The Food Stamp Program (FSP) is America’s first line of defense against hunger, and the largest federal food program. Administered by USDA, it helps needy families purchase food so they can maintain a nutritious diet. While the program was designed initially to assist those who are unemployed or on welfare, today low-income working families are the major beneficiaries. Participants receive electronic debit cards or paper coupons worth an average of $74.76 a month per person (FY00), which can be used to purchase certain foods in authorized stores (just over $0.80 per meal).

• Households must meet both "gross" and "net" income tests unless all members are receiving TANF, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or, in some places, General Assistance (GA).
• Gross monthly income of most households must be 130% or less of the federal poverty guideline ($1,585 per month for a family of three in most locations). Net monthly income must be at or below 100% of the poverty guidelines ($1,220 for a family of three).
• Most households are permitted to have no more than $2,000 in assets.

Estimated Need and Coverage

• Participation of eligibles declined from 71% in 1994 to 57% in 1999.
• Over this time, nationwide surveys of providers of private emergency food assistance have found that demand for food assistance has increased significantly.

• In FY00, the FSP provided monthly benefits to an average 17.2 million people living in 7.3 million households. Slightly over half of all participants were children.
• From 1994 to 1996, FSP caseloads fell by 9%. But from 1996 to 1999, caseloads declined 32%, a time when the poverty rate fell by only 14%. Since that time, participation has increased by more than 1.5 million.

• In FY00, the cost of FSP benefits was $15.1 billion. Households with children received 80% of all monthly food stamp benefits.
• $23 billion was appropriated for FY02, of which $17.7 billion is estimated to be direct payments to individuals.

• Deterioration in the real value of the benefit due to inflation.
• Exclusion of some groups of immigrants and single, childless adults.
• Low vehicle and asset limits preclude eligibility of some needy households.

The WIC Program (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children) provides prescribed foods, nutrition education, and access to health care to low-income pregnant women, new mothers, infants, and children under age 5. First established by Congress in 1972, WIC is administered at the federal level by the USDA, and implemented at the state level by 87 WIC state agencies. These agencies, in turn, fund WIC services through about 2,000 local agencies and 10,000 clinic sites. About 46,000 retailers are authorized to distribute specified food products to WIC families. The average monthly food benefit per person is about $34.

• WIC is available to pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women, and children up to age 5 who are certified by medical personnel to be nutritionally at-risk and whose income is less than 185% of the federal poverty level.

Estimated Need and Coverage

• In general, WIC serves about 80% of all eligible women, infants, and children.

• In FY01, 7.3 million people per month participated (1.8 million women, 1.9 million infants, and 3.6 million children under age 5).
• WIC serves 45% of all infants born in the U.S. and about a quarter of all children between 1-4 years of age.

• WIC is not an entitlement program and thus participation is limited by the amount of funding appropriated by Congress, as well as supplementary funds provided by states.
• In FY00, the total cost of the WIC program was $4 billion, of which $2.9 billion went to food costs, and $1.1 billion was for nutrition education services and administration.
• $4.3 billion was appropriated for FY02. For FY03, President Bush has proposed a $364 million increase, suggesting that it would be enough to serve nearly 8 million women and children each month.

• Whether WIC should be funded as an entitlement program as are other federal food and nutrition programs.
• Increased funds needed for nutrition services and administrative tasks to ensure program goals can be met.
• Impact of increased cost of infant formula due to change on part of one formula manufacturer.
• Cultural appropriateness of the food package and state flexibility for adjustments.

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is the nation’s largest and most significant school-based nutrition program. It provides funding and commodity foods to nonprofit food services in public and private schools, and residential childcare facilities. Over the course of the school week, the program provides participating children with one-third of the calories needed for proper growth. The program was created in 1946 in response to concern about the high number of World War II draftees who failed their physical exams because they were undernourished.

• A free lunch is served to children with household incomes at or below 130% of poverty or in households receiving food stamps or welfare. A reduced-price lunch is available to children with incomes between 130-185% of poverty. A basic federal reimbursement rate is provided for meals served at full- price, while higher rates of reimbursement are provided for meals served to children eligible for free or reduced-price lunches.
• The NLSP is available in over 97,000 schools and residential childcare institutions. Any child enrolled in one of these schools or institutions may participate.

