Archived News

James Ziliak to Present on Strengthening SNAP at Hamilton Event

James Ziliak to release a new proposal on strengthening SNAP.  The proposal is to be released by The Hamilton Project at Brookings Insitution during a half day's event that also includes speakers such as the former Treasury Secretaries Rubin and Summers, as well as former Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board Alan Blinder.  The policy forum Strengthening the Safety Net to Mitigate the Effect of Future Recessions is held May 23, 2016, and more information on the event can be found here.  

James Ziliak Appears on NPR's Marketplace Morning Report

James Ziliak appears on NPR's Marketplace Getting Enough Food is Still a Problem for Many Americans to discuss food insecurity.  The report by Feeding America points to a persistent food insecurity problem.  For a link to the full article, please click here.

UKCPR and Feeding America Release RFP

Feeding America, in cooperation with The University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research (UKCPR), will competitively award grants to qualified individuals to provide rigorous research that utilizes Map the Meal Gap (MMG) to expand our understanding of (a) the geographic distribution of food insecurity and its consequences and (b) locally-focused policy interventions that can be used to alleviate food insecurity. All projects must use one or more years of data from MMG. This may be supplemented with data from other sources, including the county-level price indices compiled by Nielsen and other data available at the county or congressional-district level. We anticipate awarding up to three grants at a maximum award ceiling of  $30,000 each. This opportunity is generously underwritten by The Howard G. Buffett Foundation.  For a direct link to the RFP, please click here. 

Date of RFP Announcement: April 26, 2016

Due Date for Requested Letter of Intent: May 25, 2016

Due Date for Applications: June 30, 2016

UKCPR and USDA Release Second New RFP

The University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research (UKCPR), in cooperation with the Economic Research Service (ERS), will competitively award grants to qualified individuals and institutions to provide rigorous research that utilizes the FoodAPS National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey to expand our understanding of household food behaviors and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) program including (1) the issues of benefit adequacy, diet quality, cost of a healthy diet, and food security, and (2) the role of the local food environment and other geographic factors.  In addition to the FoodAPS data, geographically linked data on the local food environment and food prices compiled as part of the FoodAPS Geography Component (FoodAPS-GC) are available for awardees. 

It is anticipated that about 3 grants of up to $50,000 each will be awarded.

To view the full RFP, please click here.  

James Ziliak Appears on NPR

James Ziliak comments on the positive impact SNAP has on families on NPR's The Salt.  The full article, "In Defense of Food Stamps:  Why the White House Sings SNAP's Praises," can be found here.  

The University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research (UKCPR), in cooperation with the Economic Research Service (ERS) and the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, will competitively award grants to qualified individuals and institutions to provide rigorous research that utilizes data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). The funded grants will expand our understanding of (1) the interaction between adult mental and physical health and household food insecurity, (2) SNAP on the health of both family caretaker and children, and (3) food insecurity on health and the possible mediating role of SNAP. It is anticipated that 4 grants of up to $75,000 each will be awarded.  For a direct link to the RFP, please click here. 

Date of RFP Announcement:  December 8, 2015
Due Date for Requested Letter of Intent: January 21, 2016
Due Date for Applications: March 3, 2016

A call for abstracts for a special issue of the ANNALS is now underway for the "New Rural-Urban Interface" Conference co-organized by UKCPR in conjunction with Cornell's Institute for Social Sciences, the Cornell Population Center, and the Scholars Strategy Network. For more information, please click here. 

Snap Matters Webinar December 2nd

The editors of the newly released book, "SNAP Matters:  How Food Stamps Affect Health and Well Being," Judi Bartfeld, Craig Gundersen, Timothy Smeeding, and James Ziliak will be featured in a webinar hosted by University of Wisconsin's Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP).  The book was a result of a conference co-hosted by UKCPR and IRP at the Brooking Institution in September 2013.  For more information on the webinar and to register, please click here.    

The University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research is hosting a conference for research grantees presenting work funded by the FoodAPS Research Initiative:  Understanding SNAP, Food Security, and Geographic Factors in Food Purchase and Acquisition Decisions.  The conference is being held October 22-23, 2015, at Economic Research Service in Washington, DC.  The conference agenda is available here.

The Myth of Welfare's Corrupting Influence on the Poor

In a recent article in the New York Times, James Ziliak comments on the influence of welfare on the poor.  Public debate often overstates the work disincentives of welfare, while the harm to poor families from restricting support may be considerable.