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Resource | Data | Payment Accuracy and Program Integrity

SNAP Quality Control Payment Error Rates

SNAP quality control payment error rates by fiscal year. 

Resource | Data | Cost Study

USDA Food Plans: Cost of Food

The Thrifty Food Plan, 2021 was released on Aug. 16, 2021. The TFP represents the cost of a nutritious, practical, cost-effective diet. 

Resource | Research, Analysis & Background | Cost Study

Initial Study Plan: Thrifty Food Plan, 2026

This document provides the initial study plan for the reevaluation of the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP), 2026. This initial study plan is based on information available as of April 2023. The USDA, FNS intends to publish a final study plan by early 2026.

Resource | Data | Payment Accuracy and Program Integrity

SNAP Quality Control Annual Reports

These SNAP and Food Stamp Program Quality Control annual reports present official quality control error rates and other statistical data derived from SNAP QC reviews conducted for each fiscal year.

Resource | Data | Payment Accuracy and Program Integrity

SNAP Quality Control Data

The SNAP Quality Control database contains detailed information on the economic and demographic circumstances of a sample of households selected for review as part of the SNAP QC System. The data include households from the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  Data are available from 1996 through the most recent year for which QC error rates are available.

Resource | Research, Analysis & Background | Assessing/Improving Operations

Child Nutrition Program Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic, March Through September 2020

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act gave FNS authority to issue nationwide waivers of CN program requirements. This data collection fulfills states’ reporting requirements and describes trends in program participation during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, March through September 2020. It is part of an ongoing study series examining CN program operations, repurposed to collect waiver reports from all states.

Resource | Research | Program Access

SNAP Program Access Index

The Program Access Index  is one of the measures FNS uses to reward states for high performance in the administration of SNAP. Performance awards were authorized by the 2022 Farm Bill. The PAI is designed to indicate the degree to which low-income people have access to SNAP benefits. The purpose of this step-by-step guide is to describe the calculation of the PAI in detail. It includes all of the data, adjustments, and calculations used in determining the PAI for every state.

Resource | Research, Analysis & Background | Participation Characteristics

Estimates of Nonparticipation Rates of Medicaid and SNAP Beneficiaries in WIC

​This report responds to House Report 117-82, which directs the USDA to publish state-level estimates of the percentage of pregnant women, infants, and children under age five participating in FNS’s SNAP or in Medicaid but not participating in WIC.