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USDA’s array of 15 domestic food assistance programs
form a nutritional safety net for children and low-income
adults by providing food or the means to purchase food,
and nutrition education. The five largest programs—Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—SNAP (formerly the
Food Stamp Program); the National School Lunch Program;
the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women,
Infants, and Children (WIC); the Child and Adult Care
Food Program; and the School Breakfast Program—account
for about 95 percent of USDA’s total expenditures
for domestic food assistance.
- The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
is the cornerstone of USDA’s food assistance programs,
accounting for over half of all food assistance spending.
Needy households can qualify for SNAP if they
meet income, asset, work, and immigration status requirements.
The program provides benefits that are redeemable at
authorized retail foodstores, allowing participants
to improve their diets by increasing their food purchasing
power.
- The Special Supplemental
Nutrition Program for Woman, Infants, and Children (WIC)
addresses the special needs of at-risk, low-income pregnant,
breastfeeding, and postpartum women, and infants and
children up to age 5. The program provides a package
of supplemental foods targeted to participants’
dietary needs, nutrition education (including breastfeeding
promotion and support), and health care referrals.
- The National
School Lunch Program provides nutritious low-cost
or free lunches to schoolchildren. Participating schools
receive cash and some commodities from USDA to offset
the cost of food service, and in return, the schools
must serve lunches that meet Federal nutritional requirements
and offer free or reduced-price lunches to needy children.
Any child at a participating school may enroll in the
program. Children from families with incomes at or below
130 percent of the Federal poverty guidelines are eligible
for free meals, and those from families between 130
percent and 185 percent of the poverty guidelines are
eligible for reduced-price meals. Children from families
with incomes over 185 percent of the poverty guidelines
pay a full price, though their meals are still subsidized
to a small extent.
- The School Breakfast Program provides low-cost breakfasts
to school children, with students from low-income families
receiving free or reduced-price meals (eligibility requirements
are the same as those for the National School Lunch
Program).
- The Child and Adult Care Food Program subsidizes
healthy meals and snacks in participating child care
centers and homes and adult day care facilities. The
providers of care are reimbursed for each type of qualifying
meal (breakfast, lunch/supper, or snack) they serve.
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