P O L IC Y BASIC S

Introduction to SNAP

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SNAP, formerly known
as the Food Stamp What Is SNAP?
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly
Program, is the known as the Food Stamp Program) is the nation’s most important
nation’s most anti-hunger program. In 2011, it helped almost 45 million low-income
Americans to afford a nutritionally adequate diet in a typical month.
important anti-hunger
Nearly 75 percent of SNAP participants are in families with children;
program. In 2011, it more than one-quarter of participants are in households with seniors
helped almost 45 or people with disabilities.
million low-income After unemployment insurance, SNAP is the most responsive federal
Americans to afford a program providing additional assistance during economic downturns.
It also is an important nutritional support for low-wage working families
nutritionally adequate and low-income seniors and people with disabilities with fixed incomes.
diet in a typical The federal government pays the full cost of SNAP benefits and splits
month.” the cost of administering the program with the states, which operate
the program.

Who Is Eligible for SNAP?

Unlike most means-tested benefit programs, which are restricted to
particular categories of low-income individuals, SNAP is broadly
available to almost all households with low incomes. SNAP eligibility
rules and benefit levels are, for the most part, uniform across the
nation. Under federal rules, to qualify for SNAP benefits, a household
must meet three criteria (although states have flexibility to adjust
these limits):
• Its total monthly income generally must be at or below 130 percent
of the poverty line, or $2,008 (about $24,100 a year) for a three-
person family in fiscal year 2012. Households with an elderly or
disabled member need not meet this limit.
• Its monthly net income, or income after deductions are applied for
items such as high housing costs and child care, must be less than
or equal to the poverty line (about $18,500 a year or $1,545 a
month for a three-person family in fiscal year 2012).
• Its assets must fall below certain limits: households without an
elderly or disabled member must have assets of $2,000 or less,
and those with an elderly or disabled member must have assets of
$3,000 or less.
Some categories of people are not eligible for SNAP regardless of how
small their income or assets may be, such as strikers, most college
students, and certain legal immigrants. Undocumented immigrants
also are ineligible for SNAP. Most unemployed childless adults are
limited to three months of benefits in many areas of the country,
POLICY BASICS INTRODUCTION TO SNAP

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though this limit may be waived in areas of high unemployment. For
more information, see A Quick Guide to Food Stamp Eligibility and SNAP has experienced
Benefit Rules, at large but temporary
http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=1269. growth in recent years.
. . . SNAP spending is
How Much Does SNAP Cost?
expected to fall to pre-
In fiscal year 2011, the federal government spent about $78 billion on
SNAP. About 92 percent went directly to benefits that households used recession levels as a
to purchase food. The remaining 8 percent was used primarily for state share of gross
administrative costs, including eligibility determinations, employment domestic product
and training and nutrition education for SNAP households, and anti- (GDP) as the economy
fraud activities. About $2.5 billion went for other food assistance
programs, such as the block grant for food assistance in Puerto Rico recovers and the
and American Samoa, commodity purchases for the Emergency Food Recovery Act [benefit
Assistance Program (which helps food pantries and soup kitchens increases] end.”
across the country), and commodities for the Food Distribution Program
on Indian Reservations.

SNAP has experienced large but temporary growth in recent years.

Caseloads have increased significantly since late 2007, as the
recession and the lagging economic recovery dramatically increased
the number of low-income households who qualify and apply for help.
In addition, because of benefit increases that were part of the 2009
Recovery Act (discussed below), SNAP has delivered $26 billion in
additional economic stimulus through fiscal year 2011. These changes
are temporary, however, and SNAP spending is expected to fall to pre-
recession levels as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) as the
economy recovers and the Recovery Act provisions end. (See chart:
“SNAP is Projected to Shrink as a Share of GDP.”)

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POLICY BASICS INTRODUCTION TO SNAP

“ SNAP helps families to

bridge temporary
periods of
unemployment or a
family crisis. If a parent
loses her job or has a
job that pays low
wages, SNAP can help
her feed her children
until she is able to
improve her
circumstances.”

