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| Highlights |
Title IV
Nutrition
Programs |
Food Stamp Program and commodity
distribution programs are reauthorized for 5 years.
Reinstates food stamp eligibility for legal immigrants
residing in the U.S. for at least 5 years, and for all
legal immigrant children and disabled individuals.
Includes provisions to simplify and streamline the Food
Stamp Program. Increases funding for the Emergency Food
Assistance Program. Modifies commodity distribution
programs and encourages expanded use of fresh fruits and
vegetables. |
 Key provisions
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| Provisions |
1996-2001 farm and food
legislation |
2002 Farm Bill |
| Food Stamp Program
benefits |
| The Food Stamp Program (FSP) aids
qualified low-income households with food purchases. |
The 1996 Farm Act reauthorized the FSP for 2 years,
adding criteria for disqualification of food stores and
wholesale food concerns for program violations.
The program was modified and reauthorized through
fiscal year (FY) 2002 as a part of the 1996 Personal
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act
(PRWORA). This welfare reform legislation reduced the
level of the maximum food stamp benefit, limited income
deductions, restricted eligibility for many legal
immigrants, and imposed time limits for able-bodied
adults without dependents. |
The FSP and related programs under the
Food Stamp Act (including the Food Distribution Program
on Indian Reservations) are reauthorized through FY
2007. |
| Benefits for legal
immigrants |
PRWORA disqualified most permanent resident aliens
from receipt of food stamps unless they had been
employed in the U.S. for the past 10 years. The
Agricultural Research, Extension and Education Reform
Act of 1998 restored eligibility to immigrant children,
disabled, and elderly who were in the U.S. when welfare
reform took effect in August 1996. |
Beginning in October 2002, eligibility
for FSP benefits is restored to legal immigrants
receiving other disability benefits. In April 2003, all
legal immigrants who have been in the U.S. continuously
for 5 years will become eligible to apply for food
stamps. All legal immigrant children, regardless of date
of entry to the U.S., will become eligible to apply in
October 2003. |
| Welfare reform and
immigration reform legislation in 1996 instituted
requirements to take sponsors' income into account when
immigrants were means tested for Federal benefits. |
Eligibility guidelines
for legal immigrants will continue to take into account
the income and assets of sponsors, except in
applications made for children after October 2003. |
| Standard deduction for income
determination |
PRWORA froze the standard deduction at
$134 per household, regardless of size. |
Standard deduction is modified to allow a
greater deduction (and higher benefits) for many larger
households. The deduction is set at 8.31% of
inflation-indexed poverty guidelines for most
households. Since the poverty income cutoff increases
with household size, larger FSP households are generally
entitled to bigger standard deductions. Households with
more than 6 persons will qualify for the same deduction
as a 6-person household. No household will have a
deduction less than $134. |
| Transitional food stamp benefits
for households exiting welfare |
In creating a new cash welfare
program—Temporary Assistance to Needy Families
(TANF)—PRWORA imposed a 5-year limit on receipt of cash
benefits. In many States, implementation of TANF
involved new policies and practices that were not easily
integrated with food stamp administrative practice.
Regulatory changes in 2000 allowed States to certify 3
months of transitional food stamp benefits for
households losing cash assistance from TANF, without
additional paperwork requirements. |
Families leaving TANF can be certified to
receive transitional food stamp benefits for 5 months.
The transitional benefit amount is set equal to the
amount of benefits received 1 month prior to exiting
TANF, with adjustments for loss of cash aid and, at
State option, for other changes in household
circumstances. Households may recertify during the
transitional period. For transitional cases, States are
allowed to extend the certification period beyond 12
months. Households are not eligible for transitional
benefits if they lose TANF benefits because of a
sanction, are disqualified from the Food Stamp Program,
or belong to a category designated by the State as
ineligible. |
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| Provisions |
1996-2001 farm and food
legislation |
2002 Farm Bill |
Food Stamp Program
simplification and administrative reforms.
The
Food Stamp Program (as amended) established uniform
national eligibility standards and defines the basic FSP
unit as the "household." Eligibility criteria include
gross and net income limits and an asset limit. The food
stamp allotment depends on the number of people in the
household and the household's net income. |
| Eligibility and benefit
determination |
Income requirements continued to restrict
eligibility to households with gross income less than
130% of poverty guidelines and net income less than
100%. Asset requirement limiting eligible households to
no more than $2,000 in countable assets ($3,000 if a
member is age 60 or older) is also continued. |
To simplify eligibility determination, State
administrators may exclude certain types of income and
resources not counted under the State's TANF cash
assistance or Medicaid programs. Asset requirements are
changed to increase the resource limit from $2,000 to
$3,000 for households with a disabled member.
