Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 April 2015
The present legal authority for the Food Stamp Program (FSP) is the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977. As adopted, the legislation includes a thorough overhaul of the FSP enacted into law in 1964. The FSP provides direct subsidies in the form of additional food dollars to low-income households to enhance the purchasing of nutritionally adequate diets. The most significant effect both on participating households and the food industry is the elimination of the purchase requirement whereby participants pay for food stamps. Under the new legislation, participants receive food stamps free of charge. The benefits received are roughly equivalent to the value of bonus stamps under the old program (Stucker and Boehm).