Food Stamp Program

1. Food Stamp Program

2. Food Stamps • The cornerstone of food assistance in the US • The only form of assistance available nationwide to all households on the basis only of financial need, irrespective of family type, age, or disability • Entitlement program

3. Food Stamps • Administered by USDA • Purpose is to improve the diets of low-income households by increasing their purchasing power

4. History of Food Stamps • 1961 Pilot projects funded in 8 states • 1964 Program funded nationally • 1974 Program mandated nation-wide • 1977 Purchase requirement dropped • 1984 First electronic benefit transfer • 1993 First EBT statewide--MD

5. History of Food Stamps, con’t • 1996 Welfare reform added work requirement and limited length of participation • 2002 All states mandated to have EBT system in place

6. Electronic Benefit Transfer • Preliminary studies indicate reduced costs to government, retailers, and recipients. • Reduces fraud and trafficking by providing an electronic audit trail. • Provides greater security and less embarrassment for recipients.

7. Food Stamp Eligibility • Gross income 130% of poverty status and net income 100% of poverty status. • Elderly and disabled must meet net income requirements only. • Liquid and nonliquid assets must be below a specified level and unemployed persons must be registered with the unemployment office

8. Food Stamp Eligibility (con’t) • Eligibility is based on households--people who buy and prepare food together

9. Work Requirements • Welfare reform legislation requirements: • Able-bodied recipients 18-50 years old with no dependents are ineligible for food stamps unless they meet work requirements. • May receive food stamps for only three months in every 36-month period unless they are engaged in work or work programs

10. Work Requirements (con’t) • States may request waivers of this provision for areas with an unemployment rate above 10% or for those residing in an area that does not have a sufficient number of jobs to provide employment for the individuals

11. Food Stamp Benefits • Certificates or EBT cards to purchase food at grocery stores and vegetable seeds and plants. • Certificates may also be used in Nutrition Program for the Elderly centers, shelters for battered women, and drug and alcohol treatment programs • Some persons in Alaska are allowed to purchase hunting/fishing equipment.

12. Amount of Benefits • Based on household size and income. • The allotment is reduced by 30% of the household net income. The average monthly food stamp allotment/person is slightly over 50% of the maximum allowed.

13. Benefits (con’t) • Maximum food stamp allotments are based on the cost of the Thrifty Food Plan. • Family of four maximum benefit $400/mo. Average benefit was $68/person in 1993. • Food stamp benefits average about $0.57 per meal--the maximum benefit is about $0.90 per meal.

14. USDA Food Plans • Four food plans--Thrifty, Low-cost, Moderate-cost, Liberal • Based on size of household and age and gender of members--see table 8-4, p 203 Frankle/Owen • For family of four with 2 preschoolers cost varies from $72.50 - 135.90/week.

15. What Are USDA Food Plans? • Amounts of foods from different food groups that households can use to provide nutritious diets at varying costs. • At each cost level, amounts of foods for men, women, and children of different ages are suggested. • 31 food groups for 11 gender-age categories are used to create totals for individual households

16. Basis for Food Plans • RDA • Food Consumption Surveys • Costs based on monthly surveys of various cities

17. Evaluation of Food Stamps • Nationally, food stamp users purchase more nutrient-dense foods than non-users. • Food stamp users spend more money on food than persons of same economic level who do not use food stamps. • In 1993, 27 million of the 50 million persons eligible for food stamps participated in the program.

18. Food Stamps: View of the Recipients • Program is inadequate because it fails to provide an adequate amount of assistance to avert food shortages throughout the month. • There are significant psychological difficulties in using food stamps as a result of the overall stigma attached to the program

19. Food Stamps: Views of Policy Analysts • Program’s objective of reducing hunger is compromised since it fails to reach approximately 40-50% of eligible population. • Rural residents and older persons are less likely to participate than others.

20. Food Stamps: Views of the Public • Regarded as severely flawed because it is perceived as violating several important American values--independence, self-reliance, ability to achieve the “American dream” • Encourages dependence and abuse

21. Sources used in presentation • Frankle/Owen. Nutrition in the community. Mosby. • Boyle/Morris. Community nutrition in action. West Publishing. • Obert. Community nutrition. John Wiley and sons. 1986. • Maurer and Sobal. Eating Agendas. Walter de Gruyter Publisher, New York, NY, 1995.

22. Sources (con’t) • Senauer, Asp, Kinsey. Food trends and the changing consumer. Eagen Press. St. Paul. 1993. • Testimonies of Ellen Haas and William Ludwig to the Senate Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies. May 10, 1995. • Food Stamp Program Fact Sheet, www.usda.gov/fcs/library/961101-3.txt