Food Stamp Program Participation Research Articles

Errors in Survey Reporting and Imputation and Their Effects on Estimates of Food Stamp Program Participation

Abstract Accurately measuring government benefit receipt in household surveys is necessary when studying disadvantaged populations and the programs that serve them. The Food Stamp Program is especially important given its size and recent growth. To validate survey reports, we use administrative data on participation in two states linked to the American Community Survey (ACS), the Current Population Survey (CPS), and the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). We find that 23 percent of true food stamp recipient households do not report receipt in the SIPP, 35 percent in the ACS, and fully 50 percent in the CPS. A substantial number of true non-recipients are also recorded as recipients, especially in the SIPP. We examine reasons for these errors including imputation, an important source of error. Both false negative and false positive reports vary with household characteristics, implying complicated biases in multivariate analyses, such as regressions. We then directly examine biases in common survey-based estimates of program receipt by comparing them to estimates from our combined administrative and survey data. We find that the survey estimates understate participation among single parents, non-whites, and low-income households, and also lead to errors in multiple program receipt, and time and age patterns of receipt.

Errors in Survey Reporting and Imputation and Their Effects on Estimates of Food Stamp Program Participation

Benefit receipt in major household surveys is often underreported. This misreporting leads to biased estimates of the economic circumstances of disadvantaged populations, program takeup, and the distributional effects of government programs, and other program effects. We use administrative data on Food Stamp Program (FSP) participation matched to American Community Survey (ACS) and Current Population Survey (CPS) household data. We show that nearly thirty-five percent of true recipient households do not report receipt in the ACS and fifty percent do not report receipt in the CPS. Misreporting, both false negatives and false positives, varies with individual characteristics, leading to complicated biases in FSP analyses. We then directly examine the determinants of program receipt using our combined administrative and survey data. The combined data allow us to examine accurate participation using individual characteristics missing in administrative data. Our results differ from conventional estimates using only survey data, as such estimates understate participation by single parents, non-whites, low income households, and other groups. To evaluate the use of Census Bureau imputed ACS and CPS data, we also examine whether our estimates using survey data alone are closer to those using the accurate combined data when imputed survey observations are excluded. Interestingly, excluding the imputed observations leads to worse ACS estimates, but has less effect on the CPS estimates.

Why has the prevalence of obesity doubled?

The prevalence of obesity has doubled over the last 25 years. We estimate the effects of multiple socio-environmental factors (e.g., physical demands at work, restaurants, food prices, cigarette smoking, food stamps, and urban sprawl) on obesity using NLSY data. Then we use the Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition technique to approximate the contribution of each socio-environmental factor to the increase during this time. Many socio-environmental factors significantly affect weight, but none are able to explain a large portion of the obesity increase. Decreases in cigarette smoking consistently explains about 2–4 % of the increase in obesity and BMI. Food stamp receipt also consistently affects the measures of weight, but the small decrease in food stamp program participation during the period we examine actually dampened the increases in obesity and BMI. Collectively, the socio-environmental factors we examine never explain more than about 6.5 % of the weight increases.

Child Food Insecurity and the Food Stamp Program: What a Difference Monthly Data Make

AbstractThe Food Stamp Program (FSP) is a cornerstone of the food assistance safety net’s efforts to reduce household food insecurity, particularly among children. We examine the dynamic relationship between FSP participation and child food insecurity using monthly measures from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, rather than annual measures. Findings demonstrate that child food insecurity increases in the months immediately prior to FSP entrance but then partially recovers in the following months. These dynamic FSP effects are masked when annual measures are employed.

Household Assets and Food Stamp Program Participation Among Eligible Low-Income Households

This study examines the association between asset ownership and Food Stamp Program participation among eligible households using a sample from a longitudinal national survey. This study employs two approaches: a multinomial logit regression on the level of program participation and an event history analysis on the duration of eligible nonparticipation spells. Analysis results show that asset ownership, especially vehicle ownership, is negatively related to program participation, suggesting that asset ownership may reduce the chance that eligible low-income households receive food assistance. It is recommended that program administrators simplify procedures and expand outreach to facilitate program participation among low-income asset owners.

