Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

SNAP logo

The United States Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP),^[1] historically and commonly known as the Food Stamp Program, is a federal-assistance program that provides assistance to low- and no-income people and families living in the U.S. Though the program is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, benefits are distributed by the individual U.S. states.

In the 2010 fiscal year, $64.7 billion in food stamps were distributed, with an average monthly benefit per recipient in a household of $133.49.^[2] As of June 2011, the number of Americans receiving food stamps was 45,183,931, the first time in 38 months that the number of participants decreased.^[3] In Washington, D.C., and Mississippi, more than one-fifth of residents receive food stamps.^[4] Recipients must have at most near-poverty incomes to qualify for benefits.^[5]

Today, all food-stamp benefits are distributed using cards but for most of its history the program had actually used paper denominational stamps or coupons worth US$1 (brown colored), US$5 (blue colored), and US$10 (green colored). These stamps could be used to purchase any prepackaged edible foods regardless of nutritional value (for example soft drinks and confectionery could be purchased on food stamps). In the late 1990s, the food-stamp program was revamped and actual stamps were phased out in favor of a specialized debit-card system known as Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) provided by private contractors. Many states merged the use of the EBT card for public-assistance welfare programs as well. The successful replacement over time of all paper food stamps by EBT cards enabled the U.S. Congress to rename the Food Stamp Program to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, as of October 2008, and to update all references in federal law from "stamp" or "coupon" to "card" or "EBT". This was effectuated on June 18, 2008, by U.S. House Resolution 6124, The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, enacted as Public Law over U.S. President George W. Bush's veto.^[6][7]

History

First Food Stamp Program (FSP) (May 16, 1939—Spring 1943)

The idea for the first FSP has been credited to various people, most notably U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Henry Wallace and the program's first administrator, Milo Perkins. Of the program, Perkins said, "We got a picture of a gorge, with farm surpluses on one cliff and under-nourished city folks with outstretched hands on the other. We set out to find a practical way to build a bridge across that chasm." The program operated by permitting people on relief to buy orange stamps equal to their normal food expenditures; for every US$1 worth of orange stamps purchased, fifty-cents' worth of blue stamps were received. Orange stamps could be used to buy any food; blue stamps could be used only to buy food determined by the Department to be surplus. Over the course of nearly four years, the first FSP reached approximately 20 million people at one time or another in nearly half of the counties in the U.S. at a total cost of $262 million. At its peak, the program assisted 4 million people simultaneously. The first recipient was Mabel McFiggin of Rochester, New York; the first retailer to redeem the stamps was Joseph Mutolo; and the first retailer caught violating program rules was Nick Salzano in October 1939. The program ended when the conditions that brought the program into being (unmarketable food surpluses and widespread unemployment) no longer existed.

Pilot Food Stamp Program (1961—1964)

The eighteen years between the end of the first FSP and the inception of the next were filled with studies, reports and legislative proposals. Prominent U.S. Senators actively associated with attempts to enact a food stamp program during this period are George Aiken, Robert M. La Follette, Jr., Hubert Humphrey, Estes Kefauver and Stuart Symington. From 1954 on, U.S. Representative Leonor Sullivan strove unceasingly to pass food-stamp-program legislation. On September 21, 1959, P.L. 86-341 authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to operate a food-stamp system through January 31, 1962. The Eisenhower Administration never used the authority. However, in fulfillment of a campaign promise made in West Virginia, President John F. Kennedy's first Executive Order called for expanded food distribution and, on February 2, 1961, he announced that food stamp pilot programs would be initiated. The pilot programs would retain the requirement that the food stamps be purchased, but eliminated the concept of special stamps for surplus foods. A Department spokesman indicated the emphasis would be on increasing the consumption of perishables.

Mr. and Mrs. Alderson Muncy of Paynesville, West Virginia, were the first food stamp recipients on May 29, 1961. They purchased US$95 worth of food using food stamps for their 15-person household. In the first food stamp transaction, they bought a can of pork and beans at Henderson's Supermarket. By January 1964, the pilot programs had expanded from eight areas to 43 (40 counties, Detroit, Michigan, St. Louis, Missouri, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) in 22 States with 380,000 participants.

