THE EFFECT OF THE FOOD STAMP PROGRAM ON NUTRIENT INTAKE

Receipt of food stamps is often observed to be positively correlated w ith intake of nutrients. However, this observed fact could be the resu lt of self-selection into the food stamp program by those individuals who are more interested in maintaining good nutrition. We observe that , controlling for participation in the food stamp program, nutrition i s negatively affected by food stamp income for a sample of elderly peo ple. However we find that the levels of nutrients do not decrease enou gh to cause individuals to fall below the Recommended Dietary Allowanc e.