South Carolina Food Stamp and Well-Being Study: Well-Being Outcomes Among Food Stamp Leavers

This study examines data from a survey of families in South Carolina who left the Food Stamp Program (FSP) between 1998 and 2000. We combined the survey data with earnings data and subsequent food stamp receipt to investigate personal and family characteristics associated with three types of well-being outcomes: food hardships, other adverse events, and subjective assessments of life changes. Study results show that families with rising incomes are less likely than families with lower incomes to experience food hardships or other adverse events or to have a negative view about life changes. Families who return to the FSP are more likely to experience food hardships and other adverse events but are less likely to have a negative view about life changes than families who remain out of the program