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The Food Stamp Program (FSP) helps needy families purchase food so that they can maintain a nutritious diet. Families and individuals are eligible for the program if their financial resources fall below certain income and asset thresholds. However, not all those eligible participate in the program. Some choose not to, while others do not know they are eligible. The participation rate -- the ratio of the number of participants to the number of eligible individuals-- reveals the degree to which eligible families participate.
This study examines trends in FSP participation rates since 1994. It focuses on trends in the rates before and after welfare reform, and throughout much of the economic expansion of the 1990s. It also examines trends in participation rates among subgroups of the eligible population such as those with and without earnings, with and without children, and with and without
welfare. It also looks at participation rates of aliens and able-bodied adults without children.
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