Of the program, U.S. Representative Leonor K. Sullivan of Missouri asserted, "...the Department of Agriculture seemed bent on outlining a possible food stamp plan of such scope and magnitude, involving some 25 million persons, as to make the whole idea seem ridiculous and tear food stamp plans to smithereens."^[8]

Food Stamp Act of 1964

The Food Stamp Act of 1964 appropriated $75 million to 350,000 individuals in 40 counties and three cities. The measure drew overwhelming support from House Democrats, 90 percent from urban areas, 96 percent from the suburbs, and 87 percent from rural areas. Republican lawmakers opposed the initial measure: only 12 percent of urban Republicans, 11 percent from the suburbs, and 5 percent from rural areas voted affirmatively. President Lyndon B. Johnson hailed food stamps as "a realistic and responsible step toward the fuller and wiser use of an agricultural abundance."^[9][10]

Rooted in congressional logrolling, the act was part of a larger appropriation that raised price supports for cotton and wheat. Rural lawmakers supported the program so that their urban colleagues would not dismantle farm subsidies. Food stamps, along with Medicaid, Head Start, and the Job Corps were foremost among the growing anti-poverty programs.^[9]

President Johnson called for a permanent food-stamp program on January 31, 1964. Agriculture Secretary Orville Freeman submitted the legislation on April 17, 1964. The bill eventually passed by Congress was H.R. 10222, introduced by Congresswoman Sullivan. One of the members on the House Committee on Agriculture who voted against the FSP in Committee was then Representative Bob Dole. As a Senator, Dole became a staunch supporter of the program. The law was intended to strengthen the agricultural economy and provide improved levels of nutrition among low-income households; however, the practical purpose was to bring the pilot FSP under congressional control and to enact the regulations into law.

The major provisions were:

• The State Plan of Operation requirement and development of eligibility standards by States;
• They required that the recipients should purchase their food stamps, while paying the average money spent on food then receiving an amount of food stamps representing an opportunity more nearly to obtain a low-cost nutritionally adequate diet;
• The eligibility for purchase with food stamps of all items intended for human consumption except alcoholic beverages and imported foods (the House version would have prohibited the purchase of soft drinks, luxury foods, and luxury frozen foods);
• Prohibitions against discrimination on bases of race, religious creed, national origin, or political beliefs;
• The division of responsibilities between States (certification and issuance) and the Federal Government (funding of benefits and authorization of retailers and wholesalers), with shared responsibility for funding costs of administration; and
• Appropriations for the first year limited to $75 million; for the second year, to $100 million; and, for the third year, to $200 million.

The Agriculture Department estimated that participation in a national FSP would eventually reach 4 million, at a cost of $360 million annually, far below the actual numbers.

Program expansion: participation milestones in the 1960s and early 1970s

In April 1965, participation topped half a million. (Actual participation was 561,261 people.) Participation topped 1 million in March 1966, 2 million in October 1967, 3 million in February 1969, 4 million in February 1970, 5 million one month later in March 1970, 6 million two months later in May 1970, 10 million in February 1971, and 15 million in October 1974. Rapid increases in participation during this period were primarily due to geographic expansion.

Major legislative changes (early 1970s)

The early 1970s were a period of growth in participation, concern about the cost of providing food stamp benefits, and questions about administration, primarily timely certification. It was during this time that the issue was framed that would dominate food stamp legislation ever after: How to balance program access with program accountability? Three major pieces of legislation shaped this period leading up to massive reform to follow:

P.L. 91-671 (January 11, 1971) established uniform national standards of eligibility and work requirements; required that allotments be equivalent to the cost of a nutritionally adequate diet; limited households' purchase requirements to 30 percent of their income; instituted an outreach requirement; authorized the Agriculture Department to pay 62.5 percent of specific administrative costs incurred by States; expanded the FSP to Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands of the United States; and provided $1.75 billion appropriations for Fiscal Year 1971.

Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973 (P.L. 93-86, August 10, 1973) required States to expand the program to every political jurisdiction before July 1, 1974; expanded the program to drug addicts and alcoholics in treatment and rehabilitation centers; established semi-annual allotment adjustments, SSI cash-out, and bi-monthly issuance; introduced statutory complexity in the income definition (by including in-kind payments and providing an accompanying exception); and required the Department to establish temporary eligibility standards for disasters.

P.L. 93-347 (July 12, 1974) authorized the Department to pay 50 percent of all states' costs for administering the program and established the requirement for efficient and effective administration by the States.

1974 nationwide program

In accordance with P.L. 93-86, the FSP began operating nationwide on July 1, 1974. (The program not fully implemented in Puerto Rico until November 1, 1974.) Participation for July 1974 was almost 14 million.

