Deck 7: Analyzing Effects of Usda Nutrition Programs on Hunger and Food Security in the US

Question 1

The combined impact of all US federal nutrition programs can be classified as a large-scale __________.

A) program to reduce obesity.
B) program largely responsible for the increased frequency of obesity.
C) commodity distribution program
D) food safety net
E) allocatively-efficient economic system.

Answer 1

D
Explanation:The combined impact of all US federal nutrition programs can be classified as a large-scale food safety net available to consumer households when they need supplementary assistance.

Question 2

When participating in the SNAP program, the rational consumer household members reach an average level of satisfaction by changing the position of their indifference curve to a point below the budget constraint. This result is known as the infra-marginal solution.

Answer 2

False
Explanation:When participating in the SNAP program, or in any scenarion, the rational consumer household members are always predicted to maximize their satisfaction by changing consumption to the highest reachable indifference curve, which occurs at a point that is just tangent to the budget constraint. This result is an example of rational consumer behavior.

Question 3

Scenario: Assume household qualifies, and receives a SNAP payment on an EBT card.• The SNAP-changed budget is not identical to a simple cash transfer. Extra SNAP income can only purchase food, and nothing else. When researchers analyzed this scenario with the consumer optimization model, the results indicated three outcomes: 1) infra-marginal, 2) extra-marginal, and 3) empirical. The most accurate description of these three outcomes can be stated as:

A) When empirical researchers observed actual SNAP recipients spending patterns, households spent less on food than the theoretical Infra-marginal or the Extra-Marginal cases predicted. These Results were expected.
B) When empirical researchers observed actual SNAP recipients spending patterns, households spent less on food than the theoretical Infra-marginal model and more on food than the Extra-Marginal case. These Results were troublesome.
C) When empirical researchers observed actual SNAP recipients spending patterns, households spent more on food than the theoretical Infra-marginal or the Extra-Marginal cases predicted. These Results were surprising but also important.
D) When empirical researchers observed actual SNAP recipients spending patterns, households spent more on food than the theoretical Infra-marginal model and less on food than the Extra-Marginal case. These Results were logically consistent with earlier findings.
E) None of the above.

Answer 3

C
Explanation:When empirical researchers observed actual SNAP recipients spending patterns, households spent more on food than the theoretical Infra-marginal or the Extra-Marginal cases predicted. These Results were surprising but also important.

Question 4

Based on studies conducted in the US, Europe and Australia, the following results were observed on the frequency of obesity as compared the level of food security or insecurity in consumer households:

A) Researchers observed that a reduced frequency of obesity occurs as food insecurity worsens; conversely, as households become more food secure, the problem of obesity becomes more severe. These results were especially true in the US and Europe, but not in Australia.
B) Researchers could not detect any predictable relationship between rates of obesity in comparison to levels of food insecurity or security. This random correlation was a global phenomenon.
C) Researchers observed that household obesity rates were much more severe in nations that offer programs such as SNAP and WIC. The problem is most pronounced in the US, but is less severe in Europe and Australia.
D) Researchers observed that household obesity rates were much more severe in the developing nations of Asia and Africa, and the developed nations of North America and Europe were making notable progress in reducing obesity rates for both food-secure and food-insecure households.
E) Researchers observed that an increased frequency of obesity occurs as food insecurity worsens, especially in the US, Europe and Australia

Question 5

Reseach has determined that additional SNAP dollars increase household food expenditures, and were also associated with gains in dietary quality, energy density, nutrient density, and fruit and vegetable consumption. However, additional research suggests that the evidence about the relationship between SNAP participation and obesity levels is mixed. Some studies show reduced obesity as households access SNAP benefits, while other studies indicate that obesity can worsen with long-term participat

Question 6

The __________ is determined using a mathematical optimization process that seeks a minimum budget cost solution, subject to a combination of nutritional goals and constraints.This formulation outcome sets the maximum allowable SNAP payment for a household recipient.

