THE ROLE OF FOOD STAMPS IN THE POST-REFORM SAFETY NET: THE THREE CITY STUDY
Project: THE ROLE OF FOOD STAMPS IN THE POST-REFORM SAFETY NET: THE THREE-CITY STUDY
Sponsor: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service
IPS Staff: Demetra Smith Nightingale and Jonathan Pollak
Purpose and Approach
The Food Stamp Program has played an increasingly important role in the safety net for low-income fami-lies in the period since major welfare reforms in 1996. Food stamps have been a critical source of transi-tional support for the many families who have left welfare. Among the larger group of non-welfare fami-lies, food stamps help to insure against distress during low-income periods. The role of the program has been especially evident in the most recent recession - food stamp use has grown while welfare participation has continued to decline.
In this investigation, Johns Hopkins University researchers, along with colleagues from the University of Chicago and George Washington University, use data from the Three-City Study, a longitudinal survey of 2,400 low-income families in Boston, Chicago, and San Antonio, to study food stamp and welfare partici-pation dynamics and their relationship with well-being outcomes, including food security. The research performed by the Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies under this study examines demographic, household, public assistance, and employment characteristics of aging, low-income women who are the primary caregivers of minor children.
Results
The first report from this study presents characteristics of females over age 40 who have responsibility for children, compared to younger women, and examines changes that occur for these two groups over the six-year period. Employment and earnings increased for both groups, poverty decreased, and receipt of cash welfare declined, but food stamps benefit receipt increased. However, older women were relatively less well-off than the younger cohort on all criteria examined – they had lower wage progression, lower receipt of food stamps, higher poverty, and higher rates of health and disability problems.
Publications
Nightingale, D.S. and S. Hutcheon (2008). “Employment, Family, and Public Assistance Profile of Aging Low-Income Mothers.” Working Paper on the Three-City Study. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins Universi-ty.