States may deem child support payments as an income
exclusion rather than a deduction. The Secretary is
directed to establish simplified procedures for States
in establishing the amount of child support paid by a
household.
States are given new options on use of standardized
deductions. A new standard deduction of $143 per month
for homeless households is allowed. The standard utility
allowance (SUA) option is simplified for States electing
to use the SUA (rather than actual utility costs) for
all households. |
| FSP reporting and recertification
procedures |
Regulatory and policy changes gave States
new opportunities to reduce the burden on FSP certified
households by expanding quarterly reporting options
(1999) and allowing semi-annual reporting for households
with earnings (2000). |
States are allowed to extend the
semi-annual reporting option to almost all types of
cases, permitting the State agency to freeze benefits
for 6 months. Households are required to report changes
in income and circumstances only at 6-month intervals
(unless their income goes above 130% of the poverty
level.) |
| FSP quality control
system |
The Food Stamp Act (as amended) required USDA to
maintain a system that enhances payment accuracy and
improves program administration by establishing fiscal
incentives that require State agencies with high payment
error rates to share in the cost of payment
error. |
Substantial changes are made to the
fiscal sanctions and incentives available to the
Secretary to oversee State performance in administering
the FSP. Only those States with persistently high error
rates will face liabilities. Beginning with State
performance in October 2003, States will not be
penalized unless the probability is 95% that their error
rate exceeds 105% of the national average for 2
consecutive years. |
| USDA had provided
enhanced administrative funds to States with error rates
below 6%. |
The enhanced funding
system is replaced with a performance system that will
award $48 million in bonuses each year and that
emphasizes positive steps rather than avoidance of
error. States will be rewarded for improvements or high
levels of performance related to actions taken to
correct errors, reduce the rates of error, improve
eligibility determinations, or other activities that
demonstrate effective administration. |
Use of Food Stamp Employment
and Training (FSE&T) Program funds.
Under the
Food Stamp Act (as amended) USDA is required to provide
Federal funding to States for employment and training
programs for food stamp recipients. |
The Balanced Budget Act
of 1997 more than doubled funding available to States
for the FSE&T Program. The following 3 stipulations
applied:
• States had to spend at least 80% of
employment and training (E&T) funds on services for
able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs);
•
States had to maintain at least their 1996 E&T
funding levels in order to access additional funds; and
• amounts that USDA would reimburse per case for
qualifying E&T activities were limited. |
State flexibility in spending FSE&T program funds
is increased by repealing the 3 stipulations imposed on
States. Also eliminated is the $25-per-month cap on
Federal reimbursements for transportation and other work
costs incurred by participants in E&T
programs. |
| Federal FSE&T funds
made available to States were in excess of $200 million
from FY 1998-2001. |
For FY 2002-07,
unrestricted FSE&T funds are reduced to $90 million.
An additional $20 million in funding is available for
States that pledge to offer work slots to ABAWD facing
the 3-month time limit for food stamps. |
| FSP access grants |
The Food Stamp Act (as amended)
authorized USDA to spend up to $5 million for FY 2002-07
on competitively awarded grants with public or private
nonprofit organizations for outreach projects aimed at
increasing FSP participation by eligible low-income
households. |
Reaffirms funding authorized in the Food Stamp Act.
Up to $5 million in annual funds for FY 2003-07 is
specifically authorized to award competitive outreach
grants to improve access to the FSP. Projects may
include efforts to:
• Coordinate food stamp
applications with those of other assistance programs;
• Facilitate application through telephone,
Internet, or other system improvements; and
•
Develop outreach materials and/or improved methods for
informing eligible households about the program.
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| Electronic benefits transfer (EBT)
system |
PRWORA mandated that all States switch
from paper coupons to EBT issuance by October 2002 and
that all State EBT systems be integrated with other
State systems. |
Eliminates requirement that EBT systems not cost the
Federal Government more than the prior paper coupon
systems. Alternate methods for issuing food stamp
benefits are authorized during disasters when reliance
on EBT systems is impracticable.
