Research & Practice
Identifying Gaps in Data for Food Assistance Program Eligibility and Participation in Washington State
Food insecurity, which is the inability to consistently access adequate, nutritious food in a safe, socially acceptable manner, affects 12% of Washingtonians. Several federally-funded, state-administered food assistance programs exist to lift families out of food insecurity, but these programs fall short of serving all eligible clients in the state.
United States Department of Agriculture funded food assistance programs are administered by four Washington state agencies – Department of Health, Department of Social and Health Services, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and Washington State Department of Agriculture. A 2017-19 budget proviso requires these agencies to report eligibility and participation data for each food assistance program. While these data are collected for reimbursement purposes, they are not readily publicly available. This project’s goal was to improve access to these data for community-level stakeholders through the following objectives: describe the available data, identify missing data and gaps in data, and recommend future uses for these data.
Materials Available
Project Type(s): MPH Practicum, PH Concentration Poster
Author(s): Courtney Schupp
Program(s): Master of Public Health, RDN Training
Year: 2018
Adviser(s):