The WIC Participant and Program Characteristics (PC 2006) report summarizes demographic characteristics of WIC participants nationwide in April 2006, along with information on participant income and nutrition risk characteristics. A national estimate of breastfeeding initiation for WIC infants is included. The report also describes WIC members of migrant farm-worker families.

The report draws on data for households participating in the Food Stamp Program under normal rules and thus does not include information about those who received disaster assistance after the Gulf Coast hurricanes in September and October 2005. 

The tables in this report summarize the asset and vehicle holdings of five low-income household groups by their food stamp asset and income eligibility status in September 2002.

The Food Stamp Program provides millions of Americans with the means to purchase food for a nutritious diet. This report presents the characteristics of food stamp households nationwide in fiscal year 1999 (October 1998 to September 1999). 

The WIC program provides a combination of direct nutritional supplementation, nutrition education and counseling, and increased access to health care and social service providers for pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women; infants; and children up to the age of five years. WIC seeks to improve fetal development and reduce the incidence of low birthweight, short gestation, and anemia through intervention during the prenatal period. Infants and children who are at nutritional or health risk receive food supplements, nutrition education, and access to health care services to maintain and improve their health and development.

WIC provides supplemental foods, nutrition education and access to health care to pregnant, breastfeeding and postpartum women, infants, and children up to age five. Since its inception in the early 1970’s, the program has received fairly widespread support and it has grown in size to serve 7.4 million participants in FY 1998 at an annual cost of around $4 billion.

This study examines the experience of states in developing and operating special-purpose savings account programs for low-income households. The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is interested in the use of special-purpose accounts for the low-income population--especially for households receiving food stamps--as a means of promoting self-sufficiency . These accounts enable low-income persons to accumulate savings for specified purposes such as education, home purchase, home improvement, and business start-up. In many program initiatives, the account holder qualifies for matching funds to enable a more rapid accumulation of savings, as long as the account balances are used for the specified purposes. Such matched accounts are typically called a individual development accounts or IDAs.

This report provides information about the demographic and economic circumstances of food stamp households. On average, about 19.8 million people living in 8.2 million households received food stamps in the United States each month in fiscal year 1998. Food stamp households are a diverse group. Because food stamps are available to most low-income households with few resources, regardless of age, disability status, or family structure, recipients represent a broad cross-section of the nation's poor.