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 UNIVERSITY OF 
 ILLINOIS LIBRARY 
 AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 
 ACES 
 
F73<?3 
 
 no. 3#: 6 
 
 search Service 
 ient of Agriculture 
 
 Food A 
 
 Resear. University of lUinois 
 Library at Urbana- 
 Champaign 
 ACES 
 
 ^rutfd Assistance 
 
 Landscape 
 
 March 2005 I 
 
 Ur ’ 8 • of ;i.uMo is 
 
 The U.5. Department of Agriculture's (U5DA) domestic food assis¬ 
 tance programs increase food security and reduce hunger by 
 
 providing children and low-income people access to food, a healthful diet, and 
 nutrition education. One in 5 Americans participates in at least 1 of 1 5 food 
 assistance programs at some point during the year. These programs account for 
 about 60 percent of USDA's annual budget. The Economic Research Service 
 (ERS) is responsible for conducting studies and evaluations of USDA's food assis¬ 
 tance programs, focusing on the benefits of improved diets and food choices, fac¬ 
 tors that influence diet and nutrition, and program outcomes. This report uses pre¬ 
 liminary data from USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) to examine trends 
 in the food assistance programs through fiscal 2004 (October 1, 2003, to 
 September 30, 2004). It also discusses a recent ERS report that provides a com¬ 
 prehensive review and synthesis of existing research on the impact of USDA's 
 domestic food assistance programs on nutrition- and health-related outcomes. 
 
 Food Assistance and 
 Nutrition Research Program 
 
Record High Expenditures 
 for Food Assistance 
 
 Expenditures for USDA's 15 food assistance 
 programs totaled $46 billion in fiscal 2004, 
 the second consecutive year in which expendi¬ 
 tures exceeded the previous record high. The 
 fiscal 2004 expenditure level represented a 
 10-percent increase from the previous fiscal 
 year, the fourth consecutive year in which total 
 food assistance expenditures increased. 
 
 Each food assistance program targets popula¬ 
 tions with different nutritional needs. Five pro¬ 
 grams—the Food Stamp Program, the 
 National School Lunch Program, the Special 
 Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, 
 Infants, and Children (WIC), the School 
 Breakfast Program, and the Child and Adult 
 Care Food Program—accounted for 94 per¬ 
 cent of USDA's total expenditures for food 
 assistance. Although each of these five pro¬ 
 grams expanded during fiscal 2004, over 
 three-quarters (76 percent) of the increase in 
 food assistance expenditures between fiscal 
 2003 and 2004 was due to the increase in 
 Food Stamp Program expenditures. 
 
 USDA expenditures for food assistance, 
 
 FY 1970-2004 
 
 Billion dollars 
 
 50 n- 
 
 1970 74 78 82 86 t r< 90 94 98 02 04 
 
 Note: expenditures are in nominal terms (not adjusted 
 for inflation). 
 
 Food Stamp Program 
 Participation Continues 
 To Increase 
 
 The Food Stamp Program is the largest of the 
 food assistance programs, accounting for 59 
 percent of all food assistance spending in fis¬ 
 cal 2004. The program provides monthly ben¬ 
 efits for eligible participants to purchase 
 approved food items at authorized food 
 stores. The program is available to most needy 
 households (subject to certain work and immi¬ 
 gration status requirements) with limited 
 income and assets. During fiscal 2004: 
 
 ■ Spending for the Food Stamp Program 
 totaled $27.0 billion, exceeding the previ¬ 
 ous record high of $24.6 billion in fiscal 
 
 1995. Fiscal 2004 expenditures repre¬ 
 sented a 1 3-percent increase over the pre¬ 
 vious fiscal year, making Food Stamps the 
 fastest growing food assistance program 
 for the year. This dramatic growth in 
 expenditures was due largely to an 
 increase in participation and, to a lesser 
 degree, an increase in the average per 
 person benefit. 
 
 ■ The average number of food stamp partic¬ 
 ipants increased 12 percent in fiscal 
 2004, the largest percentage increase in 
 participation since 1992. Participation in 
 the program averaged 23.9 million peo¬ 
 ple per month, or about 1 in 12 
 Americans. However, participation levels 
 remain below the record 27.5 million per¬ 
 sons per month who participated in the 
 program in fiscal 1994, when one in nine 
 Americans participated in the program. 
 
