In 2000, USDA initiated a comprehensive reassessment of the Food Guide Pyramid (FGP), which was originally released in 1992. USDA has provided food guidance to the American public for over 100 years, and the Pyramid is the current graphic representation of this guidance.
This notice announces the annual adjustments to: the national average payment rates for meals and supplements served in child care centers, outside-school-hours care centers, at-risk afterschool care centers, and adult day care centers; the food service payment rates for meals and supplements served in day care homes; and the administrative reimbursement rates for sponsoring organizations of day care homes, to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index.
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 rule finalizes revisions to the Food Stamp Program regulations to ensure that recipients can use their electronic food stamp benefits across state borders.
This action proposes to revise Food Stamp Program regulations pertaining to the standards for approval of Electronic Benefits Transfer systems, the participation of retail food stores and wholesale food concerns, and the state agency liabilities and federal sanctions.
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
This policy memorandum provides clarification regarding the use of WIC program funds and resources to support bioterrorism preparedness.
State agencies apply for reimbursement using Form FSA-21, submitted to the appropriate FNS regional office for approval.
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.