For the Record

Institute for Research on Poverty RIDGE Center for National Food and Nutrition Assistance research grants

The Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP) RIDGE Center for National Food and Nutrition Assistance has issued a call for proposals for research grants. The deadline is April 30 for submission of applications for the 2010–11 award period, which runs from July 1, 2010-Dec. 31, 2011.

The intent of the IRP Research, Innovation, and Development Grants in Economics (RIDGE) Program competition is to stimulate innovative research related to food assistance programs such as SNAP (formerly food stamps) and school breakfast and lunch, and to support training of researchers interested in food assistance issues.

A program description and proposal guidelines are available at IRP RIDGE Center.

The Institute for Research on Poverty co-sponsors this grant program with the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The program supports small grants for studies focusing on federal food and nutrition assistance programs. This year’s research priority is the interplay between economic conditions, food systems and the functioning of food assistance programs. More information on this research theme is available at IRP RIDGE Center.

Potential topics for research in this area include, but are not limited to, the impact of the recession on eligibility for and participation in food assistance programs; the impact of food and energy costs on demand for and optimal design of food assistance programs; the potential value of using food assistance caseloads as a leading indicator of poverty rates; the effectiveness of food assistance as economic stimulus; the potential impact of innovations that promote linkages between food assistance programs and local food systems; the impact of the retail food environment on food purchasing patterns among SNAP participants; and the interactions between federal food assistance programs and the emergency food sector.