Food stamps still popular with poor.

• Position: Your Life - Brief Article

Low-income households generally have two avenues by which they can receive nutritional assistance--the Federal Food Stamp program and private efforts such as food pantries. However, a study conducted at the University of Missouri-Columbia, by Jane Mosley, an assistant research professor in the Truman School of Public Affairs, along with Laura Tiehen from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service, reveals that while many eligible families actively use these options, very few take advantage of both simultaneously.

"We find that food stamp use is much more common than the use of food pantries," Mosley observes. "Over four times as many households used food stamps as used food pantries in a given month."

Further, the study shows that less than 10% of food...