| Project: State Trends in Food Stamp Program Eligibility and Participation Among Elderly Individuals |
| Award Year: 2008 |
| Amount of award, fiscal 2008: $179,145.00 |
| Institution: Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. |
| Principal Investigator: Karen Cunnyngham |
| Status: Completed |
| Detailed Objective: Historically, elderly adults have participated in the Food Stamp Program (FSP) at lower rates than the general population. The lower rates may indicate that income-eligible elderly households have less need for nutrition assistance than other households or have other methods of coping with limited financial resources or that some low-income elderly subgroups have unmet nutrition assistance needs which could indicate a need for additional efforts to increase elderly FSP participation.
Using the FSP Quality Control databases for fiscal years 2000-2007, this study will tabulate detailed characteristics of elderly FSP participants over time and by State. It will then use a computer model based on the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) to simulate FSP eligibility and tabulate the characteristics of FSP-eligible elderly individuals. The model also will estimate the effects of outreach projects designed to increase elderly participation. Finally, the study will use a Current Population Survey (CPS)-based FSP eligibility file and administrative data to estimate FSP participation rates for elderly individuals on a State-by-State basis.
By comparing the characteristics of elderly FSP participants and eligibles, the study may learn more about eligible individuals who do not participate in the FSP. Also, with SIPP data on reported food security, expense sharing, and program participation, the study will assess whether some groups of elderly individuals seem to have a greater need for nutrition assistance than others and to identify some of the ways in which low-income elderly households cope with limited financial resources. |
| Topic: Elderly, SNAP/Food Stamp Program |
| Dataset: Current Population Survey (CPS), Food Stamp Program Quality Control Data (FSPQC), Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) |
Output:
Cunnyngham, K. State Trends in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Eligibility and Participation Among Elderly Individuals: Final Report, Contractor and Cooperator Report, No. 64, USDA, ERS, November 2010. |