October 30, 2024
The Impact of Evidence-Based Policy: Summer EBT for Children Program
By The Evidence Team, OMB
Have you ever wondered how the evidence generated by large Federal studies is used by decision-makers to inform and change policy? This video tells the story of how the new Federal program known as SUN Bucks is informed by over a decade of rigorous research.
Many children eat breakfast, lunch, and even after school snacks at school. Research shows that child hunger increases when schools close for the summer. Recognizing this significant challenge, Congress tasked USDA with finding a solution. They provided funds to stand up innovative demonstration projects to test new approaches to close the “summer hunger gap.” In order to truly know if the demonstrations moved the needle on childhood hunger, Congress also asked USDA to evaluate the demonstrations to see if they were helping children. One of the demonstrations – the Summer EBT for Children demonstration – used a randomized approach to measure the effect of providing a cash benefit for food during the summer months on children’s food security, or hunger. Findings from the evaluation showed definitively that the demonstration worked, reducing childhood hunger by 33 percent.
Hear from leaders at the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) as they share how this evidence and other insights from their evaluation work helped the Summer EBT for Children Program – now known as SUN Bucks – gain support and become the first new program at FNS in over 20 years.
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