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Q. What is the single most important nutrition program leading the fight against hunger in the United States?

A. FOOD STAMPS

The Food Stamp Program is an important safety net for families living in poverty. However, it is often the victim of myths and the target of misinformation. Here are some basic facts about the program and the people it serves...

		THE FOOD STAMP PROGRAM: An Overview.
		FOOD STAMP RECIPIENTS: A Profile.
		PARTICIPATION IN THE FOOD STAMP PROGRAM: A short-term safety net.
		FOOD STAMP FRAUD: The problem and possible solutions.
		FOOD STAMP "CASHOUT": What Does It Really Mean?
		SHOPPING WITH FOOD STAMPS: Helping low-income families improve their nutrition.

THE FOOD STAMP PROGRAM: An Overview.

The Food Stamp Program is the nation's single most important program in the fight against hunger. Developed in the 1960's, the program is designed to improve the nutrition level and food purchasing power of people with low incomes.

Why is the Food Stamp Program Important? What makes it unique?

The Food Stamp Program is the only federal benefit program available nationwide to all who need it and meet eligibility standards, regardless of their age or family composition.

The Food Stamp Program is effective and well-targeted; only people who are poor with few, if any, assets can receive food stamps. And, food stamp benefits, issued on a monthly basis, can only be used for the purchase of food.

Another important and unique aspect of the Food Stamp Program is its ability to respond to changing needs caused by economic cycles or natural emergencies on the local, state and national levels. This means when need increases or decreases, the funds for the program respond accordingly. It is second only to unemployment insurance in its responsiveness to economic changes.

Who runs the program and how much does it cost?

State and local welfare agencies actually administer the Food Stamp Program, under guidance and standards established by Congress and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The Federal Government pays most of the cost of the Food Stamp Program. In Fiscal Year 2002, over $18.2 billion was paid out in food stamp benefits.  State and local governments pay half of the program's administrative costs. Ninety percent of federal food stamp dollars are allocated directly for benefits.

FOOD STAMP RECIPIENTS: A Profile.

The USDA's latest report indicates that in 2002, approximately 19 million people were participating in the Food Stamp Program. To a large extent, the Food Stamp Program is a child nutrition program; more than half of all recipients (9.7 million people) are children. The program also targets the primary caregivers of children, the elderly, and the disabled.

Who are food stamp recipients?

Over half of food stamp recipients are children aged 17 and under. About one-third (33.2 percent) of children on the program are preschool age (under age 5).

Over 79 percent of benefits go to households with children. The average size of food stamp households with children is 3.3 persons; the average size of all food stamp households is 2.3 persons.

Over one-quarter (27 percent) of food stamp households contain at least one disabled person. 1.7 million seniors receive food stamps, nine percent of all recipients; nearly 19 percent of food stamp households contain at least one elderly person.

Over 90 percent of benefits go to households with either a child, senior, or disabled individual.

What is the average income of food stamp recipients?

There are strict income and resource limits for eligibility in the Food Stamp Program.

In fiscal year 2002, approximately 88 percent of food stamp households lived in poverty.  Nearly ninety percent of food stamp households have gross incomes at or below the poverty line; 36.1 percent have incomes below half the poverty line.

PARTICIPATION IN THE FOOD STAMP PROGRAM: A short-term safety net.

The Food Stamp Program serves as a temporary safety net for millions of families experiencing short-term economic crises. Most people turn to food stamps because of a job loss or reduction in earnings, and remain on the program for a brief period of time. The single most important reason for people leaving the program is a household's increase in earnings.

How long do people usually receive food stamp benefits?

Half of food stamp participants receive benefits for nine months or less. The average length of participation is less than two years.

Elderly and disabled individuals tend to receive food stamp benefits for longer periods of time. While over 60 percent leave the program within a year, their average length of participation in the program is slightly under two-and-one-half years.

Can unemployed people automatically qualify for food stamps?

There are strict eligibility requirements for participation in the Food Stamp Program, based on financial and non-financial factors. Households must have gross incomes below 130 percent of the poverty line and net incomes below 100 percent of poverty, except households with elderly or disabled members. Countable resources (e.g., checking/savings account, cash, stocks/bonds) cannot exceed $2,000. For example, the market value of a car in excess of $4,650 is considered a countable resource, and could make a household ineligible for benefits.

Eligibility in the Food Stamp Program includes work requirements. All non-elderly adults receiving benefits who are able to work are required to be employed or to register for employment. Many must participate in work training and job search programs.

