From the National Center for Children in Poverty, this report analyzes the effectiveness of America's work supports, such as earned income tax credits, public health insurance, child care assistance, and food stamps. For families, work supports can close the gap between low earnings and basic expenses, as working more does not always pay as families lose eligibility for critical supports.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities authored this report on the effects of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for individual families. State-level data show that the Recovery Act has protected many families from poverty by raising incomes through its focus on tax credits, access to food stamps, and other measures. Researchers estimate that 6 million families were kept out of poverty by the Act in 2009.

From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, this issue brief provides an overview of the food stamp program. In 2014, the program helped more than 46 million low-income Americans to afford a nutrionally adequate diet in a typical month. This piece provides an overview of eligibility requirements, the available benefits, the application procedures, and current food stamp caseload information. The program not only encourages work, but helps low-wage workers move above the poverty line, while also encouraging nutritional dietary intake for children.

From the U.S. Department of Agriculture, this report provides information on food insecurity among children in the United States. Researchers found that around 85 percent of households with food-insecure children had a working adult, including 70 percent with a full-time worker. Around 16 percent of households with children were food insecure sometime during the year, including 8.3 percent in which children were food insecure and 0.8 percent in which one or more children experienced very low food security. Federal food and nutrition assistance programs provided benefits to four out of five low-income, food-insecure households with children.

From the U.S. Department of Agriculture, this study looks at low-income families in Detroit in relation to economic coping strategies. Conducting three rounds of interviews with 35 women, researchers found that a majority of the sample were employed at least some of the time and most had children living with them. Additionally, just under half reported running out of food at some point during the year, and many reported utilizing Food Stamp (SNAP) benefits, but did not receive TANF or unemployment benefits.

This issue brief from Feeding America offers an estimate on the prevalence of food insecurity among children in the country. The estimates were calculated from the Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement (CPS FSS) for 2005-2007. Researchers estimate that 12.5 million children in the United States from 2005 to 2007 were food insecure, which equates to about 17 percent of children under the age of 18.

This report was authored through the U.S. Conference of Mayors and provides relevant information on hunger and homelessness across cities in the United States. This report includes data from 25 urban centers across the country in 2008. Specifically, it was found that 95 percent of cities reported an increase in the demand for emergency food assistance over the past year. Additionally, 83 percent of cities reported an increase in homelessness over the past year in comparison to 2007.

This bibliography was prepared for the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as part of a 12-month assessment that looks at the feasibility of studying the consequences of Hurricane Katrina for the ACF service populations. Authored by the Urban Institute, this piece offers a list of resources that address the human, social, and economic dimensions of the storm.

This study was funded through the Department of Agriculture and provides information on food security in households that participate in the Food Stamp Program (FSP). Using data from the Current Population Survey, researchers found that Food Stamp households have higher at-home food spending and lower away-from-home-spending than comparable non-participants.

This article is from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and provides information on food security among low-income households. This research was focused on assessing the extent to which low-income households are willing and able to budget for healthy foods. It was found that households with an income below 130 percent of the poverty line spend less money than higher income households on healthy foods.