Eligible access to Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries

Once a person is a beneficiary of the Supplemental Security Income Program they may be automatically eligible for Food Stamps depending on their state’s laws. How much money in food stamps they receive also varies by state. Supplemental Security Income was created in 1974.^[11]

Food Stamp Act of 1977

Both the outgoing Republican Administration and the new Democratic Administration offered Congress proposed legislation to reform the FSP in 1977. The Republican bill stressed targeting benefits to the neediest, simplifying administration, and tightening controls on the program; the Democratic bill focused on increasing access to those most in need and simplifying and streamlining a complicated and cumbersome process that delayed benefit delivery as well as reducing errors, and curbing abuse. The chief force for the Democratic Administration was Robert Greenstein, Administrator of FNS; in Congress, major players were Senators George McGovern, Jacob Javits, Humphrey, and Dole and Congressmen Foley and Richmond. Amid all the themes, the one that became the rallying cry for FSP reform was "EPR"—eliminate the purchase requirement—because of the barrier to participation the purchase requirement represented. The bill that became the law (S. 275) did eliminate the purchase requirement. It also:

• eliminated categorical eligibility;
• established statutory income eligibility guidelines at the poverty line;
• established 10 categories of excluded income;
• reduced the number of deductions used to calculate net income and established a standard deduction to take the place of eliminated deductions;
• raised the general resource limit to $1,750;
• established the fair market value (FMV) test for evaluating vehicles as resources;
• penalized households whose heads voluntarily quit jobs;
• restricted eligibility for students and aliens;
• eliminated the requirement that households must have cooking facilities;
• replaced store due bills with cash change up to 99 cents;
• established the principle that stores must sell a substantial amount of staple foods if they are to be authorized;
• established the ground rules for Indian Tribal Organization administration of the FSP on reservations; and
• introduced demonstration project authority.

In addition to EPR, the Food Stamp Act of 1977 included several access provisions:

• using mail, telephone, or home visits for certification;
• requirements for outreach, bilingual personnel and materials, and nutrition education materials;
• recipients' right to submit applications the first day they attempt to do so;
• 30-day processing standard and inception of the concept of expedited service;
• SSI joint processing and coordination with AFDC;
• notice, recertification, and retroactive benefit protections; and
• a requirement for States to develop a disaster plan.

The integrity provisions of the new program included fraud disqualifications, enhanced Federal funding for States' anti-fraud activities, and financial incentives for low error rates.

The House Report for the 1977 legislation points out that the changes in the Food Stamp Program are needed without reference to upcoming welfare reform since "the path to welfare reform is, indeed, rocky...."

EPR was implemented January 1, 1979. Participation that month increased 1.5 million over the preceding month.

Cutbacks of the early 1980s

The large and expensive FSP proved to be a favorite subject of close scrutiny from both the Executive Branch and Congress in the early 1980s. Major legislation in 1981 and 1982 enacted cutbacks including:

• addition of a gross income eligibility test in addition to the net income test for most households;
• temporary freeze on adjustments of the shelter deduction cap and the standard deduction and constraints on future adjustments;
• annual adjustments in food stamp allotments rather than semi-annual;
• consideration of non-elderly parents who live with their children and non-elderly siblings who live together as one household;
• required periodic reporting and retrospective budgeting;
• prohibition against using Federal funds for outreach;
• replacing the FSP in Puerto Rico with a block grant for nutrition assistance;
• counting retirement accounts as resources;
• State option to require job search of applicants as well as participants; and
• increased disqualification periods for voluntary quitters.

Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) began in Reading, Pennsylvania, in 1984.

Mid- to late 1980s

Recognition of the severe domestic hunger problem in the latter half of the 1980s led to incremental expansions of the FSP in 1985 and 1987, such as elimination of sales tax on food stamp purchases, reinstitution of categorical eligibility, increased resource limit for most households ($2,000), eligibility for the homeless, and expanded nutrition education. The Hunger Prevention Act of 1988 and the Mickey Leland Memorial Domestic Hunger Relief Act in 1990 foretold the improvements that would be coming. The 1988 and 1990 legislation accomplished the following:

• increasing benefits by applying a multiplication factor to Thrifty Food Plan costs;
• making outreach an optional activity for States;
• excluding advance earned income tax credits as income;
• simplifying procedures for calculating medical deductions;
• instituting periodic adjustments of the minimum benefit;
• authorizing nutrition education grants;
• establishing severe penalties for violations by individuals or participating firms; and
• establishing EBT as an issuance alternative.

