Natasha L. Abbington

Natasha L. Abbington serves as a Contract Specialist with the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) under the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where she plays a pivotal role in executing procurements that advance federal nutrition assistance programs such as SNAP, WIC, and the National School Lunch Program. She manages the full lifecycle of acquisitions—from market research and solicitation development to contract award and administration—ensuring alignment with FNS’s mission of equitable access, program integrity, and data-driven policy improvement. Her portfolio primarily supports research and evaluation initiatives that inform evidence-based program modifications and operational modernization efforts across federal nutrition assistance systems. While specific contractor names are not disclosed in available records, Abbington consistently engages with a diverse ecosystem of vendors specializing in social science research, program evaluation, behavioral analysis, and public policy consulting. Her contracting patterns reflect a preference for collaborative, performance-based partnerships with firms capable of delivering rigorous, methodologically sound analyses to support FNS’s statutory obligations and continuous improvement goals. She fosters transparent, compliant relationships with vendors who demonstrate deep expertise in federal program assessment and stakeholder engagement. Abbington maintains a 100% small business set-aside preference across all her acquisitions, fully aligning with FAR 19.5 and prioritizing participation from small businesses, including 8(a), HUBZone, and women-owned small businesses. This unwavering commitment reflects FNS’s broader socioeconomic goals and ensures that contracting opportunities directly benefit underserved entrepreneurial communities while expanding the pool of qualified, innovative service providers. Her procurement focus is exclusively centered on NAICS 541720—Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities. She routinely procures services related to program evaluation, longitudinal data analysis, qualitative and quantitative research, policy impact assessments, and stakeholder surveys designed to measure the effectiveness and equity of federal nutrition programs. Her domain expertise lies in translating complex public health objectives into actionable, compliant acquisition strategies that yield actionable insights for national nutrition policy.