SNAP (Food Stamps): Facts, Myths and

Realities

PROGRAM FACTS

SNAP is targeted at the most vulnerable.

76% of SNAP households included a child, an elderly person, or a disabled person. These
vulnerable households receive 83% of all SNAP benefits.[i]
SNAP eligibility is limited to households with gross income of no more than 130% of the
federal poverty guideline, but the majority of households have income well below the
maximum: 83% of SNAP households have gross income at or below 100% of the poverty
guideline ($19,530 for a family of 3 in 2013), and these households receive about 91% of
all benefits. 61% of SNAP households have gross income at or below 75% of the poverty
guideline ($14,648 for a family of 3 in 2013).[ii]
The average SNAP household has a gross monthly income of $744; net monthly income
of $338 after the standard deduction and, for certain households, deductions for child
care, medical expenses, and shelter costs; and countable resources of $331, such as a
bank account.[iii]

SNAP is responsive to changes in need, providing needed food assistance as families fall
into economic hardship and then transitioning away as their financial situation stabilizes.

SNAP participation historically follows unemployment with a slight lag. SNAP

participation grew during the recession, responding quickly and effectively to increased
need. As the number of unemployed people increased by 94% from 2007 to 2011, SNAP
responded with a 70% increase in participation over the same period. [iv]
As the economy recovers and people go back to work, SNAP participation and program
costs, too, can be expected to decline. Unemployment has begun to slowly fall, and
SNAP participation growth has flattened out. The Congressional Budget Office projects
SNAP participation to begin declining in 2015, with both unemployment and SNAP
participation returning to near pre-recession levels by 2022.[v]

SNAP has a strong record of program integrity.

SNAP error rates declined by 57% since FY2000, from 8.91% in FY2000 to a record low
of 3.80% in FY2011.[vi] The accuracy rate of 96.2% (FY2011) is an all-time program high
and is considerably higher than other major benefit programs, for example Medicare fee-
for-service (91.5%) or Medicare Advantage Part C (88.6%). [vii]
 Two-thirds of all SNAP payment errors are a result of caseworker error. Nearly one-fifth
are underpayments, which occur when eligible participants receive less in benefits than
they are eligible to receive.[viii]
The national rate of food stamp trafficking declined from about 3.8 cents per dollar of
benefits redeemed in 1993 to about 1.3 cent per dollar during the years 2009 to 2011.[ix]
As you may have read in local news, USDA is aggressively fighting trafficking, but while
there are individual cases of program abuse, for every one instance of fraud, there are
hundreds of stories of heartbreaking need.

The need for food assistance is already greater than SNAP can fill.

SNAP benefits dont last most participants the whole month. 90% of SNAP benefits are
redeemed by the third week of the month, and 58% of food bank clients currently
receiving SNAP benefits turn to food banks for assistance at least 6 months out of the
year.[x]
The average monthly SNAP benefit per person is $133.85, or less than $1.50 per person,
per meal. [xi]
Only 57% of food insecure individuals are income-eligible for SNAP, and 26% are not
income-eligible for any federal food assistance.[xii]
PROGRAM MYTHS & REALITIES
Farm Bill

The cuts proposed in the Farm Bill arent a cut to benefits.

While proposals such as restricting categorical eligibility and heat and eat may not be a
direct cut to benefit levels, it is inaccurate to suggest that they will not impact benefits.
Families who lose benefits because of changes in eligibility rules or enrollment processes
will feel just as much pain in their refrigerators as if they had received a straightforward
cut to their benefit allotment.

The Farm Bill finds savings in SNAP without really hurting needy families.