 ■ Participation in the program trended 
 upward throughout the year. In 1 1 of the 
 12 months, participation increased over 
 the previous month. This was a continua¬ 
 tion of a longer term trend: since August of 
 fiscal 2000, participation in the Food 
 Stamp Program has risen in 44 of the last 
 50 months. 
 
 ■ Benefits per person averaged $86.03 per 
 month, about a 3-percent increase over 
 the previous year. 
 
 Monthly food stamp program participation 
 continued to increase in fiscal 2004 
 
 Million persons 
 
 Participation in WIC 
 Reaches Record High 
 
 The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program 
 for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) helps 
 safeguard the health of low-income pregnant, 
 breastfeeding, and postpartum women, and 
 infants and children up to age 5 who are at 
 nutritional risk, by providing a package of sup¬ 
 plemental foods, nutrition education, and 
 health care referrals. During fiscal 2004: 
 
 ■ Spending for WIC totaled $4.9 billion, or 
 9 percent more than the previous year, 
 
Federal Nutrition Assistance At-A-Glance 
 
 ^Program 
 
 
 FY 2003 
 
 FY 2004 
 
 Change 
 
 Food Stamp 
 
 Average monthly participation (millions) 
 
 21.3 
 
 23.9 
 
 12.2% 
 
 Program 
 
 Average benefit per person (dollars/month) 
 
 83.93 
 
 86.03 
 
 2.5% 
 
 
 Total annual expenditures ($ billions) 
 
 23.9 
 
 27.0 
 
 13.2% 
 
 WIC 
 
 Average monthly participation (millions) 
 
 7.6 
 
 7.9 
 
 3.6% 
 
 
 Total expenditures ($ billions) 
 
 4.5 
 
 4.9 
 
 9.1% 
 
 National 
 
 Average daily participation (millions) 
 
 28.4 
 
 28.9 
 
 1.7% 
 
 School Lunch 
 Program 
 
 Total expenditures ($ billions) 
 
 7.2 
 
 7.6 
 
 5.5% 
 
 School 
 
 Breakfast 
 
 Program 
 
 Average daily participation (millions) 
 
 8.4 
 
 8.9 
 
 5.2% 
 
 Total expenditures ($ billions) 
 
 1.7 
 
 1.8 
 
 6.7% 
 
 Child and 
 Adult Care 
 
 Meals served in: 
 
 • child care centers (millions) 
 
 1,023 
 
 1,057 
 
 3.4% 
 
 Food 
 
 • family day care homes (millions) 
 
 693 
 
 687 
 
 -0.9% 
 
 Program 
 
 • adult day care centers (millions) 
 
 49 
 
 53 
 
 9.6% 
 
 
 Total expenditures ($ billions) 
 
 1.9 
 
 2.0 
 
 4.5% 
 
 All programs 
 
 Total expenditures ($ billions) 
 
 41.8 
 
 46.0 
 
 10.0% 
 
 Note: The figures are based on preliminary data provided by the Food and Nutrition Service as of 
 November 2004 and are subject to change. Total program expenditures includes figures from other 
 programs not shown in table. 
 
 making WIC the second fastest growing 
 food assistance program. The growth in 
 expenditures was due to both an increase 
 in participation and to an increase in the 
 average amount of the per person benefit. 
 
 ■ Monthly participation in WIC increased 
 almost 4 percent over the previous year to 
 an average 7.9 million people, a new 
 record high. 
 
 ■ Children (age 1-4 years) made up 50 per¬ 
 cent of all WIC participants, while women 
 accounted for 24 percent and infants (less 
 than 1 year of age) 26 percent. 
 
 Average monthly participation in WIC increased in FY 2004 
 
 Million persons 
 9 
 8 
 7 
 6 
 5 
 4 
 3 
 2 
 1 
 
 0 
 
 1974 78 82 86 90 94 98 02 04 
 
 ■ Per person food costs averaged $37.86, 
 or 7 percent more than during the previ¬ 
 ous year. 
 
