FRAC - Food Stamp Participation Rates 2003

Federal Food Programs

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Food Stamp Participation Access Rates
State-by-State

USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has calculated state-by-state "participant access rates (PARs)" for calendar year 2003. The PARs measure the extent to which low-income people are participating in the Food Stamp Program. In September 2004 FNS recognized states for superior achievements, including the states with the highest PARS and the states with the most improved PARs. The national average was 61 percent in 2003, up four percentage points over 2002. The PARs are distinguished from "the official participation rates." The latter take into account not only income but other eligibility criteria, such as citizenship status and household resources. Determining the official rate entails a significant lag time; calculation of the PAR allows an assessment of more recent participation trends. The Census Bureau bases poverty on annual income while FSP eligibility is based on monthly income. PARs are one basis for monetary awards that USDA makes under the high performance bonuses established in the 2002 Farm Bill. Other categories for bonus awards relate to timeliness of processing, low negative error rates, and payment accuracy. For more information on Food Stamp Program access issues, contact evollinger@frac.org

Participation Rate 2003 (U.S. Average: 61.5%)

State	Participation Rate	Ranking
Missouri	103.5%	1
Oklahoma*	96.6%	2
Maine	91.6%	3
Oregon*	91.4%	4
Tennessee	91.0%	5
DC	90.9%	6
South Carolina	90.1%	7
Louisiana	88.5%	8
Kentucky	87.5%	9
Hawaii	85.5%	10
West Virginia	80.5%	11
Vermont	80.1%	12
Indiana	79.9%	13
Mississippi*	79.9%	14
Delaware	79.5%	15
Georgia	77.7%	16
Alaska	76.8%	17
North Dakota*	75.2%	18
Michigan*	74.4%	19
Alabama	72.4%	20
Ohio	71.9%	21
Arizona*	67.7%	22
South Dakota*	67.3%	23
Pennsylvania	67.1%	24
Arkansas	66.9%	25
Connecticut	66.4%	26
Minnesota*	64.1%	27
Idaho*	62.5%	28
New Hampshire	62.3%	29
Nebraska*	62.3%	30
Rhode Island	62.2%	31
Illinois	61.5%	32
New Mexico*	60.5%	33
Iowa	60.4%	34
Wisconsin*	58.6%	35
Kansas*	57.1%	36
Montana*	56.1%	37
Wyoming*	55.3%	38
Washington*	55.1%	39
Virginia	54.6%	40
New York*	54.4%	41
Texas	53.5%	42
Maryland	52.5%	43
North Carolina*	52.3%	44
Utah*	51.8%	45
Colorado*	50.1%	46
Florida	49.5%	47
Nevada*	47.8%	48
Massachusetts	47.2%	49
New Jersey	46.8%	50
California*	39.0%	51

% Point Change CY 03 Less CY 02 (U.S. Average: 61.2%)

State	% Point Change	Ranking
Maine	24.0%	1
Delaware	22.9%	2
Oklahoma*	22.1%	3
South Carolina	20.2%	4
Tennessee	16.3%	5
North Dakota*	16.3%	6
Mississippi*	15.4%	7
Vermont	14.3%	8
DC	13.2%	9
Arkansas	12.4%	10
Idaho*	11.8%	11
Nebraska*	11.2%	12
Arizona*	11.1%	13
Louisiana	10.6%	14
Utah*	10.6%	15
Massachusetts	8.7%	16
Hawaii	8.6%	17
Missouri	8.1%	18
Colorado*	7.6%	19
Michigan*	7.5%	20
Georgia	6.9%	21
Kentucky	6.6%	22
Iowa	6.6%	23
New Mexico*	5.5%	24
Texas	5.4%	25
Illinois	4.9%	26
New Hampshire	4.8%	27
Connecticut	4.7%	28
New York*	3.7%	29
Virginia	3.5%	30
Indiana	3.0%	31
Kansas*	2.8%	32
Ohio	2.6%	33
Alabama	1.9%	34
North Carolina*	1.7%	35
Florida	0.6%	36
Rhode Island	0.1%	37
Pennsylvania	0.0%	38
Wisconsin*	-0.2%	39
West Virginia	-0.3%	40
New Jersey	-0.6%	41
Montana*	-0.7%	42
Washington*	-0.7%	43
California*	-0.9%	44
Wyoming*	-1.9%	45
South Dakota*	-3.6%	46
Minnesota*	-4.8%	47
Maryland	-6.2%	48
Oregon*	-6.2%	49
Nevada*	-6.6%	50
Alaska	-8.5%	51

* State has a FDPIR program and participants are included in their total participant counts.

View previous years (2002 and 2001).