Able-bodied, childless persons between the ages of 18 and 50 are limited to three months of food stamp receipt in a 36 month period unless they are working at least 20 hours a week or participating in an employment and training program.

FOOD STAMP FRAUD: The problem and possible solutions.

The overwhelming majority of the over 19 million food stamp recipients provide accurate information about their eligibility and use the benefits legitimately. However, fraudulent activities of relatively few recipients and retailers have tainted the image of the program.

What is "food stamp fraud?"

There are two kinds of fraudulent activities connected to the Food Stamp Program--providing false information about eligibility, or misusing food stamp coupons, also called "trafficking."

What steps are being taken to reduce or prevent these problems?

Food stamp trafficking undermines the integrity of the program and diverts benefits from those who need them. The program has systems to prevent trafficking and strong penalties for those who do the trafficking. Recipients and retailers who engage in such illegal activities will be disqualified from the program and prosecuted.

The advent of electronic benefits transfer systems (EBT) will make it easier to prevent trafficking. EBT will eliminate the paper coupon system and replace it with a type of benefit card similar to a bank card; recipients can use the card for their food purchases where they shop.

An EBT card is much less likely than a paper coupon to be traded or sold since access to the benefits requires a "Personal Identification Number."

Recipients are also likely to be unwilling to trade the card since it would provide access to the entire month's benefits. In addition, EBT will significantly improve the ability to detect trafficking by creating an electronic "paper trail."

Seventy percent of food stamp households currently receive their benefits through an EBT system.

Recipients found guilty of providing false information in an attempt to participate in the program face strong penalties, including being disqualified from the program and criminal prosecution.

FOOD STAMP "CASHOUT": What Does It Really Mean?

"Cashing-out" the Food Stamp Program means providing recipients with their value of benefits in cash. Research indicates that cash-out reduces food purchases and increases the proportion of low-income households seeking emergency food assistance. Therefore, cashing-out benefits would undermine the program's goals of improving the nutritional status and food purchasing ability of poor families, increasing the danger of hunger and malnutrition.

Why shouldn't food stamp recipients receive their benefits in cash?

Food Stamp cashout provides no guarantee that benefits will actually be used for food. Recipients would be able to spend the money on other household needs, including housing and medical costs. While these are also important needs, they are not nutritional benefits.

Furthermore, recipients of cashed-out food stamp benefits might actually have less money available for food purchases; they are often subject to check-cashing fees to access their benefits, and increases in rent by landlords.

SHOPPING WITH FOOD STAMPS: Helping low- income families improve their nutrition.

Food stamp benefits are based on the "Thrifty Food Plan," USDA's theoretical estimate of what it would cost to purchase a market basket list of particular amounts and kinds of food representing a minimally adequate diet. The Food Stamp Program assumes that households will be able to purchase the Thrifty Food Plan using their benefits in addition to 30 percent of any income they receive.

What is the average food stamp benefit?

A food stamp recipient receives only 78 cents per meal, on average. According to America's Second Harvest (2001), 84 percent of their clients' food stamps last for three weeks or less.

Does the Thrifty Food Plan provide a realistic basis for benefit levels?

The Thrifty Food Plan is the most frugal of four food plans developed by USDA as standards of family food use and costs.

USDA research shows that only 12 percent of low income households who spend at the Thrifty Food Plan level get their recommended dietary allowances for 11 key nutrients.

The Thrifty Food Plan contains a number of assumptions which may not be accurate for many food stamp recipients. For example, purchasing foods for a nutritious diet requires adequate food preparation facilities, extensive time for food preparation, an in-depth knowledge about nutrition and inexpensive transportation to warehouse-type grocery stores or supermarkets.

Although the Food Stamp Program assumes that households will be able to purchase the Thrifty Food Plan with their benefits, many studies show that food costs are so high in many areas of the country that the maximum food stamp benefit is insufficient to purchase the Thrifty Food Plan.

Can food stamp recipients purchase anything they want with their coupons?

Food stamps can only be used to buy food, beverages, and food-producing seeds or plants. The coupons cannot be used to buy alcohol, tobacco, pet food, soap, tooth paste, toilet paper, non-prescription drugs or any other non-food item, regardless of how essential it might be.

Do poor people use their food stamps wisely?

Households participating in the Food Stamp Program, on average, buy more food than low-income households who don't participate in the program. In addition, food stamp shoppers obtain more nutrients for every dollar they spend on food than other shoppers.