 Number of Meals Served 
 in National School 
 Lunch Program Stabilizes 
 
 The National School Lunch Program provides 
 nutritious low-cost or free lunches to school- 
 children. Schools that participate in the 
 National School Lunch Program receive cash 
 and some commodities from USDA to offset 
 the cost of food service. In return, the schools 
 must serve lunches that meet Federal nutrition¬ 
 al requirements and offer free or reduced-price 
 lunches to needy children. Any child at a par¬ 
 ticipating school may enroll in the program. 
 Children from families with incomes at or 
 below 130 percent of the Federal poverty 
 guidelines are eligible for free meals, and 
 those from families between 1 30 and 1 85 per¬ 
 cent of the poverty guidelines are eligible for 
 reduced-price meals. Children from families 
 with incomes over 1 85 percent of the poverty 
 guidelines pay a full price, though their meals 
 are still subsidized to a small extent. Over 90 
 percent of all elementary and secondary 
 
students in the United States attend a school 
 that participates in the program. During fiscal 
 2004: 
 
 ■ Spending for the program totaled $7.6 
 billion, a 6-percent increase over the pre¬ 
 vious year. 
 
 ■ An average 28.9 million children partici¬ 
 pated in the program each school day. 
 This represented about 59 percent of all 
 children attending a participating school 
 or institution. 
 
 ■ The total number of lunches served 
 increased by 1 percent relative to fiscal 
 2003. The number of free and reduced- 
 price lunches served each increased 2 
 percent, while the number of paid lunches 
 remained about the same. 
 
 ■ Almost half (49 percent) of the school 
 lunches served were provided free to stu¬ 
 dents and another 10 percent were pro¬ 
 vided at a reduced price. 
 
 ■ Almost three-quarters (74 percent) of these 
 breakfasts were provided free to students 
 and another 9 percent were provided at a 
 reduced price. 
 
 ■ Two-thirds (67 percent) of the breakfasts 
 served in the program received "severe 
 need" reimbursements (schools may qualify 
 for these higher "severe need" reimburse¬ 
 ments if a specified percentage of their 
 lunches are served free or at reduced price.) 
 
 Meals served in the School Breakfast Program 
 by type of reimbursement, FY 2004 
 
 Free 
 
 74% 
 
 Full price 
 
 Reduced price 
 9% 
 
 Meals served in the National School Lunch 
 Program by type of reimbursement, FY 2004 
 
 Child and Adult Care Food 
 Program Grows Modestly 
 
 
 
 
 The Child and Adult Care Food Program sub¬ 
 sidizes healthy meals and snacks in participat¬ 
 
 
 
 Full price 
 
 ing child care centers and homes and adult 
 
 Free I 
 
 I I 
 
 M 41% 
 
 day care facilities. The providers of care are 
 
 49% | 
 
 y 
 
 ! ^ 
 
 \ ^ 
 
 X. 1 ' 
 
 \ 1 . .• 
 
 
 reimbursed for each type of qualifying meal 
 (breakfast, lunch/supper, or snack) they serve. 
 During fiscal 2004: 
 
 Reduced price 
 10 % 
 
 School Breakfast 
 Program Expands 
 
 The School Breakfast Program provides low- 
 cost breakfasts to school children, with stu¬ 
 dents from low-income families receiving free 
 or reduced-price meals (eligibility require¬ 
 ments are the same as those for the National 
 School Lunch Program). Almost three-quarters 
 of all elementary and secondary students in 
 the United States attended a school that partic¬ 
 ipates in the program. During fiscal 2004: 
 
 ■ An average 8.9 million children partici¬ 
 pated in the program each school day, or 
 about 22 percent of all children attending 
 a participating school or institution. 
 
 ■ Spending for the program totaled $1.8 bil¬ 
 lion, or 7 percent more than in the previous 
 year. 
 
 ■ A total of 1.5 billion breakfasts were served, 
 or about 5 percent more than in fiscal 2002. 
 
 Expenditures for the program totaled $2.0 
 billion, almost 5 percent greater than the 
 previous year. 
 
 ■ A total of 1.8 billion meals were served, an 
 increase of about 2 percent from fiscal 
 2003. 
 
 ■ About 58 percent of all meals served were 
 in child care centers, 38 percent were in 
 family child care homes, and 3 percent in 
 adult care centers. 
 
