not in session.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service released a report that examines the effects of disabilities on household food security. The research focuses on adults who are unable to work due to their disabilities and adults with disabilities that do not necessarily prevent employment. Results indicated that food insecurity was more prevalent among households with working-age adults with disabilities.

In April 2014, the Institute for Research on Poverty released a discussion paper that explores the receipt of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) among low-income households. The research is based on data from the first two waves of the Michigan Recession and Recovery Survey (MRRS), a panel survey of working-age adults in the Detroit Metropolitan Area. The study examined how low-income families in the Detroit Metropolitan Area combined SNAP with other forms of public assistance during the Great Recession and analyzed the relationship between the receipt of SNAP assistance and food shopping behaviors.

The Center for Law and Social Policy released a policy brief detailing certain additions to the recently passed 2014 Farm Bill that reauthorized the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Under the updated legislation, low-income college students are eligible for SNAP benefits. Even after accounting for all financial aid, many low-income college students have thousands of dollars of unmet need, even when they attend low-cost institutions such as community colleges. This need often leads students to drop out of college, or to work so many hours that it interferes with their attendance and success in classes. SNAP benefits will now help low-income college students meet their basic needs so they can afford and focus on their education.