Food Assistance

Alternatives for Delivering Benefits Gao ID: T-RCED-95-202 May 23, 1995

This testimony summarizes two recent reports on the Agriculture Department's (USDA) food assistance program. A December 1994 report (GAO/RCED-95-13) compared the current coupon-based system for delivering food stamp benefits with two alternative systems being tested by USDA--electronic benefit transfer and providing benefits via check. GAO reported that no one system was clearly superior to the other two in all areas. A February 1995 report (GAO/RCED-95-115R) identified several alternatives for food assistance programs. These included consolidating multiple programs with similar objectives, improving how benefits to low-income persons are targeted, and eliminating programs that have not proven to be effective.



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