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OCR Page 1 of 14CHARACTERISTICS OF FOOD STAMP HOUSEHOLDS:
FISCAL YEAR 1998
(Advance Report)
United States Department of Agriculture
Office of Analysis, Nutrition, and Evaluation
Food and Nutrition Service
July 1999
T
he FSP is the nation's largest food
Households containing elderly persons
assistance program. In fiscal year 1998, it
represented 18.2 percent of all food stamp
served an average of 19.8 million people
households. Over three-quarters of them were
per month. Over $16.9 billion was paid out in
single-person households, which received an
food stamps that year, with an average benefit of
average monthly benefit of $43. Households
$71 per person.
containing elderly and other persons received an
average benefit of $118.
Food stamps are made available to most low-
income households with few resources to
A substantial proportion of food stamp households
supplement their food purchases and help them
contained disabled persons (24.4 percent). Of
maintain a healthy diet. In fiscal year 1998, food
these households, over half (52.9 percent) lived
stamps were over one-fifth of a participating
alone, receiving an average benefit of $49.
household's total monthly income (cash plus food
Households with disabled individuals and others
stamps). If the value of food stamps were counted
received an average benefit of $164.
in addition to cash as gross income, one-fifth of
food stamp households would move from below
In households without children, elderly, or
to above half the poverty line (Figure 1).
disabled individuals, over 90 percent lived alone,
receiving an average benefit of $112. The
I. Composition of Food Stamp Households
households with multiple adults received an
average benefit of $188.
In fiscal year 1998, the majority (58.3 percent) of
food stamp households contained children (Table
II. Characteristics of Food Stamp Participants
1). Of these households, over two-thirds (67.9
percent) were single-parent homes, fifteen percent
In fiscal year 1998, slightly over half of all food
were headed by married parents, and six percent
stamp participants were children, most of whom
of the households had no members over the age of
lived in single-parent households (Figure 2). The
17. Households with children received an average
remaining participants were nonelderly adults
monthly food stamp benefit of $232, reflecting
(38.9 percent) or elderly adults-age 60 or older
their relatively large average size (3.3 persons).
(8.2 percent)
Single-parent households (3.1 persons on average)
received an average of $228 in food stamps, and
Among adult participants (age 18 or older),
married-couple households with children (4.6
women outnumbered men by over two to one
persons on average) received an average of $273.
(Table 2). Of the children participating, one-third
were of preschool age (0 to 4 years), and two-
thirds were of school age (5 to 17 years).
This brief was prepared by Laura Castner and Jacquelyn Anderson of Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. Programming
support was provided by Mark Brinkley. The information presented in this brief is based on data collected by the Food
and Nutrition Service for quality control purposes for fiscal year 1998.
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