Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program Education
and Evaluation Study (Wave II)
Anita Singh, PhD
USDA, Food and Nutrition Service
Office of Policy Support
SNAP Research and Analysis Division
ASNNA Winter Conference
February 12, 2014
 Role of the Office of Policy Support and its SNAP
Research and Analysis Division
 Rationale for the Wave II study
 Findings from Wave II
 Takeaways for SNAP-Ed
 Wave II experiences – views of demonstration
project staff
Role of the Office of Policy Support (OPS)
To support the management of USDA’s
nutrition assistance programs by
providing valid, timely & unbiased
information to inform Agency decisions
on policy, planning, legislative,
budgetary, regulatory & program
management processes.
SNAP Research and Evaluation
Division -- What Do We Do?
 Policy Analysis
– Support development and presentation of policy
options
– Estimate costs for budget projection
– Review regulatory changes and waivers and
assess impacts
 Research and Evaluation
– Develop and oversee research and evaluation
projects
– Interpret findings for policy use
SNAP-Ed and Evaluation Study (Wave II)
 Undertaken to identify an initial set of promising
practices for both nutrition education and
evaluation.
 To demonstrate that SNAP-Ed can bring about
meaningful behavioral change.
 To show that SNAP-Ed implementers can mount
methodologically robust yet logistically practical
intervention evaluations.
Wave II: Three Demonstration Projects Were
Competitively Selected
Two interventions targeted to low-income children in
school-based programs
▲ INN’s BASICS for Nutrition and Physical Activity at
School (evaluating multi-channel approach versus
school-only)
▲ UKCES’s Literacy, Eating, and Activity for Primary
School-age Children (LEAP2)
One intervention targeted to low-income seniors
▲ MSUE’s Eat Smart, Live Strong (ESLS)(developed
by FNS)
Demonstration Projects’ Key Features
Feature
BASICS/BASICS
Plus
(INN)
Implementing agency type
State Department of Cooperative
Public Health
Extension
Theoretical framework
Social Cognitive
Theory
11 schools–
BASICS
Intervention sites (number)
11 schools –
BASICS Plus
LEAP 2
(UKCES)
ESLS
(MSUE)
Cooperative
Extension
Social Cognitive BEHAVE
Theory
Framework
8 schools
18 senior centers
Demonstration Projects’ Key Features
(continued)
Feature
BASICS/BASICS
Plus (INN)
Target audience
Children in 1st–3rd
Children in 3rd grade grades (primary)
and their
and their
parents/caregivers parents/caregivers
(secondary)
Direct education
(BASICS); Direct
Education delivery Education and
channels
multichannel social
marketing campaign
(BASICS Plus)
LEAP 2
(UKCES)
Classroom lessons
for children; daily
fruit and vegetable
recall activity for
children; take-home
newsletter for
parents/caregivers
ESLS
(MSUE)
SNAP-eligible
seniors, ages 60–
80
Direct education
lessons for seniors;
take home
materials and
activities
Strength of the Evidence – Impact Evaluations
BASICS &
BASICS Plus
(INN)
LEAP2 (UKCES)
ESLS (MSUE)
Survey
Respondents
Parents/caregivers Parents/caregivers Seniors ages 60 to
80
Study design
Quasi-experimental Fully randomized
design
experimental
design
Quasi-experimental
design
11 single- and 11
multi-channel
intervention
schools, and 11
comparison
schools
17 intervention and
16 comparison
centers
8 intervention and
8 control schools
Key Findings
 The BASICS program and ESLS had significant
impacts on fruit and vegetable consumptions.
 Children’s at home use of 1 percent and fat-free
milk increased with BASICS Plus.
 The projects also had positive impacts on attitudes
toward fruits and vegetables.
Lesson Learned
 Finding effective methods to engage adults whether
they are the primary focus (ESLS) or the secondary
audience (parents of children for BASICS and
LEAP2), is important for promoting behavior change.
 Multi-component interventions (BASICS Plus)
provide opportunity for greater reach and exposure
to the intervention.
 Child-focused interventions (BASICS and LEAP2)
showed the need for greater parent engagement
and the importance of teacher buy-in.
Lessons Learned (continued)
 All three programs pointed to the need to better
communicate how fruits and vegetables can be
purchased economically.
– Actively promote all forms of fruits and
vegetables that are affordable.
Takeaways
 Wave II Findings have:
– Contributed to the evidence-base
– Provided important insights on the evaluation
needs of SNAP-Ed providers
 Grow the Evidence Base for SNAP-Ed
– Use evidence-based programs
– Carefully plan and implement interventions
– Document and share success
– Share lessons learned
FNS Research (www.fns.usda.gov)
For Study and Evaluation Plans go to:
http://www.fns.usda.gov/ops/study-evaluationplan
For SNAP Research go to:
http://www.fns.usda.gov/ops/supplementalnutrition-assistance-program-snap-research
For Nutrition Education Research go to:
http://www.fns.usda.gov/ops/nutritioneducation
For links to Other Resources go to:
http://www.fns.usda.gov/ops/research-andanalysis