This brief highlights new research on food assistance from the edited volume Income Volatility and Food Assistance in the United States, published in fall 2008 by the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. Income volatility, that is, periodic fluctuations in household income, has increased substantially over the past two decades and has emerged as a pressing policy concern. Moreover, the interaction of income volatility and the administrative structure of food assistance programs has important implications for eligibility and take up of benefits.