To make qualifying for food stamps easier and more consistent, in 1977, food stamp eligibility was linked to the federal poverty level — a move made possible by statistician Mollie Orshansky. Orshansky had proposed a formula to measure poverty based on the estimated cost of a minimum nutritious diet, arguing that any household whose income was less than three times the cost of that diet should be classified as “poor.” Eventually, the government began incorporating her “measure of poverty” into the Special Supplemental Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) as well.