Food Assistance Programs1
Craig Gundersen
1Abbreviations: ABAWDs, able-bodied adults without dependents; CACFP, Child and Adult Care Food Program; CCFP, Child Care Food Program; EBT, electronic benefit transfer; NSLP, National School Lunch Program; SBP, School Breakfast Program; SNAP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; SSI, Supplemental Security Income; TANF, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families; TEFAP, Emergency Food Assistance Program; USDA, US Department of Agriculture; WIC, Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.
Low-income families in the United States face numerous challenges. One central challenge is limitations in the ability to acquire enough food for their families. In 2010, for example, 14.5% of Americans were food insecure (i.e., they were uncertain of having, or unable to acquire, enough food for all their members because they had insufficient money or other resources) (1). These proportions were substantially higher among certain subgroups of the population, including children and low-income households.
That millions of persons in the United States go without sufficient food is a serious issue and policy concern. Moreover, a well-established set of consequences exists associated with food insecurity. Research has shown that children in households suffering from food insecurity are more likely to have fair or poor general health (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9), psychosocial problems (8, 10, 11, 12, 13), frequent stomachaches and headaches (10), increased odds of being hospitalized (3), greater propensities to have seen a psychologist (10), behavior problems (14, 15), lower intakes of important nutrients (16, 17, 18), worse developmental outcomes (19, 20, 21), more chronic illnesses (8), impaired functioning (13), impaired mental proficiency (22), and higher levels of iron deficiency with anemia (23, 24) than are children in food-secure households. Foodinsecure adults have been shown to have lower intakes of a variety of nutrients (25, 26, 27, 28), a broad set of physical health problems (29, 30, 31, 32, 33), mental health challenges (31, 34), and chronic diseases (35, 36), including type 2 diabetes (29, 35, 37). Among senior adults in particular, the negative health consequences of food insecurity include lower intakes of a variety of nutrients (38, 39), lower skinfold thickness (38), greater likelihood of reporting fair or poor health (38, 39, 40), higher levels of depression (39, 40, 41), poorer quality of life (41), and lower levels of physical performance (41).
Although research on food insecurity and its consequences is relatively recent, the US government has long recognized that millions of Americans face serious nutritional challenges. In response, the United States has established a food assistance safety net composed of several distinct programs. The largest food assistance program in the United States is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Three additional programs directed toward children are the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); the National School Lunch Program (NSLP); and the School Breakfast Program (SBP). Smaller, but important, programs include The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).
SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
The SNAP (formerly known as the Food Stamp Program) is by far the largest US food assistance program, serving approximately 46 million individuals in 2011, with an
annual benefit distribution of $75.7 billion. Participants receive benefits for the purchase of food in authorized retail food outlets. Benefits are distributed through an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card, which is operationally similar to an automated teller machine (ATM) card. The level of benefits received by a household is determined by income level and family size. In 2010, the average monthly benefit was $288/month for a family of four, with the maximum benefit for a family of four being $668. The central goal of SNAP is to be a core component of the safety net against hunger (42).
annual benefit distribution of $75.7 billion. Participants receive benefits for the purchase of food in authorized retail food outlets. Benefits are distributed through an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card, which is operationally similar to an automated teller machine (ATM) card. The level of benefits received by a household is determined by income level and family size. In 2010, the average monthly benefit was $288/month for a family of four, with the maximum benefit for a family of four being $668. The central goal of SNAP is to be a core component of the safety net against hunger (42).
History
A form of SNAP (food stamps) began in 1939, when lowincome persons were allowed to buy orange stamps equal to their normal food expenditures and to then receive supplemental blue stamps that were valued at 50% of the household’s normal food expenditures. Although orange stamps could be used to buy any food, blue stamps could only be used to buy food that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) determined to be surplus. In 1961, a pilot program retained the purchased food stamps, but eliminated stamps specifically for surplus foods. In 1964, The Food Stamp Act was passed in which, among other things, each state developed the eligibility standards to use within its borders. Recipients purchased their food stamps, paying an amount corresponding with their normal food expenditures, and then received a predetermined amount of food stamps, based on that considered necessary, to obtain a low-cost, nutritionally adequate diet (the purchase requirement). All food items except alcoholic beverages and imported foods were deemed suitable for purchase with food stamps.