Given SNAPs exceptional efficiency, it is simply not possible to achieve significant

savings without directly impacting participants. About 95 percent of federal SNAP
spending goes directly to benefits and the remaining spending covers important services
like employment and training services that help participants move from welfare to work,
nutrition education that empowers individuals to make healthy choices on a limited
budget, and federal oversight and trafficking prevention for the roughly 200,000 retail
stores that accept SNAP benefits.[xiii]
The $4.1 billion SNAP heat and eat cut contained in the 2013 Senate Farm Bill is
expected to cause about 400,000 low-income households to lose an average $90 per
month in benefits, imposing a significant hardship for families struggling to put food on
the table.[xiv] The steeper, $20.5 billion in cuts in the 2013 House bill would only hurt
more families more deeply. 850,000 households would see their benefits cut by an
average $90 per month. The cut to categorical eligibility would cause 2 million low-
income individuals to lose their SNAP benefits completely, and 210,000 low-income
children would be cut from free school meals because their enrollment is tied to their
familys SNAP participation. [xv]

Proposed cuts will close loopholes that allow people who dont need assistance into the
program.

The perception that a sizeable portion of SNAP participants do not really need benefits is
flatly wrong. SNAP very effectively targets nutrition assistance at the poorest households,
those with gross income of up to 130 percent of poverty and up to $2000 in assets. While
some states have exercised a state option to align SNAP eligibility rules with other
programs, enabling them to serve households over the federal income and asset limit, the
vast majority of households fall well below the maximum. Eighty-three percent of SNAP
households have gross income at or below 100 percent of the poverty line and these
households receive about 91 percent of all benefits.[xvi] The average SNAP household has
only $333 in assets. [xvii]

States are implementing SNAP in a way that Congress did not intend and Farm Bill
proposals correct that.
 Congress has provided several options to allow states to implement SNAP in the way that
best meets their individual needs, including options to streamline and coordinate the
administration of multiple programs serving the same families. Restricting categorical
eligibility would require caseworkers to recertify the eligibility of applicants whose
income and assets have already been verified by their enrollment in another program,
creating unnecessary duplication and inefficiency. By restricting heat and eat, states
will lose administrative flexibility to aid individuals in need of assistance.
Restricting categorical eligibility and heat and eat options will increase the
administrative burden on states without strengthening program integrity. Curtailing state
flexibility and increasing administrative waste at a time when state and local budgets
have already forced cutbacks will make it harder for states to effectively and efficiently
administer the program.

Heat and Eat

The heat and eat policy is a loophole.

The LIHEAP-SNAP relationship is a valid programmatic coordination. The heat

and eat option allows states to streamline and coordinate the administration of multiple
programs serving the same low-income families. By restricting heat and eat, states will
lose administrative flexibility to aid individuals in need of assistance. At the same time, it
will increase the administrative burden on states without strengthening program integrity.
Families who struggle to put food on the table often make choices between buying
enough food and paying for utilities
According to a survey conducted by the National Energy Assistance Directors
Association, nearly one-third of families receiving LIHEAP assistance reported that they
went without food during the last five years as a result of high home energy costs.[xviii]
Similarly, many client households served by Feeding America food banks report that their
household incomes are inadequate to cover their basic household expenses. In fact, 46%
of client households served reported having to choose between paying for utilities or
heating fuel and food.[xix]
The Heat and Eat cut will disproportionally impact households with elderly and
disabled individuals concentrated in 16 states.
Elderly and disabled households are more likely to make use of the heat and eat policy
when enrolling SNAP and will thus be disproportionately impacted. Furthermore, the full
impact of the cut will be borne only by the 16 states currently using the policy option:
CA, CT, DE, DC, ME, MA, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OR, PA, RI, VT, WA, and WI. While these
16 states distribute about 36.5% of all SNAP benefits nationwide, they will bear 100% of
the cuts.[xx]

