Congressional Status Report
Evaluation of the Summer Food Service Program Enhancement Demonstrations
Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer For Children:Early Experiences through June 2011 of the Proof-of-Concept Year Contract #: AG-3198-C-11-0002
Pursuant to the 2010 Agriculture Appropriations Act, FNS initiated and carried out the Summer Food for Children demonstration project, aimed at preventing hunger among children during summer months.
Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children (SEBTC) Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Model
These demonstration projects are being conducted under the authority and funding provided by the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2010. The Appropriations Act authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to use $85 million to develop and test alternative methods of providing access to food for low-income children in urban and rural areas during the summer months, when schools are not in regular session.
This study describes some of the choices state agencies made as they exercised the flexibility offered during the implementation and describes the resulting food packages.
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.
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 analysis explores patterns of permanent benefit removal in Texas, Arizona, and Wisconsin, three states where EBT is the primary method of benefit distribution, but where there are low percentages of elderly. The findings suggest that a relatively small number of food stamp participants do not access their benefits for extended periods.