 Economic and Social Indicators 
 
 Economic .and social conditions affect partici¬ 
 pation in and expenditures on the food assis¬ 
 tance programs through their influence on: (1) 
 the size of the eligible population; (2) the rate 
 of participation among eligible people; and 
 (3) benefit levels. Historically, changes in the 
 country's economic conditions significantly 
 affect participation in the Food Stamp 
 Program. For example, the number of food 
 stamp recipients typically rises during reces¬ 
 sionary periods when the number of 
 
unemployed and poor persons increases, and 
 falls during periods of growth as the number of 
 unemployed and poor persons decreases. 
 
 The unemployment rate was 5.5 percent in 
 2004, down from 6.0 percent the previous 
 year. This marked the first decrease in the 
 unemployment rate in the last 4 years. Despite 
 the decrease in unemployment, food stamp 
 participation continued to increase in fiscal 
 2004. Efforts to increase awareness of and 
 improve access to the Food Stamp Program 
 helps explain at least some of the increase in 
 the number of food stamp participants during 
 fiscal 2004. 
 
 Number of food stamp recipients, unemployed, 
 and people in poverty, 1975-2004 
 
 Million persons 
 
 Research Update: Effects of Food 
 Assistance and Nutrition 
 Programs on Nutrition and 
 Health: Volume 3, 
 Literature Review 
 
 Although USDA's food assistance programs 
 vary greatly in size, target population, and ben¬ 
 efit-delivery strategy, they all provide children or 
 
 low-income households with food, the means 
 to purchase food, and/or nutrition education. 
 The programs share the main goal of ensuring 
 the health of vulnerable Americans by provid¬ 
 ing access to a nutritionally adequate diet. 
 Faced with tight budgets and competing 
 national priorities, policymakers want to ensure 
 that government programs are achieving their 
 intended outcomes. In order to spend tax dol¬ 
 lars wisely, policymakers need objective evalu¬ 
 ations of program's effectiveness. 
 
 Over the past 30 years, a number of stud¬ 
 ies—both publicly and privately funded—have 
 tried to quantify the effects of the food assis¬ 
 tance programs. However, there has been no 
 comprehensive assessment of the effects of the 
 programs on the diet and health outcomes of 
 participants. As part of the ERS-funded 
 "Nutrition and Health Outcomes Study," a 
 recent report reviewed and synthesized 
 research from over 300 publications on the 
 impact of USDA's food assistance programs 
 on participants' diet and health outcomes. The 
 primary objective of the literature review was 
 to summarize current knowledge about the 
 effects of program participation on nutrition- 
 and health-related outcomes. The review 
 examines the research on 15 food assistance 
 programs but tends to focus on the largest 
 ones for which more research is available: 
 food stamps, school feeding programs, and 
 WIC. The impact of program participation on 
 a number of different outcomes was 
 reviewed—jaj^f'^ r 5P^'T^ > ?^L secur ' f y' birth 
 outcomes. pna WpVrJmg^^and individual 
 dietary inUjle|!fllQISiJJBR^msons to refer- 
 
 *" - -ATiiRfi AN AM PA1 - ndd 
 
 ACES 
 
 Selected Economic and Social Indicators, 2002-04 
 
 Indicator 
 
 Population (millions) 
 
 Persons in poverty (millions) 
 
 Poverty rate (%) 
 
 Median household income (2003 dollars) 
 Civilian unemployment rate (%) 
 
 Real GDP 1 (% change) 
 
 Food-insecure households (thousands) 
 Households with hunger (thousands) 
 
 CPI 2 for all items (% change) 
 
 CPI for food (% change) 
 
 CPI for food at home (% change) 
 
 CPI for food away from home (% change) 
 TANF 3 recipients (thousands) 
 
 School enrollment (thousands) 
 
