In 2002, nearly 35 million people in the United States were hungry or living on the edge of hunger,[i] and research estimates that more than one-half of those who struggled to pay for food lived in households where at least one person was employed.[ii]
The Food Stamp program has been renamed the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Because this program is 100 percent federally funded, it provides states a valuable resource to assist low-wage families and brings new revenues into local economies.
State policymakers play a key role in determining how many families access this federal benefit, and can expand this access through two key strategies.
What Can Policymakers Do?
- Expand outreach to families who are eligible but not accessing this benefit.
- Expand eligibility for families who need this support, but cannot claim it under current state rules.
Food and nutrition subsidies help families obtain the nutrition needed to live, work, and attend school. During fiscal year 2008, the federal food assistance program served more than 28 million people—about half of whom are children.[iii]
[i] “Hunger in America and Its Solutions,” Basic Facts (Washington, D.C.: The Food Research and Action Center), July 2004.
[ii] K. Alaimo, R.R. Briefel, E.A. Frongillo, Jr. and C.M. Olson, “Food Insecurity Exists in the United States: Results from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey,” American Journal of Public Health 88, no. 3 (1998): 419-426.
[iii] USDA, “SNAP Program Summary”. Data as of November 2008. http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/SNAPsummary.htm