Estimated Need and Coverage

• About 95% of all schools nationally participate in the NSLP.
• 80% of children who are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches receive them–the highest coverage rate of any federally-funded child nutrition programs, and therefore a benchmark for other programs.

• In FY00, approximately one-third of all elementary and high-school students received free or reduced-price lunches (15.4 million).
• An additional 11.8 million students received full-price lunches.

• In FY00, the federal cost of the NSLP was $6.3 billion. The FY02 cost is estimated at $6.9 billion.
• In addition to commodities, the NSLP provides a fixed cash reimbursement to schools for each meal, plus a subsidy to cover meal preparation costs.

• Concern that the error rate has been increasing.
• Encouraging healthy eating habits including incentives for schools to purchase locally grown produce, and to replace unhealthy foods in vending machines with nutritious foods.
• Provision of funding for automated "point of service" programs which enable children to swipe meal cards or enter personal identification numbers in order to reduce stigma and speed up lunch lines.

The School Breakfast Program (SBP) began as a pilot project in 1966 and was permanently established in 1975. It reimburses public and private schools and residential childcare institutions that serve breakfast to students. Over the course of the school week, the SBP provides participating children with one-quarter of the key nutrients and calories needed for proper growth. Studies show that poor children who participate in a breakfast program achieve higher standardized test scores than poor children who do not. Participating students also show improved emotional functioning and fewer behavioral problems.

• A free breakfast is served to children with household incomes at or below 130% of poverty or in households receiving food stamps or welfare. A reduced-price breakfast is available to children with incomes between 130-185% of poverty.
• All children attending schools that operate the breakfast program may participate. Children from families over 185% of poverty pay full price, although their meals are still partially subsidized by federal reimbursements.

Estimated Need and Coverage

• Only 33% of children approved for free or reduced-price lunch actually receive school breakfast. This coverage rate varies widely at the state level, from a low of 18% in Wisconsin to a high of 48% in Arkansas and Mississippi.
• About 70% of schools nationally participate in the SBP, which is available to the same schools and institutions as the National School Lunch Program.

Number Served

• In FY00, 6.3 million low-income children received free or reduced-price school breakfast.

• In FY00, the federal cost of the SBP was $1.4 billion. The FY02 cost is estimated at $1.6 billion.
• The cost of meals provided is federally reimbursed through state education agencies to school districts.

• Keys to higher participation are: greater availability of programs, increased awareness, and reduced stigma. Additional funding for outreach could help remove these barriers.
• Universal free programs could help eliminate barriers and reduce paperwork.
• Half of all states do not have legislation requiring school districts to offer the federally-funded SBP.

Because of work requirements and a changing economy, more low-income families depend on childcare and afterschool settings for a substantial portion of their children’s nutritional intake. Two federal programs provide cash reimbursement for snacks and meals in afterschool and childcare settings. The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) provides reimbursement for meals and snacks for children attending eligible childcare centers, Head Start programs, family day care providers, afterschool care programs, and homeless shelters. The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) funds nutrition at school-based afterschool programs.

• Low-income children up to age 18 are eligible for snacks served through school-based programs funded by the NSLP. Schools can qualify by being located in a low-income area; alternatively, children in programs can qualify on the basis of their income.
• CACFP primarily serves preschool or younger children, but low-income children through age 18 are eligible if the afterschool program is located in a low-income area. If the program is not in a low-income area, children through age 12 are eligible and institutional reimbursement depends on the family’s income.
• In family daycare homes, reimbursement for meals served is based upon eligibility for tier I rates (which targets higher levels of reimbursement to low-income areas, and providers) or lower tier II rates for homes which do not meet the location or provider income criteria for a tier I home.
• A new CACFP program — At-Risk Supper Program–reimburses supper meals served to older school children (up to age 19) at the free rate in organized afterschool programs in low-income areas; 7 states are currently participating in this program.

Estimated Need and Coverage

• USDA estimates of CACFP participation suggest that 33% of all eligible young children in childcare participate in CACFP, along with 60% of licensed family daycare homes, and 32% of all licensed daycare centers (on an average daily basis). These participation figures show considerable regional variation.

• In FY00, an estimated 2.6 million children per day received snacks and meals through the CACFP. Nationally, about 40,000 childcare centers and 170,000 family day care homes participated in CACFP.
• An estimated 400,000 children received snacks and meals through the NSLP at over 10,000 afterschool programs.