Categorical Eligibility

Categorical eligibility allows many people to automatically enroll in SNAP who wouldnt
otherwise qualify for the program.
 Categorical eligibility does not allow households to enroll automatically; they must still
apply through the regular SNAP application process, which has rigorous procedures for
documenting applicants income, citizenship, work status, and other circumstances.
Categorical eligibility allows states the option of aligning SNAP eligibility rules for gross
income and asset limits with TANF to reduce administrative costs and simplify the
eligibility determination process. While three-fourths of SNAP households were
categorically eligible, almost all would also have been eligible for SNAP under standard
rules.[xxi]
While a small number of households would not have met gross income and asset
eligibility rules without categorical eligibility, SNAP families are still among the poorest
households:
The average SNAP household has a gross monthly income of $744 and net monthly
income of $338.[xxii]
SNAP rules limit eligibility to households with gross income under 130% of poverty and
net income at or below 100% of poverty. While categorical eligibility allows states to set
a higher gross income limit, only 1.5% of SNAP households in 2010 had monthly net
income above 150% of the poverty line, so the policy has not made SNAP available to
large numbers of households with incomes above the federal gross income limit of 130%
of poverty.[xxiii]
SNAP rules limit eligibility to households with assets of no more than $2000 ($3250 for
households with a senior or disabled member). The average SNAP household still has
assets of only $331.[xxiv] Additionally, the SNAP asset limit of $2,000 has not been
adjusted for inflation in 25 years and has fallen by 48% in real terms since 1986.[xxv]

Categorical eligibility has dramatically increased program participation.

The dramatic increase in SNAP participation and costs is a result of the recession, not
categorical eligibility. Our nation has seen the highest unemployment rates in nearly 30
years.
SNAP participation historically follows unemployment with a slight lag. SNAP
participation grew during the recession, responding quickly and effectively to increased
need. As the number of unemployed people increased by 94% from 2007 to 2011, SNAP
responded with a 70% increase in participation over the same period. [xxvi]
As the economy recovers and people go back to work, SNAP participation and program
costs, too, can be expected to decline. Unemployment has begun to slowly fall, and
SNAP participation growth has flattened out. The Congressional Budget Office projects
SNAP participation to begin declining in 2015, with both unemployment and SNAP
participation returning to near pre-recession levels by 2022.[xxvii]

Eliminating categorical eligibility would significantly reduce costs.

Eliminating categorical eligibility would achieve savings by causing about 2 million low-
income people currently enrolled in SNAP to lose their benefits and 210,000 children to
lose free school meals.[xxviii] Many more families newly applying for assistance would
have their benefit issuance delayed because of the increased complexity of applying and
 additional processing time required. This human cost is too high a price to pay with so
many families struggling to get by in this economy.
In addition to the loss of needed food assistance for struggling families, this savings
would come at the expense of increased administrative costs. Eliminating the streamlined
application process that categorical eligibility allows would require states to allocate staff
time to duplicate enrollment procedures and incur the cost of modifying their computer
systems, reprinting applications and manuals, and retraining staff.

Program Growth

Generous eligibility rules and program fraud and abuse have caused participation in SNAP
to balloon, sharply driving up the cost of the program when the nation can least afford it.

The dramatic increase in SNAP participation and costs is a result of the recession, not
categorical eligibility. Our nation has seen the highest unemployment rates in nearly 30
years.
SNAP participation historically follows unemployment with a slight lag. SNAP
participation grew during the recession, responding quickly and effectively to increased
need. As the number of unemployed people increased by 94% from 2007 to 2011, SNAP
responded with a 70% increase in participation over the same period. [xxix]
As the economy recovers and people go back to work, SNAP participation and program
costs, too, can be expected to decline. Unemployment has begun to slowly fall, and
SNAP participation growth has flattened out. The Congressional Budget Office projects
SNAP participation to begin declining in 2015, with both unemployment and SNAP
participation returning to near pre-recession levels by 2022.[xxx]

Administrative Spending

We could achieve significant savings by cutting administrative expenses alone without

doing harm to SNAP participants.

SNAP administrative expenses are small. Federal administrative expenditures for

SNAP equal less than 4.5% of overall federal SNAP costs. About 95% of that is the
federal share of state administrative costs for operating the program. [xxxi] SNAP caseloads
have risen by more than 75% since FY2007 due to historic unemployment, but federal
spending on state administrative costs has only risen by 17% over the same period.[xxxii]
SNAP administrative expenses are essential. Administrative expenditures cannot be cut
significantly without compromising program integrity. Administrative expenditures in
SNAP are used for essential functions like verifying eligibility, preventing benefit
trafficking, administering work requirements, and related functions.
Much of the administrative savings that is being discussed isnt what you or I would
consider program administration. For example, it includes spending on employment
and training services that help SNAP participants move from welfare to work and federal
oversight of the roughly 200,000 retail stores that accept SNAP benefits. Overstating the
 level of administrative spending really amounts to a call for cuts to SNAP benefits,
eligibility, and essential services.