Throughout this era, significant players were principally various committee chairmen: Congressmen Leland, Hall, Foley, Leon Panetta, and de la Garza and Senator Patrick Leahy.

1993 Mickey Leland Childhood Hunger Relief Act

By 1993, major changes in food stamp benefits had arrived. The final legislation provided for $2.8 billion in benefit increases over Fiscal Years 1984-1988. Leon Panetta, in his new role as OMB Director, played a major role as did Senator Leahy. Substantive changes included:

• eliminating the shelter deduction cap beginning January 1, 1997;
• providing a deduction for legally binding child support payments made to nonhousehold members;
• raising the cap on the dependent care deduction from $160 to $200 for children under 2 years old and $175 for all other dependents;
• improving employment and training (E&T) dependent care reimbursements;
• increasing the FMV test for vehicles to $4,550 on September 1, 1994 and $4,600 on October 1, 1995, then annually adjusting the value from $5,000 on October 1, 1996;
• mandating asset accumulation demonstration projects; and
• simplifying the household definition.

Later participation milestones

In December 1979, participation finally surpassed 20 million. In March 1994, participation hit a new high of 28 million.

Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunities Reconciliation Act of 1996

The mid-1990s was a period of welfare reform. Many states had waivers of the rules for the cash welfare program, Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) before major welfare reform legislation was enacted in 1996. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) removed the entitlement of recipients to AFDC and replaced that with a new block grant to states called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF).

Although the Food Stamp Program was reauthorized in the 1996 Farm Bill, major changes to the program were enacted through PRWORA. Among them were:

• eliminating eligibility to food stamps of most legal immigrants who had been in the country less than five years;
• placing a time limit on food stamp receipt of three out of 36 months for Able-bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs) who are not working at least 20 hours a week or participating in a work program;
• reduction in maximum allotments by setting them at 100 percent of the change in the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) from 103 percent of the change in the TFP;
• freezing the standard deduction, the vehicle limit, and the minimum benefit;
• setting the shelter cap at graduated specified levels up to $300 by fiscal year 2001, and permitting States to make use of the standard utility allowance mandatory;
• revising provisions for disqualification, including comparable disqualification with other means-tested programs; and
• requiring States to implement EBT before October 1, 2002.

As a result of PRWORA and the booming economy of the late 1990s, participation in the food stamp program plummeted.^[12]

The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA) and the Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Act of 1998 (AREERA) made some changes to these provisions, most significantly:

• additional Employment and Training (E&T) funds targeted toward providing work program opportunities for ABAWDs;
• allowing States to exempt up to 15 percent of the estimated number of ABAWDs who would otherwise be ineligible;
• restoring eligibility for certain elderly, disabled and child immigrants who resided in the United States when PRWORA was enacted; and
• cutting administrative funding for States to account for certain administrative costs that previously had been allocated to the AFDC program and now were required to be allocated to the Food Stamp Program.

The fiscal year 2001 agriculture appropriations bill included two significant changes to the Food Stamp Program. The legislation increased the excess shelter cap to $340 in fiscal year 2001 and then indexed the cap to changes in the Consumer Price Index for All Consumers each year beginning in fiscal year 2002. The legislation also allowed States to use the vehicle limit they use in a TANF assistance program, if it would be result in a lower attribution of resources for the household.

Impact

Participants

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (based on a study of data gathered in Fiscal Year 2006), statistics for the food stamp program are as follows:^[13]

• 49% of all participants are children (17 or younger), and 61% of them live in single-parent households.
• 52% of food stamp households include children.
• 9% of all participants are elderly (age 60 or over).
• 76% of all benefits go to households with children, 16% go to households with disabled persons, and 9% go to households with elderly persons.
• 33% of households with children were headed by a single parent, the overwhelming majority of whom were women.
• The average household size is 2.3 persons.
• The average gross monthly income per food stamp household is $673.
• 68% of participants are white; 33% are African-American, non-Hispanic; 1% are Hispanic; 1% are Asian, 1% are Native American, and 1% are of unknown race or ethnicity.^[13]

An annual report released by the Department of Agriculture about the composition of households participating in the Food Stamp Program is identified as the Characteristics Report.^[14]