Increasing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program/Electronic Benefits Transfer Sales at Farmers' Markets with Vendor-Operated Wireless Point-of-Sale Terminals

BackgroundSupplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (formerly Food Stamp Program) participants can use their benefits at many farmers' markets. However, most markets have only one market-operated wireless point-of-sale (POS) card swipe terminal for electronic benefits transfer (EBT) transactions. It is not known whether providing each farmer/vendor with individual wireless POS terminals and subsidizing EBT fees will increase SNAP/EBT purchases at farmers' markets. ObjectiveTo evaluate the effects of multiple vendor-operated wireless POS terminals (vs a single market-operated terminal) on use of SNAP benefits at an urban farmers' market. DesignTime-series analyses of SNAP/EBT sales. SettingThe Clark Park farmers' market in West Philadelphia, PA, which accounts for one quarter of all SNAP/EBT sales at farmers' markets in Pennsylvania. InterventionVendors were provided with individual wireless POS terminals for 9 months (June 2008-February 2009.) The pilot program covered all equipment and wireless service costs and transaction fees associated with SNAP/EBT, credit, and debit sales. Main outcome measureMonthly SNAP/EBT sales at the Clark Park farmers' market. Statistical analysesSNAP/EBT sales data were collected for 48 months (January 2007-December 2010). Time-series regression analysis was used to estimate the effect of the intervention period (June 2008-February 2009) on SNAP/EBT sales, controlling for seasonal effects and total SNAP benefits issued in Philadelphia. ResultsThe intervention was associated with a 38% increase in monthly SNAP/EBT sales. Effects were greatest during the busy fall market seasons. SNAP/EBT sales did not remain significantly higher after the intervention period. ConclusionsProviding individual wireless POS terminals to farmers' market vendors leads to increased sales. However, market vendors indicated that subsidies for equipment costs and fees would be needed to break even. Currently, SNAP provides some support for these services for supermarket and other SNAP retailers with landline access, but not for farmers' markets.

Food Stamps and Dependency: Disentangling the Short-term and Long-term Economic Effects of Food Stamp Receipt and Low Income for Young Mothers

The Food Stamp Program (FSP) remains one of the most widely used of all U.S. social “safety net” programs. While a substantial body of research has developed around the primary goals of the program—improving food access, nutrition, and health among lowincome families—less attention has been paid to the broader goals of hardship and poverty reduction. Using 38 years of data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we examine several immediate and longer-term economic outcomes of early adult FSP participation for a sample of 3,848 young mothers. While FSP participation is associated with some negative outcomes in the immediate future in areas including family income-to-needs and transfer income, such effects are substantially reduced or disappear over the long run. These results suggest that concerns about the adverse economic effects of assistance, based solely on short-term outcomes or outcomes measured at a single point in time, do not hold for the long run. We find no evidence that food stamp recipients in early motherhood are any more or less dependent on public assistance programs than other young mothers who have low income but do not use food stamps.

Understanding the geography of food stamp program participation: Do space and place matter?

This study examines the extent to which geographic variation in Food Stamp Program (FSP) participation is explained by place-based factors, with special attention to the case of the three poorest regions of the United States: Central Appalachia, the Texas Borderland, and the Lower Mississippi Delta. We use descriptive statistics and regression models to assess the prevalence and correlates of county-level FSP participation circa 2005. Our findings show that the economic distress that has long characterized Appalachia, the Borderland, and the Delta clearly translates into greater reliance on the FSP relative to other areas of the country. State-level effects and local-level variations in poverty, labor market conditions, population structure, human capital, and residential context explain much of this reality. Yet, even after taking all of these factors into account, these regional geographies remain home to particularly high FSP participation. Our findings underscore the importance of considering these regions as key cases of study in the stratification of American society and hold a variety of implications for public policy.

The heterogenous relationship of food stamp participation with body mass: Quantile regression model

This study explores the heterogenous relationship between Food Stamp Program (FSP) participation and body mass index (BMI) for low income individuals whose per capita family income falls in the bottom two quintiles. We estimate changes in the dispersion of the entire distribution of BMI following FSP participation using a quantile regression model in both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. For women, we find that the mean OLS estimate of FSP participation underestimates the extent of the positive association with BMI at the top quantiles in both cross-sectional and longitudinal individual fixed effects models. Controlling for individual fixed effects in the quantile regression model reduces the estimated magnitude of the association by a factor of three to four, although the estimates remain statistically significant for women. For men, a marginally statistically significant positive association of FSP participation with BMI is found at the top quantiles compared to no statistically significant mean estimate although the association is no longer statistically significant when time-constant individual heterogeneity is adjusted for in the individual fixed effect models.

