Dr. Mark Prell is a Senior Economist in the Food Assistance Branch of ERS’s Food Economics Division, having received his Ph.D. in Economics from MIT. The work of the branch covers four themes: (1) USDA food assistance programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program), the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and the school meals programs (the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs); (2) food security, including its measurement, and the determinants and consequences of its counterpart, food insecurity; (3) the statistical use of administrative records and linked data to promote research; and (4) food access. Prell’s work has focused on the food assistance programs and promoting the statistical use of administrative and linked data.

Mark serves as a member of the Federal Committee of Statistical Methodology (FCSM), which the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) created to inform and advise OMB and heads of statistical agencies on methodological and statistical issues that affect the quality of Federal data. Mark has previously served in various roles at ERS between 1999 and the present, including as an Assistant Deputy Director from 1999 to 2003, and as Food Assistance Branch Chief from 2003 to 2010. Prior to joining ERS, he taught economics at both the undergraduate and graduate levels for a dozen years.

DIFA Workshop Presentation
Presentation Slides

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