Characteristics of Food Stamp
Households:
Fiscal Year 2002 (Advance Report)
SUMMARY
On average, about 19 million people living in 8.2 million households
received food stamps in the United States each month in FY 2002. 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 provides summary
information about the demographic and economic circumstances of food stamp
households.
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Most food stamp recipients are children or elderly. Over half
(51 percent) are children and another 9 percent are age 60 or older.
Working-age women represent 28 percent of the caseload, while
working-age men represent 12 percent.
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The majority of food stamp households do not receive cash welfare
benefits. Just over one in five (21 percent) received TANF
benefits, down from 42 percent in 1990. Nearly 30 percent received
Supplemental Security Income. Almost one quarter (24 percent) received
Social Security benefits. Eleven percent had no cash income of any
kind.
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Many food stamp recipients work. Over one fourth (28 percent)
of food stamp households have earnings, up from 19 percent in 1990.
For these households, earnings are the primary source of income.
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Food stamp households have little income. Only 12 percent are
above the poverty line, while 36 percent have incomes at or below half
the poverty line. The typical food stamp household had gross income of
$633 per month and received a monthly food stamp benefit of $173. Over
one-fifth of monthly funds (cash income plus food stamps) available to
a typical household come from food stamps.
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Food stamp households possess few resources. The average food
stamp household possesses only about $134 in countable resources
(including the non-excluded portion of vehicles and the entire value
of checking and savings accounts and other savings).
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Most food stamp households are small. The average food stamp
household size was 2.3, but varied considerably by household
composition. Households with children were relatively large, averaging
3.3 members. Households with elderly members tended to be smaller,
with an average size of 1.3 people.
July 2003
Last modified: 12/04/2008
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