FRAC - Food Stamp Program Participation Data

Hurricane Relief Pushed Food Stamp Participation Levels Up Dramatically in September 2005

More than 1.5 Million of 1.8 Million New Participants
Were in States Hardest Hit by Hurricane Katrina

In September, 2005 food stamp participation rose to 27,537,209 people, 1,771,404 more than in August, largely due to the nutrition relief needed by victims of Hurricane Katrina. Four states with large numbers of those affected by the hurricane – Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas – accounted for more than 1.51 million of the increase since August, with 259,000 of the growth coming in other states.

This was the sixth monthly caseload increase in the first nine months of 2005, and the non-Katrina states data suggest growth occurred at a pace comparable to the earlier part of 2005 in the non-hurricane states.

Food Stamp Program growth over the year also reflects continuing wage stagnation, state actions to improve access, and the effects of the food stamp reauthorization implementation.

For the year (September, 2004 to September 2005) the caseload grew by 2.6 million people. Not counting Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas and Florida (Florida’s September 2004 caseload was high because of the Disaster Food Stamp Program response to the 2004 hurricanes), the caseload in the other 45 states and District of Columbia grew by 1.1 million over the year.

Disaster Food Stamp Program Served Many Newly Needy

Four states most affected by Hurricane Katrina and the influx of those affected ( Louisiana, Alabama, Texas and Mississippi) accounted for more than 1.51 million of the 1.77 million new cases in September. Increases in the states with the fifth, seventh and ninth biggest percentage jumps ( Georgia, Arkansas, and Florida, respectively) probably reflected at least in part the disproportionate share of hurricane evacuees in those states.

Not reflected in the caseload figures was additional nutrition assistance provided to many regular food stamp households affected by the hurricane. Many households already enrolled in the program received replacement allotments to help cope with their food losses. Additional nutrition assistance also was provided to Hurricane Katrina victims through the school meals programs, Child and Adult Care Food Program, and WIC Program.

The significant food stamp service to Hurricane Katrina survivors was due to a combination of factors: the entitlement structure of the program which allowed it to respond quickly to deep and urgent need; strong leadership from political appointees and career officials at the US Department of Agriculture; key efforts of state governments; efficiency of the Electronic Benefit Transfer delivery system; and outreach and advocacy by non-profit groups.

Overall Trends

The number of people participating in the Food Stamp Program in September 2005 was 10.5 million more persons than July 2000, when program participation nationally reached its lowest point in the last decade.

Caseloads dropped through 1998 and 1999 as the economy improved and many states failed to get food stamps to low-income families who had left cash welfare for low-paid work. Caseloads then stabilized and began rising in 2000. Increases in participation since then likely have been driven by improved access to the program in states, including most recently for legal immigrants, by the weakened economy for low-income families, and (in September) by the hurricane.

Participation has risen in 50 of the last 57 months. Compared to a year earlier, participation in September 2005 rose in all but five states, one of which ( Florida) had operated a significant Disaster Food Stamp Program in the wake of 2004 hurricanes.

From December 1997 to December 2000, the food stamp caseload fell by 3.5 million persons. Some reduction in poverty and improvement in the overall unemployment rate contributed to these Food Stamp Program caseload declines, but other factors, including negative program changes by Congress, interactions with the cash public assistance system that make food stamp access harder for eligible families, and lack of information about the program among potentially eligible people, explained much of the drop.

Because of the 1996 welfare law, by August 22, 1997 most legal immigrants lost eligibility for federal food stamp benefits. Some immigrants were made newly eligible November 1, 1998, but a majority remained barred from the program. (Important additional improvements are occurring in 2003.) The period after March 1997 was also marked by implementation of cuts in Food Stamp Program eligibility for many childless, jobless adults. Implementation of the new, separate Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program established by the 1996 welfare law also had major, unintended, adverse effects on the Food Stamp Program, as families lost food stamps (for which many were still eligible) at the same time that they lost TANF benefits. According to a July 2001 USDA report to Congress, over half (56 percent) of caseload declines between 1994 and 1999 "occurred because fewer eligible individuals participated in the program," rather than because of the economy or changes in eligibility rules. Further, USDA finds, "nearly a quarter of all leavers (from food stamps) experienced hunger in the first year after leaving the Food Stamp Program."

Rising unemployment and underemployment levels; improved processes in some states at application; better rules in many states, such as no longer treating vehicles as a resource barring eligibility; and other increased efforts by states and non-profit groups to connect eligible persons with benefits have contributed to the increase in Food Stamp Program participation in the last three years.

Pursuant to the 2002 Farm Bill, many legal immigrants became newly eligible for benefits in 2003 (as of April 2003, those residing in the US at least five years; as of October 2003, those under 18 regardless of date of entry).