Work Requirements

SNAP doesnt do enough to encourage participants to get a job, and the program needs
stronger work requirements.

SNAP already has strict time-limits for unemployed workers. Able-bodied adults without
dependents (ABAWDs) may only receive 3 months of SNAP benefits during any 3 year
period, unless they are working in a qualifying job training program.
The SNAP benefit formula is structured to provide a strong work incentive for every
additional dollar a SNAP participant earns, their benefits decline by about 24 to 36 cents,
not a full dollar, so participants have a strong incentive to find work, work longer hours,
or seek better-paying employment.[xxxiii]

Citizenship Requirements

We need tougher enforcements on illegal immigrants using SNAP.

Undocumented immigrants are ineligible for SNAP. Additionally, there is already a strict
waiting period for documented immigrants. Documented adult immigrants (those with a
greencard) are subject to a five-year waiting period before they are eligible for SNAP.
Noncitizens make up a very small portion of SNAP participants only 4% of participants
are noncitizens (documented immigrants or refugees).[xxxiv]

Performance Bonuses

Eliminating SNAP performance bonuses would cut unnecessary spending.

$48 million is a small investment to incentivize superior performance in a multi-

billion program.
The modest $48 million annual investment in SNAP performance bonuses has helped
improve states performance, maximizing the federal investment in SNAP and ensuring
that benefits are distributed in the correct amount and reach those who need them. The
bonuses have incentivized states to improve performance, share best practices, and work
to improve SNAP in way that was rare prior to 2002.
Operating an accurate, efficient program that effectively reaches people in need is
critical to program integrity, and performance bonuses have successfully improved
program performance:
The implementation of performance bonuses in the 2002 Farm Bill, alongside the
transition from paper coupons to electronic benefit cards and other policy improvements,
helped contribute to remarkable improvements in payment accuracy. Payment error rates
are a measurement that combines over- and underpayments. Nationally, SNAP payment
error rates decreased from 8.26 percent in FY2002, before the bonuses were in place, to
 3.80 percent in FY2011, an all-time low.[xxxv] This improvement in payment accuracy
represents an overall reduction in payment errors of 54 percent.
Performance bonuses encourage states to focus on breaking down participation barriers
and enroll eligible individuals. The implementation of participation rate bonuses in the
2002 Farm Bill, alongside program outreach and other policy improvements, helped
improve the ability of SNAP to reach eligible participants. Nationally, SNAP
participation rates increased from 54 percent in FY2002 to 75 percent in FY2010, a 39
percent improvement.[xxxvi]
States often use performance bonuses to reinvest in their SNAP program, further
strengthening the program.
States have use funds to finance their on-line applications, case worker tools that improve
efficiencies and program integrity, improved data matching with respect to earnings, and
job training programs.

Deficit Reduction

Deficit Reduction

Its only fair to spread budget cuts across programs. Everyone has to contribute their share
to deficit reduction.

Our nations budget is a moral document, and the decisions Congress is making will
have a real impact on real people. Its easy to lose sight of that in Washington, but food
banks and other charities on the ground know this is about more than numbers on a
balance sheet. This is about real people neighbors, constituents who are struggling
just to put food on the table.
Washington has a long history of a bipartisan commitment to protecting the safety
net and low-income people in past deficit reduction agreements. The three major
deficit-reduction packages of the last two decades the 1990, 1993, and 1997 packages
all adhered to this principle. This principle was upheld in the bipartisan Bowles-
Simpson Deficit Commission.
Low-income families have already given more than they can bear to our nations
economic policies. Low-income communities have suffered higher foreclosure rates,[xxxvii]
and low-income families have experienced unemployment at a far higher rate.[xxxviii] Low-
income families have also seen their incomes decline as our nation has experienced a
growing wealth gap between rich and poor.[xxxix]
Cuts to nutrition assistance programs are not only immoral, they are short-sighted.
The impact of our nations hunger problem is estimated at over $167 billion per year.[xl]
By improving access to food, federal nutrition programs protect families from hunger and
improve their health and educational outcomes, making these programs a critical
investment in people and communities for both the short and long-term.

