This paper uses nationally representative data to describe a monthly cycle in food expenditure and food intake by food stamp recipients. Food expenditure peaks sharply in the fIrst three days after food stamps are received. Actual food intake drops at the end of the month, for some foods and...

This article employs new Food Guide Pyramid servings data to measure how food intake is affected by income and two food programs. The analysis uses a maximum likelihood estimator that combines the seemingly unrelated regression and one-way error component models, to account for two types of...

Mean food spending by food stamp households peaks sharply in the first three days after benefits are received. For those who conduct major grocery shopping trips only once per month (42% of all food stamp households), mean food energy intake drops significantly by the fourth week of the month....

The Southworth hypothesis predicts that inframarginal food stamp recipients should choose the same bundle of goods, whether they receive coupons or cash. Empirical research has contradicted this prediction. Here, we present a model that retains some attractive features of the Southworth...

Participants in the Food Stamp Program consume more meats, added sugars, and total fats than they would in the absence of the program, while their consumption of fruits, vegetables, grains, and dairy products stays about the same. Participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for...

To understand how food stamps affect food spending, nonexperimental research typically requires some source of independent variation in food stamp benefits. Three promising sources are examined: (a) variation in household size, (b) variation in deductions from gross income, and (c) receipt of...

This paper uses county-level administrative data from California to investigate Food Stamp Program participation patterns for several race and ethnicity categories. Some policy relevant questions are: 1) How does the Food Stamp Program's coverage differ by race and ethnicity? 2) How do changes...

This report develops an accounting tool for measuring how the average benefit amount in the U.S. Food Stamp Program is affected by each major component of the rules that determine the benefit level. This tool is used to compare the benefits received by different subpopulations, distinguished by...