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.
The report is based on a telephone survey of all states with SLEB agreements and case studies of 6 states with noteworthy levels of SLEB agreement-generated activity.