A) The Liberal Food Plan
B) The Low Cost Food Plan
C) The Moderate Cost Food Plan
D) The Thrifty Food Plan
E) The My-Food-Pyramid Plan

Question 7

The _________ is cited in bankruptcy courts to define the percentage of a bankrupt person's income that constitutes his/her food budget.

A) The Moderate Cost Food Plan
B) The My-Plate Food Plan
C) The Low Cost Food Plan
D) The Liberal Food Plan
E) The Thrifty Food Plan

Question 8

US Defense Department uses the _________________ to set Basic Allowance for Subsistence Rates for all service-members.

A) The Low Cost Food Plan
B) The Liberal Food Plan
C) The Thrifty Food Plan
D) The My-Food-Pyramid Plan
E) The Moderate Cost Food Plan

Question 9

In 2011, consumer confusion over how to convert the food pyramid into everyday life convinced the USDA to change its visual illustration. USDA introduced the "My-Plate" campaign.

Question 10

If a consumer makes product choices along the negative slope of a utility function's single convex indifference curve, then the consumer is equally happy when consuming more of one product and less of another.

Question 11

When analyzing food budget choices, we employ a household consumer utility function.The household utility function includes two normal microeconomic assumptions: (1) increasing marginal utility for any one item, and (2) a convex indifference curve indicating a preference for similarity in consumption.

Question 12

Formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, the _____ provides additional funds that allow needy households to augment their food budgets.

A) Price Loss Coverage Program
B) Area Risk Coverage
C) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
D) Counter-Cyclical Commodity Program
E) My-Food-Pyramid

Question 13

The ___________ eliminated the purchase requirement and focused on simplified organization, increased accuracy and improved capacity to match program benefits with household need.

A) Food Stamp Act of 1977
B) ""My-Plate" campaign
C) The 1930's Food Stamp Plan
D) commodity distribution program
E) The Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program

Question 14

The ________ included many provisions aimed at improving the effectiveness of the Food Stamp program, including language to help establish Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) as an alternative to food stamps.

A) Thrifty Food Plan (TFP)
B) Mickey Leland Memorial Domestic Hunger Relief Act
C) Moderate-Cost Food Plan
D) Low-Cost Food Plan
E) 2010 Dietary Guideline Plan for Americans

Question 15

The _______ published an in-depth study of how best to measure or define the concepts of hunger, food security and food insecurity

A) Food and Drug Adminisration (FDA)
B) Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
C) Mathematica Policy Research firm
D) Food Research and Action Center (FRAC)
E) National Research Council (NRC)

Question 16

The _______ scale categorizes levels of food security and insecurity.

A) Three-Stage Food-Security
B) Ten-Stage Food-Security
C) Four-Stage Food-Security
D) Consumer Utility Optimization
E) Consumer Linear Budget Constraint

Question 17

__________is based on observed and measured phenomena and derives knowledge from actual experience rather than from theory or belief .

A) Deductive Analysis
B) Empirical research
C) Hypothetical Research
D) Specious Research
E) Instinctive Research

Question 18

The independent firm Mathematica Policy Research performed an empirical study of SNAP participation effects on household food security.The empirical research included interviews of 9,811 households across 30 States. Results the study indicated

A) that households receiving SNAP benefits for at least 6-months are less likely to be food insecure than new SNAP-participant households.
B) that households receiving SNAP benefits for at least 6-months are less likely to exhibit problematic obesity levels among household members.
C) that households receiving SNAP benefits for at least 6-months are more likely to exhibit problematic obesity levels among household members.
D) that households receiving SNAP benefits for at least 6-months are had no regular effect on whether those SNAP households were food secure or food insecure.
E) that households receiving SNAP benefits for at least 6-months are more likely to be food insecure than new SNAP-participant households.

Question 19

A ________ is a model demonstrating how consumers divide their purchases between two scarce products when they have a finite income.

A) A concave indifference curve
B) A convex indifference curve
C) A consumer utility function
D) household consumer linear budget constraint
E) diminishing marginal utility function

Question 20

The WIC Program serves pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women, as well as children age 5 and younger. Other than age and family status, WIC had no other eligibility requirements, and participants have very few restrictions in choosing a wide range of foods covered under the program.