Aside from nutritional assistance, SNAP Employment and Training (E&T) funds can also be used to provide recipients with education and training and career pathways programs.^[15] SNAP outreach funds can also be integrated with screening tools for other public benefit programs.^[16]

Fraud and abuse

According to the Government Accountability Office, at a 2009 count, 3.53% of food stamps benefits were found to be overpaid, down from 7.01% in 1999.^[17] A 2003 analysis found that two-thirds of all improper payments were the fault of the caseworker, not the participant.^[17] There are also instances of fraud involving exchange of food stamp benefits for cash and/or for items not eligible for purchase with food stamps.^[18]

In Maine, extremely isolated incidents have occurred in the past where individuals once committed fraud by using their EBT to buy canned or bottled beverages (requiring a deposit to be paid at the point of purchase for each beverage container), dump the contents out so the empty beverage container could be returned for deposit redemption, and thereby, allowed these individuals to eventually purchase non-EBT authorized products with cash from the beverage container deposits. The Maine Office of Health and Community Services changed agency regulations pertaining to the EBT purchase of eligible items in beverage containers and now requires that Maine General Assistance recipients to pay the entire cost of their beverage container deposits with their own money.^[19]

Housing expenditure

The lack of affordable housing in urban areas means that money that would have been spent on food is spent on housing expenses. Housing is generally considered affordable when it costs 30% or less of total household income; rising housing costs have made this ideal difficult to attain.

This is especially true in New York City, where a recent survey shows that more than 28% of city renters are spending more than half their income on rent. Among lower income families the percentage is much higher. According to an estimate by the Community Service Society, 65% of New York City families living below the federal poverty line are paying more than half of their income toward rent.

The current eligibility criteria attempt to address this, by including a deduction for "excess shelter costs." This applies only to households that spend more than half of their net income on rent. For the purpose of this calculation, a household's net income is obtained by subtracting certain deductions from their gross (before deductions) income. If the household's total expenditures on rent exceed 50% of that net income, then the net income is further reduced by the amount of rent that exceeds 50% of net income. For 2007, this deduction can be no more than $417, except in households that include an elderly or disabled person.^[20]

The adjusted net income, including the deduction for excess shelter costs, is used to determine whether a household is eligible for food stamps.

Income maintenance

The purpose of the Food Stamp Program as laid out in its implementation was to assist low-income households in obtaining adequate and nutritious diets. According to Peter H. Rossi, a prominent sociologist whose work involved evaluation of social programs, "the program rests on the assumption that households with restricted incomes may skimp on food purchases and live on diets that are inadequate in quantity and quality, or, alternatively skimp on other necessities to maintain an adequate diet".^[21] Food stamps, as many like Rossi, MacDonald and Eisinger contend, are used not only for increasing food but also as income maintenance. Income Maintenance is money that households are able to spend on other things because they no longer have to spend it on food. The FSP is meant solely to increase food purchases, not to act as a tool of income maintenance.

According to various studies shown by Rossi, because of income maintenance only about $0.17–$0.47 more is being spent on food for every food stamp dollar than was spent prior to individuals receiving food stamps.^[22]

Nutritional improvement

Another benefit sometimes attributed to the Food Stamp Program is that it makes nutritious food more readily available.

According to the National Food Consumption Survey individuals in food stamp households do not differ significantly from those living in non-recipient households in the nutritional quality of the food eaten. As a result, Rossi argues that this objective is not being met.^[23] However, other studies found that that lack of nutritional improvement was a result of selection bias where only those most in need of nutritional supplement took advantage of the program and therefore the nutritional gains of these participants were not seen in the data.^[24]

Nutritional standards

Unlike other federal programs that provide food subsidies, SNAP does not have nutritional standards. In October 2010, New York City proposed excluding sweetened beverages from the program, but federal officials rejected the pilot program.^[25]

Overweight and obesity issues

A criticism of SNAP is that participants often have to compromise food choices for options higher in sugar, fat, and preservatives because healthy alternatives are not always affordable. SNAP participants consume less produce and healthy options and purchase at least 40% more sugar-sweetened beverages than any other consumer group.^[26] Maximilian Schmeiser, an economist with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, noted that each additional year of SNAP participation increases the BMI of women and men by 1.6 BMI points (2009). The Economics and Human Biology journal uses an example that an average American woman, 5 feet 4 inches tall, will be 5.8 pounds (2.6 kg) heavier if she is on SNAP than someone who is SNAP eligible, but not receiving food assistance.^[27] Another contributing factor to overweight and obesity issues in SNAP participants may be the lack of access participants have to healthy option because low-income areas are more often served with mini-marts that sell chips and soda as opposed to grocery stores^[28] that sell a more diverse variety of foods.

