Section 15.6.1

15.6.1 - Reasons for Respondents or Their Households Currently Not Receiving Food Stamps

As shown in Table 15.6.1, households with children are more likely than other groups to indicate that they were not getting food stamps because they think they are ineligible. In particular:

58.0% of households with children mentioned one or more reasons related to eligibility, compared to 44.5% of households with seniors.
Households with elderly members or elderly clients were more likely than others to mention factors associated with program operations.

Table 15.6.1

REASONS FOR RESPONDENTS OR THEIR HOUSEHOLDS CURRENTLY NOT RECEIVING FOOD STAMPS

Reasons for respondents or their households NOT currently receiving food stamps among the ones who have applied for food stamps¹	Elderly Clients at Program Sites	Households with Elderly Members	Households with Children	Households with Very Young Children
Factors Associated with Eligibility
Ineligible income level

All	39.3%	40.2%	50.5%	48.4%
Income 130% of federal poverty level or lower	29.0%	27.7%	39.3%	36.6%
Income higher than 130% of federal poverty level	7.2%	9.2%	5.8%	5.1%
Unknown	3.1%	3.2%	5.4%	6.8%
Change of household makeup	2.4%	2.7%	3.5%	3.6%
Time limit receiving for the help ran out	1.7%	3.5%	3.9%	5.2%
Citizenship status	0.3%	0.3%	2.2%	3.0%
SUBTOTAL¹	42.7%	44.5%	58.0%	58.2%
Factors Associated with Program Operation
Too much hassle	22.7%	20.9%	15.4%	12.8%
Hard to get to food stamp office	6.3%	5.6%	3.9%	3.3%
SUBTOTAL	27.1%	24.6%	17.4%	15.0%
Factors Associated with Need
No need for benefits	7.7%	9.1%	5.1%	4.0%
Others need benefits more	2.2%	3.5%	1.8%	1.1%
Need is only temporary	2.4%	3.3%	5.5%	3.4%
SUBTOTAL	10.6%	11.5%	9.5%	7.1%
Other Factors
Other reasons	18.7%	18.9%	18.5%	20.7%
SAMPLE SIZE (N) - Respondents who have applied for but are not currently receiving Food Stamps	2,031	2,570	4,846	2,000

Notes
Item nonresponses to all variables involved were excluded in calculating percentages and sample sizes.

1. Multiple responses were accepted.