Errors in Survey Reporting and Imputation and Their Effects on Estimates of Food Stamp Program Participation

Benefit receipt in major household surveys is often underreported. This misreporting leads to biased estimates of the economic circumstances of disadvantaged populations, program takeup, and the distributional effects of government programs, and other program effects. We use administrative data on Food Stamp Program (FSP) participation matched to American Community Survey (ACS) and Current Population Survey (CPS) household data. We show that nearly thirty-five percent of true recipient households do not report receipt in the ACS and fifty percent do not report receipt in the CPS. Misreporting, both false negatives and false positives, varies with individual characteristics, leading to complicated biases in FSP analyses. We then directly examine the determinants of program receipt using our combined administrative and survey data. The combined data allow us to examine accurate participation using individual characteristics missing in administrative data. Our results differ from conventional estimates using only survey data, as such estimates understate participation by single parents, non-whites, low income households, and other groups. To evaluate the use of Census Bureau imputed ACS and CPS data, we also examine whether our estimates using survey data alone are closer to those using the accurate combined data when imputed survey observations are excluded. Interestingly, excluding the imputed observations leads to worse ACS estimates, but has less effect on the CPS estimates.

Nutrigenomics Hypothesis: Examining the Association Between Food Stamp Program Participation and Bodyweight Among Low-Income Women

This paper examines the association between food stamp program participation and bodyweight among 1,723 eligible women who were respondents of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 Cohort. The study sample was stratified by race/ethnicity and two time periods, i.e., 1987–1996, 1998–2002, to allow for genetic and cultural differences and a potential structural break due to the 1996 welfare reform. We test a hypothesis based on the nutrigenomic literature suggesting that genetic heterogeneities result in varying effects of nutrition or food-borne components on metabolism. Differences in socioeconomic characteristics between participants and eligible non-participants were identified. We find a positive association between food stamp program participation and bodyweight among Hispanic women, particularly those of foreign-born.

Prices of Unhealthy Foods, Food Stamp Program Participation, and Body Weight Status Among U.S. Low-Income Women

This paper examines the interactive effect between the price of unhealthy foods and Food Stamp Program participation on body weight status among low-income women in the United States. We merged the panel data of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 cohort in 1985-2002 and the Cost of Living Index data compiled by the American Chamber of Commerce Researchers Association by using geographic identifiers. Using the merged data, we used panel econometric models to examine the impact of unhealthy food prices on the food stamp-eligible U.S. population. Our results indicate that higher prices for unhealthy food can partially offset the positive association between Food Stamp Program participation and bodyweight among low-income women.

The Impact of Food Stamp Program Participation on Household Food Insecurity

This study examines the impact that participation in the Food Stamp Program has on household food insecurity using data from the Panel Survey of Income Dynamics. Two strategies are used to identify the causal effect of the program. First, endogenous treatment effect models are estimated using state‐level errors in payments of benefits as instruments. Additionally the impact of losing benefits due to a government decision on the food insecurity of program participants is examined. The paper finds that program participation lowers food insecurity by at least 18%.

Food stamp program participation, informal supports, household food security and child food security: A comparison of african american and caucasian households in poverty

More than 12 million children in the U.S. live in a food insecure household. Insufficient nutrition puts children at risk for health and developmental problems. Little is known about a racial comparison of food security among economically vulnerable households. This study examines how the effects of household characteristics, food stamp program (FSP) (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program as of October 1, 2008) participation, informal food supports (IFS) and household food security (HFS) on child food security (CFS) differ between African American and Caucasian Households. We also explore moderating roles of FSP or IFS on the association between HFS and CFS. We use data from the 2003 Food Security Survey, a supplement to the Current Population Survey (CPS) (N = 3,799). Findings revealed that HFS was negatively related to CFS while IFS and head of the household's level of education were positively related to CFS in both racial groups. FSP participation increased CFS for Caucasian households but had no effect on CFS in African American households. IFS positively moderated the impact of HFS on CFS only for Caucasian households. No moderating effects of FSP participation were found. Implication for practice and future research are discussed.

