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) LEAP 2 (UKCES) ESLS (MSUE) Implementing agency type State Department of Public Health Cooperative Extension Theoretical framework Social Cognitive Theory BEHAVE Framework Intervention sites (number) 11 schools– BASICS 11 schools – BASICS Plus 8 schools18 senior centers

Demonstration Projects’ Key Features (continued) Feature BASICS/BASICS Plus (INN) LEAP 2 (UKCES) ESLS (MSUE) Target audience Children in 3 rd grade and their parents/caregivers Children in 1 st –3 rd grades (primary) and their parents/caregivers (secondary) SNAP-eligible seniors, ages 60– 80 Education delivery channels Direct education (BASICS); Direct Education and multichannel social marketing campaign (BASICS Plus) Classroom lessons for children; daily fruit and vegetable recall activity for children; take-home newsletter for parents/caregivers 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 Seniors ages 60 to 80 Study design Quasi-experimental design Fully randomized experimental design Quasi-experimental design 11 single- and 11 multi-channel intervention schools, and 11 comparison schools 8 intervention and 8 control schools 17 intervention and 16 comparison centers

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 ( For Study and Evaluation Plans go to: plan For SNAP Research go to: nutrition-assistance-program-snap-research For Nutrition Education Research go to: education For links to Other Resources go to: analysis