FRAC - Food Stamp Program Participation Data

Food Stamp Monthly Caseloads Fluctuate in Early 2006

Over One Half Million More People Participated
in April 2006 Than in April 2005

But Many Eligible People Still Missed

In April 2006 food stamp participation dropped to 25,917,002 persons, 294,164 fewer than in March 2006. Three of the first four months of calendar 2006 have registered over-the-month declines. Nonetheless, the overall caseload for April 2006 was still more than one half million persons higher than the prior April and nearly 8.8 million persons higher than in April 2001.

Caseloads grew in late 2005 to serve victims affected by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma, but largely have returned to pre-disaster relief levels. Food Stamp Program growth in recent years also reflects continuing wage stagnation, state actions to improve access, and the effects of the 2002 food stamp reauthorization implementation. Nonetheless, the Program still is missing nearly four in ten eligible people.

The number of people participating in the Food Stamp Program in April 2006 was nine million more persons than in 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, October and November 2005) by the hurricanes.

Participation has risen in 53 of the last 64 months but in only one of the last four months. The over-the-month drop in April 2006 was widespread, with 38 states and the District of Columbia registering declines. Compared to a year earlier, however, participation in April 2006 rose in all but 11 states and the District of Columbia.

In April 2006 Massachusetts led all states with a 19.8 percent over-the-year caseload increase, in part due to implementation of the Combined Application Program that connects elderly Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients with food stamp benefits. Louisiana, likely due to post-Katrina population losses and related factors, registered the largest over-the year caseload decline (10.8 percent).

Research suggests that four in ten eligible people are not receiving food stamp benefits. See FRAC's"Gaps in Coverage" page. Fortunately, tools are available to bring federal food stamp dollars into families and communities, where each dollar is estimated to produce nearly two dollars in economic activity. See FRAC's s "Countercyclical Section" attachment.

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 four 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).

Caseload trends in late 2005 were affected by the temporary disaster Food Stamp Program relief in the wake of several hurricanes, relief that by December was on the wane.

Three states with large numbers of those affected by the hurricanes– Florida, Louisiana, and Texas--accounted for nearly 3.4 million of the 3.8 million person increase between August and November 2005. Also ranking in the ten states with the largest percentage increases between August and November 2005 were three other states disproportionately impacted by hurricanes— Mississippi (hit by Katrina), Georgia and Arkansas (both reportedly serving large numbers of hurricane evacuees).

Not reflected in the caseload figures was additional nutrition assistance provided to many regular food stamp households affected by the hurricanes. 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 victims through the school meals programs, Child and Adult Care Food Program, and WIC Program.

The significant food stamp service to hurricane 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.