Request for Proposals: Funding for the Period from July 1, 2012, to December 31, 2013.

Deadline for proposal receipt: April 16, 2012; deadline for notice of intent: March 23, 2012

The Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP) seeks to stimulate innovative research related to federal food assistance programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP (formerly Food Stamps) and the National School Breakfast/Lunch Program, and to support training of researchers interested in food assistance issues.

Background

IRP is a university-based center for interdisciplinary research into the causes and consequences of poverty and social inequality in the United States. It also serves as the RIDGE (Research Innovation and Development Grants in Economics) Center for National Food and Nutrition Assistance Research, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service. The RIDGE program supports small grants for studies focusing on food assistance programs.

The RIDGE Center Director is Judith Bartfeld; the Center Associate Director is Timothy Smeeding; and the USDA RIDGE Program Director is Alex Majchrowicz.

Focal Theme for 2012-2013

Sharp increases in food insecurity over the past several years have been accompanied by large increases in participation in federal food and nutrition assistance programs—including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP (formerly Food Stamps) as well as school meals. Some view the growth in these programs as signs of a flexible safety net that is doing its job; others worry about growing dependence on public programs. The focus of this year’s funding competition is on understanding the role of food assistance programs in the context of the Great Recession and continued high rates of poverty and unemployment. We are interested
in supporting research that seeks to shed light on patterns of participation, the role of food assistance programs as part of the broader safety net, and the impacts of food assistance programs on any of a range of recipient outcomes. Research should focus specifically on the role of food assistance programs during and after the Great Recession.
More detail on the research priority is available at:
http://www.irp.wisc.edu/initiatives/irpridge/themes.htm