The monthly food stamp cycle: Shopping frequency and food intake decisionsin an endogenous switching regression framework

Mean food spending by food stamp households peaks sharply in the first thre e days after benefits are received. For those who conduct major grocery sho pping trips only once per month (42% of all food stamp households), mean fo od energy intake drops significantly by the fourth week of the month. For t he remaining households, intake remains steady over the course of the month , These patterns motivate an empirical model that simultaneously accounts f or the shopping frequency and food intake decisions over time. Results have implications for policies that may affect the frequency of grocery shoppin g by food stamp households.