• In FY01, funding for CACFP was $1.7 billion.
• Given the importance of more frequent nutritional intake for growing youngsters, Congress in 1998 extended federal reimbursement to reach more children and youth in afterschool programs.

• Reimbursement rates dropped with the 1996 welfare law, as did administrative reimbursement for sponsors of family daycare homes.
• Reconsider eligibility for tier I reimbursement to 185% of poverty (family day care homes) or do away with 2-tier eligibility means test (which has reduced the number of providers).
• Extension of CACFP eligibility for for-profit childcare centers with 25% low-income eligibles.
• Funding for outreach and expansion efforts directed at increasing child participation among low-income families.

Summer nutrition programs ensure that low-income children continue to receive nutritious meals during long school vacations, when they do not have access to school meals. Two federal nutrition programs provide summer food: the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). The SFSP started as a pilot program in 1968 and was made permanent in 1975.

• Eligible institutions include public and nonprofit school food authorities, nonprofit summer residential summer camps, nonprofit colleges operating the National Youth Sports Program, nonprofit organizations, and units of local, municipal, county, or state governments.
• SFSP sites are of three kinds: "open," "enrolled," and "camp." Open sites are located in geographic areas where at least half the children are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals. All children are eligible to receive free meals at an "open site." At an enrolled site, the area need not be low income, but at least half the children enrolled in the program must be determined eligible for free or reduced-price meals, and then all the children enrolled in the program can receive free meals. Camps sites receive payment only for meals served to children who are eligible for free and reduced-price meals.

Estimated Need and Coverage

• For every 100 low-income children eligible for free or reduced-price school lunch, about 17 receive a summer meal due to the limited number of schools and community agencies sponsoring the program.

• On an average weekday in July 2000, approximately 3.2 million children received meals through either the SFSP or the NSLP.
• Two-thirds of the children were served through the SFSP and the remainder through the NSLP.
• SFSP programs were operated at 31,249 sites by about 3,700 sponsoring organizations.

Funding

• The total federal cost of SFSP in FY00 was $285 million. The cost of summer meals delivered through the NSLP is not separately reported.

• The 1996 welfare law decreased reimbursement rates, and many sponsors must now operate at a deficit due to food and labor costs. Some states have addressed this problem by providing supplemental dollars or start-up grants to support the program.
• The USDA is committed to substantially increasing participation in the summer food program. Greater outreach to acquire local sponsors and providers is needed to build awareness and to increase the number of summer meal programs.

Hunger, Poverty, and Child Nutrition Report Card

Percent of households that are hungry and food insecure

10.5%

Number of individuals in hungry and food insecure households

33,231,000

Number of children in hungry and food insecure households

12,895,000

Population

281,421,906

Population under 18

72,293,812

Median household income

$41,343

Percent of individuals below poverty line

12.5%

Percent of children in poverty

17.1%

Percent of children in extreme poverty (incomes under 50% of poverty) (1997-1999)

8.0%

Percent of children in working poor families (income under 200% of poverty) (1997-1999)

23.0%

Food Stamp Program

WIC

Avg. monthly participation

17,091,000

Avg. monthly participation

7,192,300

Adults

8,326,000

Women

1,748,792

Children

8,765,000

Infants & children

5,443,507

Coverage rate (1999)

57%

Coverage rate

81%

School Lunch

School Breakfast

Free: ADA*

12,980,597

Free: ADA

5,725,797

Reduced-price: ADA

2,451,994

Reduced-price: ADA

613,298

Total, including paid

27,238,984

Total, including paid

7,553,987

Number of schools/sites

97,771

Number of schools/sites

73,904

Coverage rate

79.8%

Coverage rate

32.8%

Afterschool and Childcare Nutrition

Summer Food

CACFP

SFSP

Childcare centers: ADA

1,651,628

ADA

2,106,416

No. of sites

39,401

No. of sites

31,414

Family daycare: ADA

976,377

NSLP

No. of sites

171,708

Avg. daily number of lunches

1,278,035

NSLP

Average daily number of snacks

69,698

Average daily number of snacks

426,614

Number of schools/sites

10,426

Estimated coverage rate

17.5%