Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participation and current restricted food expenditures: implications for policy

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (18) ◽  
pp. 3448-3455
Author(s):  
Andrea Leschewski ◽  
Annemarie Kuhns
Keyword(s):  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ◽  
Bivariate Analysis ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Assistance Program ◽  
Snack Foods ◽  
Household Food ◽  
Nutrition Assistance ◽  
Instrumental Variables Approach

AbstractObjective:National concerns over food insecurity and obesity have prompted legislation seeking to further restrict Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) purchases. The objective of this study is to provide insight on the potential impact of proposed purchase restrictions by comparing SNAP participant and income-eligible non-participants’ expenditures on current SNAP-restricted foods, that is, hot foods, prepared foods, alcohol, vitamins and meal supplements.Design:Cross-sectional study. Bivariate analysis and multivariable regression analysis with an instrumental variables approach were employed to compare the probability of purchasing and expenditures on current SNAP-restricted foods among SNAP participants and income-eligible non-participants.Setting:National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey, 2012–2013.Participants:2513 households, of which 1316 were SNAP participants and 1197 were income-eligible non-participants.Results:Both the share of households purchasing and household expenditures on current SNAP-restricted foods were similar among SNAP participants and income-eligible non-participants.Conclusions:Results provide further empirical evidence that proposed SNAP purchase restrictions on sugar-sweetened beverages, snack foods and luxury foods are unlikely to have a meaningful effect on SNAP household food purchases.

scholarly journals Participants’ Experiences of the 2018–2019 Government Shutdown and Subsequent Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Benefit Disruption Can Inform Future Policy

Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1867
Author(s):  
Wendi Gosliner ◽  
Wei-Ting Chen ◽  
Cathryn Johnson ◽  
Elsa Michelle Esparza ◽  
Natalie Price ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Customer Service ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Assistance Program ◽  
Cascading Effects ◽  
Nutrition Assistance ◽  
Government Shutdown

The federal government shutdown from 22 December 2018 to 25 January 2019 created an unprecedented disruption in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. We conducted a cross-sectional qualitative study to begin to capture how the disruption affected food security and wellbeing among a small sample of California SNAP participants. We collected data from 26 low-income adults in four focus groups in four diverse California counties. We found that participants routinely struggle to secure an adequate and healthy diet in the context of high costs of living, the shutdown and benefit disruption added to participants’ stress and uncertainty and exacerbated food insecurity, and it diminished some participants’ faith in government. Participants reported that, while having additional benefits in January felt like a relief from typical end-of-month deprivation, the subsequent extended gap between benefit distributions and a lack of clarity about future benefits caused cascading effects as participants later had to divert money from other expenses to buy food and faced added uncertainty about future economic stability. Additionally, the shutdown highlighted challenges related to the availability, timing, and tone of communications between participants and SNAP agencies. Participants recommended that SNAP adjust benefit and eligibility levels to better address costs of living, improve customer service, and avoid future disruptions.

scholarly journals Does Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Reduce Food Insecurity among Households with Children? Evidence from the Current Population Survey

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 3178
Author(s):  
Jun Zhang ◽  
Yanghao Wang ◽  
Steven T. Yen
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Current Population Survey ◽  
Population Survey ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition ◽  
Assistance Program ◽  
Current Population ◽  
Households With Children ◽  
Nutrition Assistance

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is designed to improve household diet and food security—a pressing problem confronting low-income families in the United States. Previous studies on the issue often ignored the methodological issue of endogenous program participation. We revisit this important issue by estimating a simultaneous equation system with ordinal household food insecurity. Data are drawn from the 2009–2011 Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement (CPS-FSS), restricted to SNAP-eligible households with children. Our results add to the stocks of empirical findings that SNAP participation ameliorates food insecurity among adults only, but increases the probabilities of low and very low food security among children. These contradictory results indicate that our selection approach with a single cross section is only partially successful, and that additional efforts are needed in further analyses of this complicated issue, perhaps with longitudinal data. Socio-demographic variables are found to affect food-secure households and food-insecure households differently, but affect SNAP nonparticipants and participants in the same direction. The state policy tools, such as broad-based categorical eligibility (BBCE) and simplified reporting, can encourage SNAP participation and thus ameliorate food insecurity. Our findings can inform policy deliberations.

Predictors of Farmers’ Market Shopping among People Receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Benefits

2018 ◽  
Vol 61 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 488-499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darcy A. Freedman ◽  
Eunlye Lee ◽  
Punam Ohri-Vachaspati ◽  
Erika Trapl ◽  
Elaine Borawski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition ◽  
Assistance Program ◽  
Farmers Market ◽  
Program Benefits ◽  
Nutrition Assistance
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