The National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey: Innovations and Research Insights

Evidence-based policies that effectively address adverse public health trends, including the increasing burden of diet-related disease and food insecurity, require quality and comprehensive data. For food and nutrition policy, that means data on household and individual food choices and the many factors influencing food demand, including income, food assistance program participation, food security status, and the local food environment. To meet this data need, the USDA sponsored the National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey (FoodAPS), an innovative survey that collected nationally-representative data on household food purchases and acquisitions, including from low-income households and households participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). To further enable and enrich analysis, the household survey data were linked to SNAP administrative records, USDA nutrient data, and geographic information related to the local food environment. This article provides a thorough overview of FoodAPS, including the rationale for the survey, recent research findings and insights on American diet quality, food assistance programs, and food environment, as well as the challenges encountered from developing, collecting, and processing the data.