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Contact: Jean Daniel
(703) 305-2286
Jean.Daniel@fns.usda.gov
STUDY SHOWS FOOD STAMPS
EFFECTIVELY TARGET POOREST HOUSEHOLDS, CHILDREN, ELDERLY
WASHINGTON, Nov. 09, 2001 –
Statistics show that the Food Stamp Program is helping primarily to support the
youngest, the most needy and the working poor, according to a new study released
today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The study, entitled
“Characteristics of Food Stamp Households: Fiscal Year 2000,” shows that more than half of all food
stamp recipients were children. Households
with children were often working poor households. While more than one-fourth of all food stamp households had earned
income, 43 percent of those with children had earnings.
“More than 91 percent of food
stamp benefits went to households with children, elderly or disabled people in
Fiscal Year 2000, and the vast majority of food stamp households had incomes
that were at or below the federal poverty guideline,” said Eric M. Bost, USDA
Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services. “That’s what the
program was intended to do.”
The study also shows:
- Slightly over half of all participants were children; 39 percent were
non-elderly adults and 10 percent were elderly (age 60 or over).
- About
one-third of all food stamp households had incomes at or below half the poverty
line; only 11 percent had income above the poverty line.
- 39
percent of all food stamp participants were white, 36 percent were African
American, 18 percent were Hispanic, nearly 4 percent Asian and nearly 2 percent
Native American.
- The
vast majority - over 95 percent - of participants were U.S.-born citizens.
Slightly more than 4 percent were legal immigrants.
“The Food Stamp Program is
the first line of defense against hunger, and continues to play a critical role
in facilitating the transition from welfare to work,” Bost said.
The
study is available on the USDA Food and Nutrition Service web site at www.fns.usda.gov/OANE.
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