Characteristics of food stamp households: Fiscal year 2003

Summarizes the demographic and economic circumstances of food stamp households. On average, about 21.3 million people received food stamps each month in 2003. A little more than half of all food stamp households contained children, and most of these households were headed by a single parent. About 18 percent of food stamp households contained an elderly person. Although benefit amounts varied quite a bit, the average monthly benefit was $195 per household. Compared with 2002, the number of program participants increased by 12 percent.