Annual review of domestic food-assistance programs

Overall expenditures for domestic food-assistance programs grew 4.8 percent in fiscal 1994 to approximately $37 billion (table 1).

With emphasis on outreach to all eligible individuals, outlays for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) had the greatest percentage increase (12 percent), followed by child-nutrition programs (primarily the school lunch, up 5 percent, and breakfast programs, up 11 percent). Food Stamp Program outlays increased by 4 percent in fiscal 1994, but participation and program costs declined in the first 6 months of calendar year 1995. The value of food donation programs continued to decline - as it has in recent years. Purchases of commodities through price-support programs have fallen in recent years, making less available for donation to domestic food-assistance programs.

Budget considerations loom large in the future of USDA's domestic food-assistance programs. Legislation currently being considered in Congress would make major changes in the Food Stamp and child-nutrition programs. (For more details about these proposals and their economic impacts, see "New Directions for National Food-Assistance Efforts" in the January-April 1995 issue of FoodReview.)

In the future, USDA will continue its effort to improve the nutritional balance of meals served in schools by promoting more fruit and vegetable servings; fewer sweets; and less fat, cholesterol, and sodium. USDA is providing technical assistance to help schools prepare meals which conform to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

The following is a summary of the various programs - how they work and whom they served in fiscal 1994.

WIC

Established in 1972, The Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) works to improve the nutrition and health of low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, along with infants and children up to age 5, who are determined by health or medical professionals to be at nutritional risk.

Participants are given vouchers which are to be exchanged for monthly allotments of foods that are rich in the nutrients typically lacking from diets of low-income children and mothers, such as infant formula, eggs, fruits, juice, milk, cheese, and cereal. Participants are also offered nutrition education and provided information on the community health and medical services available to them.

Expenditures on the WIC program grew slightly more than 12 percent in fiscal 1994 - largely due to a 9.4-percent increase in recipients. An average of 6.5 million people participated in the program each month - approximately three-quarters of whom were infants and children. Average monthly benefits were $29.91 per participant in fiscal 1994, usually in the form of vouchers for specific foods but sometimes as actual foodstuffs. In fiscal 1993, an average of 5.9 million people participated each month, a 9.5-percent increase over the previous year. Average monthly benefits in 1993 equaled $29.77 per participant.

Child-Nutrition Programs

Linked with local and State governments, USDA operates five programs to provide meals and snacks to preschool and school-age children: National School Lunch, School Breakfast, Special Milk, Child and Adult Care Food Program, and Summer Food Service Programs. In fiscal 1994, Federal expenditures for these programs totaled approximately $7.7 billion. In comparison, $7.2 billion was spent in fiscal 1993.

Through USDA's food programs in fiscal 1994, an average of over 30 million meals are served each school day to children enrolled in public and private schools, and another 2.1 million meals are served daily to children in the Child and Adult Care Food Program.

The National School Lunch Program serves the largest number of children, with 25.3 million participating on a typical school day in fiscal 1994. That is a 1.7-percent gain over fiscal 1993. The average daily number of free and reduced-price meals also increased in fiscal 1994, up 3.5 percent and 3.9 percent, respectively, over fiscal 1993. The level of participation in the free and reduced-price lunches - which are subsidized at higher levels and available only to economically eligible students - is closely related to the well-being of the general economy; the pool of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals enlarges during economic downturns and decreases during upturns.

The fiscal 1994 School Breakfast Program participation rate of 5.8 million students per school day was an 8.9-percent increase over fiscal [TABULAR DATA FOR TABLE 1 OMITTED] 1993. Outlays increased from $868 million in fiscal 1993 to $959 million in fiscal 1994.

The Child and Adult Care Food Program provides cash and commodities for food service to children in nonresidential child daycare centers, children in family daycare homes, and chronically impaired adults and persons over age 60 who are enrolled in adult daycare centers. Average daily attendance during the 4 months for which attendance is collected rose from 2.0 million people in fiscal 1993 to 2.2 million in fiscal 1994.

The school food programs make up over three-quarters of Child-Nutrition Program expenditures (tables 1 and 2).

Between 1984 and 1994, outlays for the School Breakfast Program increased at an annual rate of 9.6 percent. In fiscal 1994, outlays for the School Breakfast Program increased by approximately 11 percent, compared with a 5-percent increase in the School Lunch Program (table 2). Efforts to expand the School Breakfast Program have been directed at encouraging schools that participate in the School Lunch Program to also participate in the School Breakfast Program. In fiscal 1994, for example, the School Breakfast Program was offered in 63 percent of public and private schools participating in the School Lunch Program, compared with 57 percent in fiscal 1993 and 52 percent in fiscal 1992.

Commodities donated by USDA continued to play a diminished role in the overall funding of the school food programs. Due to the reduction of Government stocks of surplus commodities, expenditures for food donations have fallen off since the mid-1980's.

In fiscal 1994, commodity donations (including milk provided through the Special Milk Program) accounted for less than 10 percent of total expenditures for school food programs. The Special Milk Program (with outlays of $17.8 million in fiscal 1994) offers milk to children whose schools do not participate in any other Federal meal program.

Food Stamps

Under the Food Stamp Program, low-income households receive either coupons or Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards to purchase food. The program operates in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Puerto Rico was a participant until 1982, when it established a separate Nutrition Assistance Program. To be eligible for food stamps, applicants must meet income guidelines, asset limitations, and certain work requirements. Monthly benefits are based on income and household size. Each year, the dollar amounts are adjusted in order to reflect changes in the cost of the Thrifty Food Plan, which is the most economical of four food plans calculated by USDA.

The Food Stamp Program is USDA's largest food-assistance program. In fiscal 1994, an average of 27.5 million people received an average of $69 worth of benefits each month for a total of $22.8 billion. Benefits represent approximately 93 [TABULAR DATA FOR TABLE 2 OMITTED] [TABULAR DATA FOR TABLE 3 OMITTED] percent of expenditures on the program, a level that has remained nearly constant during the 1990's.

Expenditures and participation in fiscal 1994 increased - but at lower rates than during the recession of 1990-91. Almost 23 million people participated each month in fiscal 1991, compared with 20 million in fiscal 1990 and under 19 million in fiscal 1989. In fiscal 1994, Food Stamp Program expenditures increased 3.4 percent (table 3).

Food stamp benefits are pegged to changes in the Consumer Price Index for food at home. In fiscal 1995, food stamp recipients are estimated to have received $71.50 on average per person per month, up from $69 in fiscal 1994.

Average monthly participation in the Food Stamp Program rose 1.8 percent in fiscal 1994 (table 3) to a record 27.5 people. The highest single-month enrollment during fiscal 1994 was 27.96 million. For the first 6 months of fiscal 1995, monthly participation fell from its 1994 record. An average of 27 million people participated each month, the same rate recorded during fiscal 1993. However, the total cost of the program continues to increase because of higher per person benefits.

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