A U.S. Department of Agriculture report on Food Stamp Program participation by eligible people shows a significant gap nationally, with four out of ten eligible people not served, and that gap much more significant in many states. The findings are based upon data for an average month in FY 2001 and for the two previous fiscal years.

For a copy of the USDA report that provides the state-by-state official Food Stamp Program participation rates, click here .

According to USDA, these estimates differ slightly from those reported last year because of a change in the reference period (from the month of September to the average month across the fiscal year) and improvements in data and methods

The official participation rate takes into account not only income but other eligibility criteria, such as citizenship status and household resources. It measures actual food stamp participants as a percentage of estimated eligible persons, as opposed to USDA's "Participation Access Rate" (PAR), which measures participants compared to the state's low-income population and which USDA will include as the PAR as a factor in determining High Performance Bonus Awards among states. Because determining the official participation rate entails a significant lag time; calculation of the PAR allows an assessment of more recent participation trends.

Click here for a copy of PAR information for 2002.