SNAP ARRA Temporary Benefit Increase

The benefit increase provided by ARRA is not needed and Congress should take it back
early.

Congress made a promise not to put our most vulnerable families in a situation in which
their benefits were suddenly pulled out from underneath them. But this is exactly what
will happen because of cuts made to ARRA in 2010. All SNAP participants will see a
benefit cut on November 1, 2013 when the temporary ARRA boost is terminated early.
For a family of four, the cut will be $36 per month, a loss of $432 in food assistance over
the course of the year.[xli] Rescinding the ARRA boost even earlier would only steepen
this cliff. Faced with this unexpected drop in their monthly food budget, SNAP
households are likely to turn to our nations food banks to help make ends meet. This
increase in demand will only add to the strain felt by an emergency food system already
struggling to meet elevated need in the recession.
The SNAP benefit boost is working to protect families from hunger as they struggle with
unemployment and reduced wages in the wake of the recession. Without the ARRA boost
in SNAP benefits, the number of food insecure Americans would certainly be much
worse. While hunger spiked dramatically in 2008 in the first year of the recession, since
the ARRA boost went into effect in 2009, food insecurity has remained level and even
decreased despite the fact that poverty continued to rise in 2009 and 2010.[xlii]
For many families SNAP benefits do not last the entire month. The average monthly
SNAP benefit per person is $133.85, or less than $1.50 per person per meal, hardly
enough for an adequate nutritious diet. [xliii] After the ARRA cut, the benefit will fall to less
than $1.40 per person per meal. [xliv]
Most participants run through their SNAP benefits by the third week of the month, and
58% of food bank clients currently receiving SNAP benefits turn to food banks for
assistance at least 6 months out of the year. [xlv]
One in seven American households struggles to put enough food on the table.[xlvi]
Unemployment is stuck near 8 percent nationally, and the need for food assistance will
remain high for some time.[xlvii]

For more information: Sophie Milam, Director of Nutrition Assistance and Budget Policy,
smilam@feedingamerica.org

REFERENCES

[i] U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. Characteristics of Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program Households: Fiscal Year 2011. Table A.14. November 2012.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/ora/menu/Published/snap/SNAPPartHH.htm

[ii] U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. Characteristics of

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Households: Fiscal Year 2011. Table 3.1. November
2012. http://www.fns.usda.gov/ora/menu/Published/snap/SNAPPartHH.htm
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2013 Federal Poverty Guidelines.
https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/01/24/2013-01422/annual-update-of-the-hhs-
poverty-guidelines

[iii] U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. Characteristics of

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Households: Fiscal Year 2011. Table A.5. November
2012. http://www.fns.usda.gov/ora/menu/Published/snap/SNAPPartHH.htm

[iv] U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Annual Program Data, 2007
and 2011. http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/SNAPsummary.htm Bureau of Labor Statistics, Annual
Unemployment Data, 2007 and 2011. http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNU04000000?
years_option=all_years&periods_option=specific_periods&periods=Annual+Data

[v] Bureau of Labor Statistics, Historical Unemployment Data.

http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Monthly Program
Data. http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/34SNAPmonthly.htm Congressional Budget Office,
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program March 2012 Baseline. March 2012.
http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/43072_SNAP.pdf

[vi] U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Stamp Program Quality Control Annual Report
Fiscal Year 2000. April 2002. http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/qc/pdfs/FSP_QC_2000.pdf U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Payment Error Rates
FY2011. June 6, 2012. http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/qc/pdfs/2011-rates.pdf

[vii] U.S. Department of Agriculture, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Payment Error
Rates FY2011. June 6, 2012. http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/qc/pdfs/2011-rates.pdf Payment
Accuracy Website. High Error Programs. http://www.paymentaccuracy.gov/high-priority-
programs

[viii] U.S. General Accounting Office. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Payment
Errors and Trafficking Have Declined, but Challenges Remain. July 2010.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-956T