Macroeconomic effect

Like other forms of government spending, SNAP, by putting money into people's hands, increases aggregate demand and stimulates the economy. In congressional testimony given in July 2008, Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Economy.com, provided estimates of the one-year fiscal multiplier effect for several fiscal policy options, and found that a temporary increase in SNAP was the most effective, with an estimated multiplier of 1.73.^[29] In 2011, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack gave a slightly higher estimate: "Every dollar of SNAP benefits generates $1.84 in the economy in terms of economic activity."^[30] Vilsack's estimate was based on a 2002 George W. Bush-era USDA study which found that "Ultimately, the additional $5 billion of FSP (Food Stamp Program) expenditures triggered an increase in total economic activity (production, sales, and value of shipments) of $9.2 billion and an increase in jobs of 82,100," or $1.84 stimulus for every dollar spent. ^[31]

Healthy Incentives Pilot

Background

The 2008 Farm Bill authorized $20 million to be spent on pilot projects to determine whether incentives provided to SNAP recipients at the point-of-sale would increase the purchase of fruits, vegetables, or other healthful foods.^[32] Fifteen states expressed interest in having the pilot program and, ultimately, five states submitted applications to be considered for HIP. Hampden County, Massachusetts was selected as the Healthy Incentives Pilot (HIP) site. HIP is designed to take place from August 2010 to April 2013 with the actual operation phase of the pilot program scheduled to last 15 months, from November 2011 to January 2013.^[33]

HIP offers select SNAP recipients a 30% subsidy on produce, which is credited to the participant’s EBT card, for 15 months. 7,500 households will participate HIP and an equal number will not; the differences between the two groups will be analyzed to see the effects of the program.^[34] Produce, under the HIP, is defined as fresh, frozen, canned, or dried fruits and vegetables that do not have any added sugar, salt, fat, or oil.

Impact on SNAP participants

Fruits and vegetables are higher in both nutritional value and price, making it difficult for SNAP recipients to purchase regularly, limiting their access to healthy options. The subsidy would give participants more purchasing power while not restricting “bad”, unhealthy foods. Such subsidies encourage sellers to offer more fresh produce at locations that previously did not carry them. This increases access for the SNAP recipients and may further encourage healthy eating habits.

Administrative responsibility

The Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) is the state agency responsible for SNAP. DTA has recruited retailers to take part in HIP and sell more produce, planned for the EBT system change with the state EBT vendor, and hired six new staff members dedicated to HIP. DTA has agreed to provide FNS with monthly reports, data collection and evaluation.

See also

• Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (2007 Farm Bill)
• Food stamp challenge
• Lone Star Card (Texas Electronic Benefit Transfer)
• National School Lunch Act
• Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC)
• Department of Agriculture v. Moreno, 413 U.S. 528 (1973)
• Lyng v. Castillo, 477 U.S. 635 (1986)

References

In text:

