Abstract: A report for food program policy makers, managers, and researches presents the result of a national US survey, conducted during the summer of 1986, of over 7100 hourseholds particpating in national food stamp program covering all 50 states and th e District of Columbia. The report provides a description of the economic and demographic circumstances associated with food stamp households during the survey period, and compares these circumstances to those that existed during the previous summer. The economics and composition of the survey population are detailed. comparisons between 1986 and 1985 indicated that the percentage of hoseholds with income below the poverty line remained about the same (39-40%) and the mean monthly food stamp benefit increase by $4/household ($116 to $120).