Food Assistance: Nutritional Conditions and Program Alternatives in Puerto Rico.
Abstract
Concerned about the size, expense, and management of the Food Stamp Program in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Congress replaced the Food Stamp Program in Puerto Rico with an $825-million annual food assistance block grant in fiscal year 1981. In July 1982, Puerto Rico began operating the Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP), a cash food assistance program funded by the block grant. In response to concerns that federal food assistance in Puerto Rico might not safeguard recipients agaInst hunger and afford them the same nutritional benefits as other U.S. citizens receiving federal food assistance, the Congress, under the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990, directed GAO to study (1) the nutritional needs of the citizens of the Commonwealth, with particular emphasis on the elderly and children, and (2) potential alternative means of providing nutrition assistance in Puerto Rico. Because of the cost and time required to survey nutrition in Puerto Rico, GAO, with the concurrence of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and the House Committee on Agriculture, relied on available nutrition studies to identify the nutritional needs of Puerto Ricans. GAO also reviewed three alternatives for providing food assistance, including restoring the Food Stamp Program to the Commonwealth, increasing benefits under NAP, and adjusting NAP'S eligibility criteria or other factors as was done under the Food Stamp Program for Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the Virgin Islands.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 1992
- Accession Number
- ADA298968
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office