1. ^ "Nutrition Assistance Program Home Page", U.S. Department of Agriculture (official website), March 3, 2011 (last revised). Accessed March 4, 2011.
2. ^ http://www.fns.usda.gov/fns/key_data/may-2011.xls
3. ^ SNAP Monthly Data
4. ^ 43 Million Americans Now Receiving Food Stamps, a 14% Increase , Democracy Now!, February 3, 2011.
5. ^ "Food stamp use in U.S. at record pace as jobs vanish", International Herald Tribune, March 31, 2008. (Registration required at May 20, 2009).
6. ^ " Farm Bill - House Committee on Agriculture" U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture (official website), undated. Accessed March 4, 2011.
7. ^ "H.R.6124 - Title: To provide for the continuation of agricultural and other programs of the Department of Agriculture through fiscal year 2012, and for other purposes.", U.S. Library of Congress, undated. Accessed May 20, 2009.
8. ^ SNAP Legistlation
9. ^ ^{a b} Billy Hathorn, "The Iron Triangle in Action: The Federal Food Stamp Program", National Social Science Journal, Vol 12, No. 2 (1999), p. 48
10. ^ Frederic N. Cleaveland, Congress and Urban Problems (New York: Brookings Institution, 1969), p. 305
11. ^ "Understanding Supplemental Security Income SSI and Other Government Programs". Social Security Online - USA.gov. http://www.ssa.gov/ssi/text-other-ussi.htm. 
12. ^ Lowery, Annie (2010-12-10) A Satisfying Subsidy: How conservatives learned to love the federal food stamps program, Slate
13. ^ ^{a b} "What are some characteristics of food stamp households?". United States Department of Agriculture. http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/faqs.htm#23. Retrieved 2006-09-25. 
14. ^ "Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Household Characteristics Reports". United States Department of Agriculture. http://www.fns.usda.gov/ora/menu/Published/SNAP/SNAPPartHH.htm. 
15. ^ "Funding Career Pathways: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Employment and Training". Center for Law and Social Policy. http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/documents/files/FundingCareerPathways_SNAPET.pdf. Retrieved 2010-08-09. 
16. ^ "SNAP Outreach Funding: Funding Integrated Service Delivery". Center for Law and Social Policy. http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/documents/files/CWF_SNAP-Outreach.pdf. Retrieved 2010-08-09. 
17. ^ ^{a b} Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Payment Errors and Trafficking Have Declined, but Challenges Remain GAO report number GAO-10-956T, July 28, 2010
18. ^ Food-stamp fraud: Detroit-area stores swipe millions from aid program
19. ^ Bangor food stamp scam dumps water for deposit
20. ^ Fact Sheet on Resources, Income, and Benefits
21. ^ Rossi, Peter H. Feeding the Poor: Assessing Federal Food Aid. Washington: AEI Press, 1998 p.28
22. ^ *Rossi, Peter H. Feeding the Poor: Assessing Federal Food Aid. Washington: AEI Press, 1998. p.36
23. ^ Feeding the Poor
24. ^ Food Distribution and Food Stamp Program Effects on Food Consumption and Nutritional “Achievement” of Low Income Persons in Kern County, California
25. ^ McGeehan, Patrick (August 19, 2011). "Federal Officials Reject City’s Plan to Ban Food Stamps for Soda". The New York Times. http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/19/washington-rejects-n-y-c-ban-on-use-of-food-stamps-to-buy-sodas. Retrieved August 19, 2011. 
26. ^ Shenkin, J.D., & Jacobson, M.F. (2010). Using the food stamp program and other methods to promote healthy diets for low-income consumers. ‘‘American Journal of Public Health’’, 100(9)
27. ^ Scott-Thomas, C., [1], ‘‘FoodNavigator-usa.com’’, 2009, August 11
28. ^ Davidow, J., The obesity crisis: a healthy diet often beyond the means of poor, hungry. ‘‘Seattle PI’’, 2004, September 09
29. ^ Zandi, Mark. "A Second Quick Boost From Government Could Spark Recovery" (edited excerpts from congressional testimony of July 24, 2008).
30. ^ "Right-Wing Media Mock Vilsack For Accurately Calling Food Stamps 'Economic Stimulus'". Media Matters for America. August 17, 2011. http://mediamatters.org/research/201108170014. Retrieved 2011-08-18. 
31. ^ [http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/fanrr26/fanrr26-6/fanrr26-6.pdf "Effects of Changes in Food Stamp Expenditures Across the U.S. Economy"]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. 2002. http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/fanrr26/fanrr26-6/fanrr26-6.pdf. Retrieved 2011-09-30. 
32. ^ Healthy Incentives Program webpage on U.S. Department of Agriculture website
33. ^ Healthy Incentives Program - Timeline webpage on U.S. Department of Agriculture website
34. ^ Healthy Incentives Program Evaluation webpage on U.S. Department of Agriculture website

General:

• United States Department of Health and Human Services, "2002 Indicators of Welfare Dependence Appendix A: Program Data: Food Stamp Program"
• Article based on the USDA Web publication: A Short History of the Food Stamp Program
• Eisinger, Peter K. Toward an end to hunger in America. Washington: The Brookings Institution, 1998.
• MacDonald, Maurice. Food, Stamps, and Income Maintenance. New York: Academic Pres, Inc, 1977.
• Gundersen, Craig; LeBlanc, Michael; Kuhn, Betsey, "The Changing Food Assistance Landscape: The Food Stamp Program in a Post-Welfare Reform Environment, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Economics Report No. (AER773) 36 pp, March 1999

External links

• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) at Food and Nutrition Service
• History of the Food Stamp Program video from Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Department of Agriculture.