Assessing Effects of Food Stamp Program Participation on Child Food Security in Vulnerable Households: Do Informal Supports Matter?

The Food Stamp Program (now the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) is one of the largest federal welfare initiatives undertaken to address the problem of hunger and nutrient intake among households in poverty. We build on previous research by examining the effects of participating in the program on food security among children in vulnerable households using data from the Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement for 2003. We also explore the moderating effects of informal food assistance. Our results suggest that food stamp take-up and informal food assistance are important in understanding child food security in vulnerable households. Further, we note that a number of individual and household characteristics are associated with child food security. Implications for practice and scholarship are presented.

Assessing Effects of Food Stamp Program Participation on Food Security in Female-Headed Households: Do Informal Supports Matter?

The food stamp program is one of the largest federal welfare initiatives undertaken to address the problem of hunger and nutrient intake among households in poverty. We build on previous research by examining effects of participating in the program on the food security of vulnerable households (N = 23,360), using data from the Food Security Supplement to the Current Population Survey for 2003. We also explore the moderating effects of informal food assistance on this relationship. Our results suggest that food stamp-takeup and informal food assistance are important in understanding food security in vulnerable households. Also, a number of individual characteristics are associated with household food sufficiency. Implications for practice and scholarship are presented.

Income Volatility and Family Structure Patterns: Association with Stability and Change in Food Stamp Program Participation

Using the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study, this research investigated how income volatility and family structure patterns influence participation patterns of stability and change in Food Stamp Program participation among a sample of young families (n = 1,263). Multinomial logistic regression models suggested that families that experienced significant declines in income were more likely to persistently participate and initiate participation than to never participate. Furthermore, stably married families were more likely to never participate; while other stable family structures (cohabitating couples and singles) and transitional unions were associated with persistent participation compared to other participation patterns. Immigration status, health, multiple indicators of economic hardship, and participant access rates were also significant in predicting patterns of participation. Strategies to increase participation are discussed.

Food Stamp Program Participation Among Impoverished African Americans

This study identifies the characteristics of eligible African Americans who are not receiving food stamps. Secondary analysis of the American Community Survey focused on 14,443 African American citizens aged 18 and over who were living below the poverty line. Bivariate and logistic regression analyses were used to compare the 6,558 recipients of food stamps with the 7,885 non-recipients. Less than half of impoverished African American adults used food stamps in the previous year. Food stamp use was higher among females, younger respondents, and those who had not completed high school. FSP participation was associated with co-residing with children, receiving welfare benefits and reports of functional limitations. This study can inform food security activism and improved outreach to impoverished African Americans.

Food Stamps and Food Spending: An Engel Function Approach

AbstractEstimation of Food Stamp Program (FSP) effects has been complicated by self‐selection and by a contradiction between observed spending patterns and the economic theory of consumer choice. We developed a modified version of the traditional theory, in which participant households may be partly extramarginal even if they have some cash spending on at‐home food. Using Current Population Survey (CPS) data for 2001–2005, we estimated Engel functions for at‐home and away‐from‐home food spending for FSP participants and nonparticipants. Compared to nonparticipants with the same level of total income, participants had higher at‐home food spending and lower away‐from‐home food spending.

Likely effects on obesity from proposed changes to the US food stamp program

Some have suggested that the US food stamp program (FSP) should be revised with a view to combating obesity among the poor. In this paper, we assess the likely impacts of allowing FSP participants to purchase only healthy foods when using food stamps. Our results indicate that FSP participants would probably increase their consumption of healthy food, but the implications for their purchases of unhealthy food are not clear. Market-wide consequences are even less clear, because changing what may be purchased using food stamps would lead to higher prices for healthy foods and lower prices for unhealthy foods and these price effects would feed back into consumer decisions, with adverse effects on consumption patterns of both participants and non-participants in the FSP. In addition, more restrictive rules on the use of food stamps would discourage participation in the FSP. We conclude that, while reforming the FSP may indeed to lead to better diets among participants, it is likely to be an ineffective and inefficient instrument for bringing about desired nutritional outcomes unless accompanied by additional policy instruments.