| Project: The Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations: Still "An Acceptable Alternative" to Food Stamps? |
| Award Year: 2006 |
| Amount of award, fiscal 2006: $267,000.00 |
| Institution: The Urban Institute |
| Principal Investigator: Kenneth Finegold |
| Status: Completed |
| Detailed Objective: The Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) has been an alternative to the Food Stamp Program (FSP) since 1977, providing participants in 22 States with a monthly package of commodities in place of FSP electronic benefits. To participate, a household must either live on an Indian reservation or live near a reservation and contain at least one enrolled member of an American Indian tribe. Participation in both the FDPIR and the FSP in the same month is illegal, so those who are eligible for both programs must choose between them. The goal of the study is to assess whether the early characterization of FDPIR as "an acceptable alternative" to FSP remains the best way to view the roles of the two programs in food assistance on and near Indian reservations. The objectives are to compare FDPIR and FSP with regard to eligibility, participation, administration, and possible effects on health and nutrition. The study will combine quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative methods include the use of the Urban Institute’s TRIM3 microsimulation model, in conjunction with data from the March Current Population Survey; analysis of data from the Navajo Health and Nutrition Survey; analysis of data from the California Health Interview Survey; and analysis of FDPIR and FSP administrative data. Qualitative methods will combine semi-structured interviews with FDPIR and FSP administrators and service providers; visits to program enrollment sites, distribution sites, and warehouses; and focus groups with American Indian participants in the two programs. |
| Topic: Food Distribution, Native Americans |
Output:
Finegold, K., N. Pindus, D. Levy, T. Tannehill, and W. Hillabrant. Tribal Food Assistance: A Comparison of the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Contractor and Cooperative Report No. 58, USDA, ERS, December 2009. |