On average, 19.1 million people living in 8.2 million households received food stamps in the United States each month in FY 2002. 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. This report provides summary information about the demographic and economic circumstances of food stamp households. 

This document summarizes the preliminary findings of two projects being completed by Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. on the subject of certification accuracy in the National School Lunch Program: Evaluation of the National School Lunch Program Application/Verification Pilot Projects: Findings on Deterrence, Barriers and Accuracy, and Case Study of Verification Outcomes in Large Metropolitan Areas.

The WIC Participant and Program Characteristics (PC 2004) report summarizes demographic characteristics of WIC participants nationwide in April 2004, 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 Food Stamp Program uses an asset test (also called a resource test) to target food assistance benefits to the neediest households. This report is one of a series presenting the asset and vehicle holdings of low-income households.

From July to September 2002, FNS reviewed the free and reduced price eligibility determination process (i.e., application, verification, reapplication, meal ticket status) for each of 3,474 applications selected for verification in 14 large school food authorities in the 2001-02 school year. These SFAs enroll nearly one million children, among whom 45 percent were approved for free meals and 7 percent were approved for reduced price meals as of Oct. 31, 2001.

Food stamps are intended for food. When individuals sell their benefits for cash it violates the spirit and intent of the Food Stamp Program as well as the law. This practice, known as trafficking, diverts food stamp benefits away from their purpose. It reduces intended nutritional assistance and undermines public perceptions of the integrity and utility of the program. To combat trafficking, the Food and Nutrition Service conducts undercover investigations of authorized food stores. In addition, the agency has developed powerful new EBT-based administrative tools to identify and sanction traffickers.

This report is the latest in a series on trends in Food Stamp Program participation rates based on the March Current Population Survey. This report focuses on changes in rates from 1999 to 2001. Two sets of participation rates are presented: one for September and the other an average for each fiscal year. The September participation rates provide a point-in-time estimate whereas the FY rates provide an average rate over the course of a year.

Previous studies have shown that participation rates are higher among people eligible for a relatively large food stamp benefit than among those eligible for a comparatively small benefit. This analysis seeks to determine whether or not this relationship between participation rates and benefits holds for different demographic groups within the food stamp population. This analysis confirms that the relationship holds for most demographic groups. Surprisingly, the analysis also shows that there are many nonparticipating individuals eligible for relatively large benefits

FNS published “The WIC Vendor Management Study, 1998” in July 2001 which examined, in part, the extent to which retail grocers, defined as WIC “vendors” were violating program rules and regulations. The 1998 study is a follow-up to the “WIC Vendor Issues Study, 1991” published by FNS in May 1993. 

FNS launched the Eat Smart. Play Hard. campaign to promote USDA’s healthy eating and physical activity messages to children ages 2–18 and their caregivers. This campaign is an FNS agency-wide initiative and represents the latest effort by FNS to meet its strategic goal of improving the nutrition of children and low-income adults while at the same time addressing the major public health issue of the increasing prevalence of obesity among our nation’s youth.