[ix] U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Extent of Trafficking in the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program: 2009-2011. August 2013.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/ORA/menu/Published/SNAP/FILES/ProgramIntegrity/Trafficking2009.
pdf U.S. General Accounting Office. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Payment
Errors and Trafficking Have Declined, but Challenges Remain. July 2010.
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d10956t.pdf

[x] U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. Benefit Redemption Patterns in
the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Final Report. February 2011.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/ora/menu/Published/SNAP/FILES/ProgramOperations/ARRASpending
Patterns.pdf Feeding America. Food Banks: Hungers New Staple. Preliminary Findings.
September 2011. http://feedingamerica.org/press-room/in-the-news/the-new-normal.aspx
[xi] U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. Characteristics of
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Households: Fiscal Year 2011. Table D.3.
November 2012. http://www.fns.usda.gov/ora/menu/Published/snap/SNAPPartHH.htm

[xii] Gundersen, C., E. Waxman, E. Engelhard and A. Satoh. Map the Meal Gap. Feeding
America, 2013. http://feedingamerica.org/mapthegap

[xiii] U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Annual Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program Participation and Costs, data as of January 4, 2013.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/SNAPsummary.htm

[xiv] Congressional Budget Office.

[xv] Based on Congressional Budget Office scores of House and Senate farm bills.

[xvi] U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. Characteristics of

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Households: Fiscal Year 2011. Table 3.1. November
2012. http://www.fns.usda.gov/ora/menu/Published/snap/SNAPPartHH.htm

[xvii] U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. Characteristics of

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Households: Fiscal Year 2011. Table A.5. November
2012. http://www.fns.usda.gov/ora/menu/Published/snap/SNAPPartHH.htm

[xviii] National Energy Assistance Directors Association, National Energy Assistance Survey.
2009. http://www.neada.org/publications/index.html

[xix] Feeding America, Hunger in America. 2010.

http://feedingamerica.issuelab.org/resource/hunger_in_america_2010_national_report

[xx] U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program Benefits, FY2012 Data. Data as of January 4, 2013.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/17SNAPfyBEN$.htm

[xxi] U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. Characteristics of

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Households: Fiscal Year 2011. Table A.3.
November 2012.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/ora/MENU/Published/snap/FILES/Participation/2011Characteristics.pd
f

[xxii] U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. Characteristics of

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Households: Fiscal Year 2011. Table A.5. November
2012. http://www.fns.usda.gov/ora/menu/Published/snap/SNAPPartHH.htm

[xxiii] Center on Budget and Policy Priorities analysis of Senate Farm Bill amendments, 2012.
[xxiv] U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. Characteristics of
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Households: Fiscal Year 2011. Table A.5. November
2012. http://www.fns.usda.gov/ora/menu/Published/snap/SNAPPartHH.htm

[xxv] Center on Budget and Policy Priorities analysis.

[xxvi] U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Annual Program Data, 2007
and 2011. http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/SNAPsummary.htm Bureau of Labor Statistics, Annual
Unemployment Data, 2007 and 2011. http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNU04000000?
years_option=all_years&periods_option=specific_periods&periods=Annual+Data

[xxvii] Bureau of Labor Statistics, Historical Unemployment Data.

http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Monthly Program
Data. http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/34SNAPmonthly.htm Congressional Budget Office,
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program February 2013 Baseline. February 2013.
https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/43896-Supplemental%20Nutrition
%20Assistance%20Program.pdf

[xxviii] The Congressional Budget Office estimates that repealing the categorical eligibility
option would eliminate food assistance to 1.8 million low-income people. The Administration
estimates that eliminating the option would terminate some 3 million individuals from the
program.