The Food Stamp Act of 1977 made a major change by eliminating the so-called purchase requirement, because it was thought to discourage participation. With the elimination of the purchase requirement on January 1, 1979, there was a 1.5 million participant increase compared with the preceding month. In the 1980s, the recognition of hunger as a serious issue in the United States led to further improvements in the Food Stamp Program, such as elimination of sales taxes on food stamp purchases, the reinstatement of categoric eligibility (discussed later), and an increased resource limit.
In the past two decades, other changes to the program have been made. The 1993 Mickey Leland Childhood Hunger Relief Act allowed households with children to more easily gain access to needed SNAP benefits by raising the cap on the dependent care deduction and simplifying the household definition. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunities Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) enacted other major changes, including restrictions on eligibility for most legal immigrants, time limits on food stamp receipt for healthy adults with no dependent children, and requirements for states to implement the EBT system.
In 2002, the Food Security and Rural Investment Act re-established eligibility to qualified legal immigrants, modified the standard deduction to vary by household size and inflation; and provided incentives to encourage states to maintain high standards within the administration of the program.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Plan of 2009 lead to some temporary changes in SNAP. In particular, it provided an increase in the monthly benefits of SNAP participants, expanded eligibility for jobless adults, and added federal dollars to support the administration of the program.
Eligibility Criteria
Eligibility for SNAP is defined at the household level. More specifically, a household is defined as one containing people who live together and purchase and prepare meals together. To be eligible for SNAP, households have to first meet a monthly gross income test. Under this criterion, a household’s income (before any deductions) has to be less than 130% of the poverty line. As an example, in 2010, a SNAP household with three persons and a monthly income less than $1984 would be gross income eligible. The gross income test does not apply to all households, however; households with at least one elderly member or one disabled member do not have to meet this test.
Households with an elderly or disabled member and most other households have to pass the net income criteria, wherein net income is defined as gross income minus certain deductions. The allowable deductions include (a) a standard deduction for all households; (b) a 20% earned income deduction; (c) a dependent care deduction when care is necessary for work, training, or education; (d) a legally owed child support payments deduction; (e) a medical costs deduction for elderly and disabled people; and (f) an excess shelter cost deduction. To be eligible, this net income must be less than the poverty line. As an example, in 2010, a SNAP household with net income of less than $1526/month would be net income eligible. Households in which all members receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) are considered to be automatically eligible for SNAP, and do not have to pass either the gross or the net income tests.
The final test for SNAP eligibility is the asset test. For most households, the total assets of a household must be less than $2000. When determining eligibility with respect to assets, some resources are not counted, such as one’s home and up to $4650 of the fair market value of one car per adult household member. Similarly, one car per teenaged household member may be deducted if the teenager is using it for work, and a vehicle’s value is not counted if it is needed to transport a disabled household member. Exceptions to these rules apply: Households with an elderly or disabled person have an asset limit of $3000; those where everyone received SSI or TANF do not have an asset test. Many states have the ability to waive the asset test.
Able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs), between the ages of 18 and 50 years, must be employed to receive SNAP. If they are not employed, they can lose their SNAP benefits. In areas with particularly high unemployment rates or limited employment opportunities, this so-called ABAWD requirement is waived.
Research Evaluations
Determinants of Participation
A high proportion of households eligible for SNAP do not participate. This is ascribed to three main factors. First, there may be stigma associated with receiving SNAP. Stigma encompasses a wide variety of sources, from a person’s own distaste for receiving SNAP, to the fear of disapproval from others when redeeming SNAP, to the possible negative reaction of caseworkers (43, 44). Second, transaction costs can diminish the attractiveness of participation. Examples of such costs include travel time to, and time spent in, a SNAP office; the burden of transporting children to the office or paying for child care services; and the direct costs of paying for transportation. A household faces these costs on a repeated basis, because it must recertify its eligibility. Third, the benefit level can be quite small— for some families, as low as $10 per month.
Because the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 calls for policy makers to assess the effects of federal programs, the extent of nonparticipation by eligible households is closely followed. To this end, national SNAP participation, defined as the percentage of eligible people who actually participate in food stamps, has been used to assess performance for nearly 25 years. In 2008, a 2-year performance target of 68% of the eligible population was set.
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