Federal food assistance and nutrition programs are a key component of governmental efforts to promote healthy eating, to eliminate food insecurity, and to move low-income Americans towards greater financial independence. Although expansion of these programs has been a priority over the last several years, there continues to be a strong emphasis on both the effective management of the programs and the assurance that they are achieving their desired impact.

Health Systems Research, Inc. (HSR) has been a national leader in providing technical assistance and conducting evaluations of food assistance and nutrition programs. Over the last 10 years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food and Nutrition Service, and Economic Research Service, and individual States have awarded HSR 21 contracts and cooperative agreements to conduct studies of Federal food assistance programs and to provide technical assistance to State Program Directors. The scope of this work in these contracts have required HSR to work with Federal, State, and local officials administering the Women, Infants, and Children program and the Food Stamp Program, as well as nutrition education programs directed to low-income households. HSR staff possesses the programmatic knowledge, technical expertise, and experience required to conduct projects at the national, State, and local levels, including strong project management, sampling and data weighting, study design, data collection and analysis, production of reports and briefing materials, and comprehensive knowledge of food assistance and nutrition programs. In recognition of our outstanding work, HSR was awarded USDA’s Small Business Contractor of the Year Award in 1998.