[xxix] U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Annual Program Data, 2007
and 2011. http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/SNAPsummary.htm Bureau of Labor Statistics, Annual
Unemployment Data, 2007 and 2011. http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNU04000000?
years_option=all_years&periods_option=specific_periods&periods=Annual+Data

[xxx] Bureau of Labor Statistics, Historical Unemployment Data.

http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Monthly Program
Data. http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/34SNAPmonthly.htm Congressional Budget Office,
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program March 2012 Baseline. March 2012.
http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/43072_SNAP.pdf

[xxxi] U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Annual Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program Participation and Costs, data as of January 4, 2013.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/SNAPsummary.htm

[xxxii] U.S. Department of Agriculture, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

Participation and Costs. http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/SNAPsummary.htm Center on Budget and
Policy Priorities analysis.

[xxxiii] Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Policy Basics: Introduction to the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). November 2012. http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?
fa=view&id=2226
[xxxiv] U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. Characteristics of
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Households: Fiscal Year 2011. A.23. November
2012.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/ora/menu/Published/snap/FILES/Participation/2011Characteristics.pdf

[xxxv] U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Stamp Program Payment Error Rates FY2002.
October 1, 2003. http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/qc/pdfs/2002-rates.pdf U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Payment Error Rates FY2011. June 6,
2012. http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/qc/pdfs/2011-rates.pdf

[xxxvi] U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Trends in Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program Participation Rates: Fiscal Year 2002 to Fiscal Year 2009. Table
2. August 2011.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/ora/menu/Published/snap/FILES/Participation/Trends2002-09.pdf U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program Participation Rates: Fiscal Year 2010. Table 4. December 2012.

http://www.fns.usda.gov/ora/menu/Published/snap/FILES/Participation/Trends2010.pdf

[xxxvii] Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. The State of the Nations
Housing. 2011. http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/sites/jchs.harvard.edu/files/son2011.pdf and Center
for Responsible Lender. Lost Ground, 2011: Disparities in Mortgage Lending and Foreclosures.
November 2011. http://www.responsiblelending.org/mortgage-lending/research-analysis/Lost-
Ground-2011.pdf

[xxxviii] Center for Labor Market Studies, Northeastern University. Labor Underutilization
Impacts of the Great Recession of 2007-2009: Variations in Labor Underutilization Problems
Across Age, Gender, Race-Ethnic, Educational Attainment and Occupational Groups in the U.S.
March 2010. http://www.northeastern.edu/clms/wp-
content/uploads/Labor_Underutilization_Impacts_of_Great_Recession_of_20072009.pdf

[xxxix] Economic Policy Institute. The State of Working America: Income. 12th Edition.
http://stateofworkingamerica.org/files/book/Chapter2-Income.pdf

[xl] Center for American progress, Hunger In America: Suffering We All Pay For. October 2011.
http://www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/issues/2011/10/pdf/hunger_paper.pdf

[xli] Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, SNAP Benefits Will Be Cut For All Participants in
November 2013. August 2013. http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=3899

[xlii] U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, Household Food Security in
the United States, 2011. Table 1A. September 2012.
http://www.ers.usda.gov/media/884525/err141.pdf U.S. Census Bureau, Income, Poverty, and
Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2011. Table B-1. September 2012.
http://www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/p60-243.pdf
[xliii] U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. Characteristics of
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Households: Fiscal Year 2011. Table D.3.
November 2012. http://www.fns.usda.gov/ora/menu/Published/snap/SNAPPartHH.htm

[xliv] Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, SNAP Benefits Will Be Cut For All Participants in
November 2013. August 2013. http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=3899

[xlv] U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. Benefit Redemption Patterns
in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Final Report. February 2011.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/ora/menu/Published/SNAP/FILES/ProgramOperations/ARRASpending
Patterns.pdf Feeding America. Food Banks: Hungers New Staple. Preliminary Findings.
September 2011. http://feedingamerica.org/press-room/in-the-news/the-new-normal.aspx

[xlvi] U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, Household Food Security in
the United States, 2011. Table 1A. September 2012.
http://www.ers.usda.gov/media/884525/err141.pdf

[xlvii] Bureau of Labor Statistics, Monthly Unemployment Data.

http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000

SNAP (Food Stamps): Facts, Myths and Realities. Feeding America.

http://feedingamerica.org/how-we-fight-hunger/programs-and-services/public-assistance-
programs/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program/snap-myths-realities.aspx#_edn20

3/29/2017