This report examines the dietary knowledge and attitudes of low-income individuals, including FSP participants and nonparticipants, describes their dietary intake, and estimates participation-dietary intake relationship.
This is the second report in a series of publications that presents estimates of the percentage of eligible persons, by state, who participate in the Food Stamp Program. This issue presents food stamp participation rates for states in September 1997 and the changes in state rates between September 1994 and September 1997. This information can be used to examine states’ performance over this period and help understand the effects on food stamp participation rates of a strong economy with expanding job opportunities and the very early consequences of welfare reform and food stamp changes that were brought about by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996.
The purpose of this study is to provide FNS with descriptive information about how States have elected to provide nutrition education and information to food stamp recipients and eligibles.
This report duplicates the precise methodology of the earlier analysis with more than 10,000 new investigations to generate an estimate for the 1996 - 1998 calendar year period.
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.
This report details the findings of a two-year evaluation of SCCAP, from October 1995 through October 1997.
The report assesses the existing commercial infrastructure of on-line Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) in the context of multi-state, multi-program EBT. The findings are based on interviews of respondents involved with the EFT commercial infrastructure.
The Maryland demonstration was the first statewide roll-out of an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) system involving multiple programs on a single card. The goal was to confirm that a large- scale, multi-program EBT system is technically feasible and determine whether such a system can achieve cost-neutrality government-wide while maintaining high quality service for recipients. The test involved food stamps plus five cash-benefit programs: Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), Bonus Child Support for AFDC Recipients, Disability Assistance Loan Program, Non-Public Assistance Child Support, and Public Assistance for Adults. All parts of Maryland, both urban and rural, were converted to EBT.
The objectives of the demonstration were to determine the technological feasibility of offline EBT; whether it would be accepted by stakeholder groups; and whether it would be cost-effective.