To explore other options for assessing impacts, we awarded a contract to provide us with new information on: experiences and satisfaction of participants in FNS programs, and impacts of program participation on reducing hunger, diet quality, and other indicators of household well-being.
This report is the latest in a series of publications presenting estimates of the percentage of eligible persons, by state, who participate in the Food Stamp Program. The participation rate – a ratio of the number of participants to the number of people eligible for benefits – is an important measure of program performance.
FNS and other researchers have used a variety of approaches to calculate food stamp participation rates. While different approaches can look similar in concept, the results – for particular states or for the nation as a whole – can often look quite different. These differences can be confusing for users who seek to describe the success of the Food Stamp Program without becoming experts in statistics and data analysis. This paper provides an overview and comparison of two sets of estimates produced by FNS as indicators of Food Stamp Program performance.
Low participation rates among low-income people eligible for food stamp benefits have prompted a number of outreach and public education efforts. In 2002, the Food and Nutrition Service awarded $5 million in grants to community-based organizations in 15 States to investigate how to increase participation among people eligible for food stamp benefits. The evaluation of these grants describes the features and outcomes of these 18 projects.
A summary of past research on program operations and outcomes related to the Food Stamp Program.
An important measure of the Food Stamp Program’s performance is its ability to reach the people it is meant to serve. This report presents estimates of the food stamp participation rate among eligible working poor persons in each state. Working poor persons are defined as individuals living in house holds in which at least one member had earnings from a job. The participation rates are presented for an average month in fiscal year 2002 and the two previous fiscal years.
This analysis seeks to determine three things: whether differences in participation rates by benefit levels persist in a more recent period, whether these differences are similar across various demographic groups, and the distribution or share of eligible nonparticipants relative to potential benefits.
The Food Stamp Program helps low-income individuals purchase food so that they can obtain a nutritious diet. One important measure of a program’s performance is its ability to reach its target population, as indicated by the fraction of people eligible for benefits that actually participate. This report is the latest in a series on food stamp participation rates based on the March Current Population Survey, and presents national participation rates for fiscal year 2003.
Fit WIC can help the nation’s premier early childhood food and nutrition program work more effectively to reduce and prevent unhealthy weight among our children.
This report is the latest in a series presenting estimates of the percentage of eligible persons, by state, who participate in the Food Stamp Program. The participation rate – a ratio of the number of participants to the number of people eligible for benefits – is an important measure of program performance.