The Food Stamp Program's Elderly Nutrition Pilot Demonstration: Initial Evaluation Design

by Merrile Sing, Scott Cody, Michael Sinclair, Rhoda Cohen, and James C. Ohls

Low participation rates in the Food Stamp Program (FSP) by poor elderly individuals have been a persistent problem. Historically, no more than one-third of eligible elderly have participated in the FSP—a participation rate far lower than that of any other major demographic group. To address the low participation rates among the elderly, USDA is funding the Elderly Nutrition Demonstrations—six separate pilot programs that are testing three alternative ways to increase elderly participation in the FSP. This report presents the design for evaluating the six demonstrations. The design includes an impact analysis to evaluate the effects of the demonstrations on FSP participation, average benefit levels, client satisfaction, and ongoing administrative costs. The design also includes a process analysis to describe the implementation process and to identify the effects of the demonstrations on stakeholders.

This study was conducted by the Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., under a cooperative research contract with USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) Food and Nutrition Assistance Research Program (FANRP): contract number 10-3K06-01 (ERS project representative: Elizabeth Dagata). The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of ERS or USDA.

Keywords: Food Stamp Program, FSP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP, food assistance, Elderly Nutrition Pilot Demonstration, elderly food stamp recipients, Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program, FANRP

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