The Secretary is required to submit a report by
October 1, 2003, to Congress, describing the status of
EBT systems in each State and national implementation
issues. |
| Puerto Rico and American Samoa |
Puerto Rico and American Samoa continued
to receive Federal food assistance through separate
block grant programs. |
Funding structure for nutrition
assistance in Puerto Rico and American Samoa is
consolidated into a single block grant funded at $1.401
billion for FY 2003 with annual adjustments, based on
the Thrifty
Food Plan. |
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| Provisions |
1996-2001 farm and food
legislation |
2002 Farm Bill |
| Commodity distribution
programs provide needy persons with access to a more
nutritious diet. |
| The Emergency Food Assistance
Program (TEFAP) provides for the purchase and
distribution of commodities to the needy, primarily
through food banks and soup kitchens. |
The 1996 Farm Act required the Secretary
to use $100 million annually to purchase commodities for
TEFAP, and authorized up to $50 million to be used in
administration of the program and distribution of
commodities. Funding was authorized through FY 2002. |
Mandatory funding for TEFAP commodity
purchases under the Food Stamp Act is increased to $140
million each year beginning in FY 2002. In addition,
authorizations for direct and indirect costs related to
processing, storing, transporting, and distributing
commodities (including commodities contributed by
farmers through gleaning programs) are increased to $60
million. |
| Commodity Supplemental Food Program
(CSFP) |
The 1996 Farm Act reauthorized various
discretionary food distribution programs, including the
Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP). |
CSFP is reauthorized through FY 2007. The
administrative funding formula is modified to provide a
specific reimbursement per caseload slot, subject to
annual adjustment.
The Secretary cannot prohibit use of any food safety
technology approved or allowed by USDA or the Department
of Health and Human Services when acquiring commodities
for commodity distribution programs and other domestic
feeding programs. |
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| Provisions |
1996-2001 farm and food
legislation |
2002 Farm Bill |
| Community food security
provisions |
| Community food security grants |
The 1996 Farm Act established new
authority for Federal grants to support development of
Community Food Projects. Funding of $2.5 million per
year was authorized through FY 2002. Grants have been
awarded annually to projects designed to:
• Increase
access of low-income households to fresher, more
nutritious food supplies;
• Increase self-reliance
of communities in providing for their own food needs;
and
• Promote comprehensive responses to local food,
farm, and nutrition issues. |
Annual funds of up to $5 million are
authorized for Community Food Projects for FY 2002-07.
The definition of qualifying projects is expanded to
include those that meet specific local needs through
infrastructure development, long-term planning, and/or
innovative marketing activities. Up to $200,000 annually
of the authorized funding can be used to contract with a
nongovernment organization to develop and recommend
programs for addressing common community issues such as
loss of farms and ranches, rural poverty, welfare
dependency, hunger, job training, and promotion of
self-sufficiency for individuals and communities. |
Farmers' Market Nutrition
Programs
|
The WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Act of 1992
mandated USDA to help participants in the Special
Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and
Children (WIC) to obtain fresh fruits and vegetables
from farmers' markets. Legislation in 1994 authorized
$10.5 million for the program in FY 1995 and "such sums
as necessary" for FY 1996-98. Legislation in 1998
reauthorized the program through FY 2003. The 2002
Agricultural Appropriations Act allocated $10 million
for the program in FY 2002, with provision for an
additional $15 million at the Secretary's discretion.
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The additional funding for the WIC Farmers' Market
Nutrition Program shall be available through the Commodity
Credit Corporation (CCC) in the amount of $15
million until expended.
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| USDA instituted the Senior Farmers'
Market Nutrition Program in January 2001, targeted at
low-income seniors, using funding under CCC authorities.
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Funding levels of $5 million in FY 2002
and $15 million a year through FY 2007 are made
available to implement and expand the Senior Farmers'
Market Nutrition Program. |
| Locally produced foods |
No similar provisions. |
The Secretary is directed to encourage
schools participating in the National School Lunch and
School Breakfast Programs to purchase locally produced
foods. Annual funding of $400,000 for FY 2003-07 is
authorized to provide startup grants for up to 200
institutions. |
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| Provisions |
1996-2001 farm and food
legislation |
2002 Farm Bill |
| Miscellaneous nutrition
program provisions |
| Use of commodities for domestic
feeding programs |
No similar provisions. |
The Secretary is given authority to
distribute excess commodities acquired in the conduct of
CCC operations under Section
32 to any USDA program involving acquisition of
commodities for a domestic feeding program.
The
Secretary is required to use a minimum of $200 million
per year from Section 32 funds to purchase additional
fruits, vegetables, and other specialty food crops. A
minimum of $50 million per year is to be used
exclusively for purchases of fresh fruits and vegetables
through the Department of Defense Fresh Program for use
by schools and institutions participating in school
lunch and other child nutrition programs. |
| Pilot programs |
No similar provisions. |
Several pilot programs are authorized,
including:
• A pilot program to make free fruits and
vegetables available in 25 schools in 4 States and on 1
Indian reservation; and
• A pilot program in 5
States, not to exceed 4 years per State, to increase
fruit and vegetable consumption and publicize related
health promotion messages. |
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