Evaluation of Demonstrations to End Childhood Hunger - KY (EDECHKY)

Evaluation of Demonstrations to End Childhood Hunger - Kentucky

The 2010 Child Nutrition Reauthorization provided funding to test innovative strategies to end childhood hunger and food insecurity. Demonstration projects were funded in Chickasaw Nation, Kentucky, Navajo Nation, Nevada, and Virginia. This study focuses on Kentucky.

Households in the treatment group received an extra monthly SNAP benefit amount through two new intervention-related deductions to the SNAP benefit formula: (1) a fixed deduction, depending on county of residence, for transportation costs for six round trips to the grocery store per month; and (2) an earnings deduction equal to 10 percent of earned income for households with at least one employed household member. Households in the control group continued to receive their regular monthly SNAP benefit amounts.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Food Insecurity Among Children
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: KY Ticket to Healthy Food Benefits

Detailed Description

Objective: To reduce child food insecurity in rural households by raising Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to offset higher transportation costs and further strengthen SNAP work incentives.

Target Population: SNAP households with: (1) positive net income, (2) at least one child under the age of 18 by the end of the demonstration period, and (3) living in 17 geographically isolated and poor counties in eastern Kentucky.

Intervention: Households were randomly assigned to either a treatment or control group. Households in the treatment group received an extra monthly SNAP benefit amount through two new intervention-related deductions to the SNAP benefit formula: (1) a fixed deduction, depending on county of residence, for transportation costs for six round trips to the grocery store per month; and (2) an earnings deduction equal to 10 percent of earned income for households with at least one employed household member. Households in the control group continued to receive their regular monthly SNAP benefit amounts.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 4504
• Phase: Not Applicable

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: No older than 17 years (CHILD)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• SNAP households with: (1) positive net income, (2) at least one child under the age of 18 by the end of the demonstration period, and (3) living in 17 geographically isolated and poor counties in eastern Kentucky.

Exclusion Criteria:

-

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: TREATMENT
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: PARALLEL
• Masking: NONE

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
EXPERIMENTAL: KY Ticket to Healthy Food Benefits; Households in the treatment group received an extra monthly SNAP benefit amount through two new intervention-related deductions to the SNAP benefit formula: (1) a fixed deduction, depending on county of residence, for transportation costs for six round trips to the grocery store per month; and (2) an earnings deduction equal to 10 percent of earned income for households with at least one employed household member.	Other: KY Ticket to Healthy Food Benefits; Households in the treatment group received an extra monthly SNAP benefit amount through two new intervention-related deductions to the SNAP benefit formula
NO_INTERVENTION: Control Group; Households in the control group continued to receive their regular monthly SNAP benefit amounts.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Food Insecurity among Children	Measured by the United States Department of Agriculture's Household Food Security Survey Module (HFSSM). Affirming 2 or more out of the 8 child-level items in the HFSSM. Higher scores generally indicates worsening food insecurity.	30 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Very Low Food Insecurity among Children	Measured by the United States Department of Agriculture's Household Food Security Survey Module (HFSSM). Affirming 5 or more out of the 8 child-level items in the HFSSM. Higher scores generally indicates worsening food insecurity.	30 days
Food Insecurity among Adults	Measured by the United States Department of Agriculture's Household Food Security Survey Module (HFSSM). Affirming 3 or more out of the 10 adult-level items in the HFSSM. Higher scores generally indicates worsening food insecurity.	30 days
Household Food Insecurity	Measured by the United States Department of Agriculture's Household Food Security Survey Module (HFSSM). Affirming 3 or more out of the 18 items in the HFSSM. Higher scores generally indicates worsening food insecurity.	30 days
Food Expenditures	Total amount of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and out-of-pocket food purchases in dollars.	30 days

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: USDA Food and Nutrition Service
• Collaborators: Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.

Publications and helpful links

Helpful Links

• Final Report

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (ACTUAL): January 1, 2017
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): March 1, 2018
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): March 1, 2018

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 12, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 20, 2020
• First Posted (ACTUAL): February 25, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ACTUAL): February 25, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 20, 2020
• Last Verified: February 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Rural; Hunger; Food Security; Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); Food expenditures
• Other Study ID Numbers: AG-3198-C-14-0019 (Kentucky)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: Public-use data files are available by request by contacting Michael Burke (michael.burke@usda.gov) or the Office of Policy Support within the USDA Food and Nutrition Service.
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: April 2019

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No