 2002 
 
 2003 
 
 2004 
 
 288 
 
 291 
 
 294 
 
 34.6 
 
 35.9 
 
 NA 
 
 12.1 
 
 12.5 
 
 NA 
 
 43,381 
 
 43,318 
 
 NA 
 
 5.8 
 
 6.0 
 
 5.5 
 
 1.9 
 
 3.0 
 
 NA 
 
 12,058 
 
 12,583 
 
 NA 
 
 3,799 
 
 3,920 
 
 NA 
 
 1.6 
 
 2.3 
 
 NA 
 
 1.8 
 
 2.2 
 
 NA 
 
 1.3 
 
 2.2 
 
 NA 
 
 2.5 
 
 2.1 
 
 NA 
 
 5,187 
 
 4,987 
 
 4,799 
 
 54,158 (P) 
 
 54,296 (P) 
 
 54,455 (P) 
 
 1 
 
 1 Gross Domestic Product 2 Consumer Price Index 3 Temporary Assistance for Needy Families 
 Note: NA = Data not available. (P) = Projected. 
 
Examples of outcome measures 
 examined in report 
 
 ■ Household food expenditures 
 
 ■ Household nutrient availability 
 
 ■ Individual dietary intake 
 
 ■ Health-related behaviors: 
 
 Breastfeeding 
 Child immunizations 
 Socialization among the elderly 
 
 ■ Other measures of nutrition 
 and health status: 
 
 Birthweight and related measures 
 Food security 
 Nutritional biochemistries 
 Linear growth in children 
 Body weight 
 School performance 
 
 Dietary Allowances (RDAs) and the Dietary 
 Guidelines for Americans. 
 
 For each of the 15 food assistance programs 
 reviewed, the report provides a summary of 
 the program's legislative history and its bene¬ 
 fits and eligibility requirements, a description 
 and synthesis of the research on the program's 
 impact on nutrition- and health-related out¬ 
 comes, and a summary of what is and what is 
 not known about the nutrition- and health-relat¬ 
 ed impacts of the program. The report also 
 identifies areas for future research. 
 
 The main conclusion of this review of previous 
 research is that any findings regarding the impact 
 
 university of illinois-urbana 
 
 3 0112 066798221 
 
 of food assistance program participation on nutri¬ 
 tion and health status must be interpreted with cau¬ 
 tion. Many studies share one or more of three key 
 limitations—inadequate research design, the rela¬ 
 tive age of the research, and changing standards 
 used to assess dietary intake. Despite these limita¬ 
 tions, some impacts of selected food assistance pro¬ 
 grams are found across a number of independent 
 studies. For example, research has consistently 
 shown that the Food Stamp Program increases 
 household food expenditures, which may in turn 
 lead to increased availability of certain nutrients at 
 the household level. The literature also strongly sug¬ 
 gested that WIC increases mean birthweight, low¬ 
 ers the incidence of low birthweight, and decreas¬ 
 es birth-related health care costs. These effects are 
 likely to be greatest among Blacks and among the 
 lowest income women—groups who have the high¬ 
 est incidence of low birthweight. 
 
 The complete results of this study can be found in 
 Effects of Food Assistance Programs on Nutrition 
 and Health: Volume 3, Literature Review (FANRR- 
 19-3, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic 
 Research Service, October 2004) available at 
 www.ers.usda.gov/publications/fanrr-19-3/. 
 
 Three other volumes under the title Effects of Food 
 Assistance Programs on Nutrition and Health were 
 produced by the study. Volume 1, Research Design 
 (FANRR-19-1), Volume 2, Data Sources (FANRR-19- 
 3), and Volume 4, Executive Summary of the 
 Literature Review (FANRR-19-4), are available at 
 www.ers.usda.gov/publications/fanrr-19-l/ and its 
 links. 
 
 Information on food assistance research can be found on the ERS website at www.ers.usda.gov/brief- 
 ing/foodnutritionassistance and on the FNS Office of Analysis, Nutrition, and Evaluation website at 
 www.fns.usda.gov/oane. Information on USDA's food assistance programs can be found on the FNS 
 website at www.fns.usda.gov/fns. For more information on this report, contact Victor Oliveira at 
 
 victoro@ers.usda.gov 
 
 The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activi¬ 
 ties on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual 
 orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with 
 disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large 
 print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). 
 
 To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, 
 Whitten Building, 14th and Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call (202) 720- 
 5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. 
 
 • • 0 Economic Research Service 
 
 • • • U.S. Department of Agriculture 
 
 • • • www.ers.usda.gov