Special Features of SNAP

While SNAP’s fundamental purpose is to help low-income families, the
elderly, and people with disabilities afford an adequate diet, it
promotes other goals as well:

Protecting families from hardship and hunger

SNAP benefits are an entitlement, which means that anyone who
qualifies under the program’s rules can receive benefits. As a result,
SNAP responds quickly and effectively to support low-income families
and communities during times of economic downturn and increased
need. Enrollment expands when the economy weakens and contracts
when the economy recovers. (See chart: “SNAP Caseloads Closely
Track Changes in Poverty.”)
In this way, SNAP helps families to bridge temporary periods of
unemployment or a family crisis. If a parent loses her job or has a job
that pays low wages, SNAP can help her feed her children until she is
able to improve her circumstances. More than half of all new entrants
to SNAP in the mid-2000s participated for less than one year and then
left the program when their immediate need had passed (USDA,
“Dynamics of SNAP Participation in the Mid-2000s, September, 2011.)
Since December 2007, when the recession began, the number of
people receiving SNAP has increased by almost 19 million (about 70
percent). In some of the states hit hardest by the economic downturn,
caseloads have more than doubled. For example, in Nevada, Florida,
Utah, and Idaho, where the number of unemployed has increased by
almost 200 percent or more, the number of SNAP participants has
increased by 130 to 170 percent.
Protecting the overall economy against risk
SNAP also protects the economy as a whole by helping maintain overall
demand for food during slow economic periods. In fact, SNAP benefits

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POLICY BASICS INTRODUCTION TO SNAP

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SNAP is heavily
focused on the poor.
Roughly 93 percent of
SNAP benefits go to
households with
incomes below the
poverty line, and 55
percent go to
households with
incomes below half of
the poverty line.”

are one of the fastest, most effective forms of economic stimulus

because they get money into the economy quickly. Moody’s Analytics
estimates that in a weak economy, every $1 increase in SNAP benefits
generates $1.72 in economic activity. Similarly, the Congressional
Budget Office rated an increase in SNAP benefits as one of the two
most cost-effective of all spending and tax options it examined for
boosting growth and jobs in a weak economy.

Lessening the extent and severity of poverty and unemployment

SNAP is heavily focused on the poor. Roughly 93 percent of SNAP
benefits go to households with incomes below the poverty line, and 55
percent go to households with incomes below half of the poverty line
(about $9,155 for a family of three). Also, as explained below, families
with the greatest need receive the largest benefits.
These features make SNAP a powerful tool in fighting poverty.
According to the Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure,
which counts SNAP as income, SNAP kept more than 5 million people
out of poverty in 2010. SNAP also lessens the severity of poverty for
millions of others; if SNAP is counted as income, it lifted 2.4 million
children above 75 percent of the poverty line in 2005, more than any
other program.
With the deep and prolonged depression and weak recovery, SNAP has
become increasingly valuable for the long-term unemployed. In 2010,
according to the Joint Economic Committee, over 20 percent of those
unemployed for more than six months received SNAP benefits, a higher
rate than among other adults. SNAP is one of the few resources
available for individuals who have exhausted their unemployment
benefits. Nearly 25 percent of households in which someone’s
unemployment benefits ended were enrolled in SNAP.

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POLICY BASICS INTRODUCTION TO SNAP

“ Over the last two Supporting and encouraging work

Over the last two decades, large shares of SNAP households have
decades, large shares become working households. In 2010 more than three times as many
of SNAP households SNAP households worked as relied solely on welfare benefits for their
income. (See chart: “Working Households Have Risen.”) Nearly half of
have become working all SNAP households with children have earned income.
households. In 2010
nearly three times as
many SNAP
households worked as
relied solely on welfare
benefits for their
income.”

Despite sharply higher unemployment, the share of SNAP families with

children that have earnings has remained stable during the recession.
SNAP benefits help these low-wage working families make ends meet.
For a family of three with one wage-earner who works at $10 an hour,
SNAP increases the family’s take-home income by roughly 20 to 50
percent, depending on the number of hours worked. (See chart: “SNAP
Can Dramatically Boost Income.”)

In addition, the SNAP benefit formula contains an important work

incentive. For every additional dollar a SNAP recipient earns, her benefits
decline by only 24 to 36 cents — much less than in most other programs.
Families that receive SNAP thus have a strong incentive to work longer
hours or to search for better-paying employment. States further support
work through the SNAP Employment and Training program, which funds
training and work activities for unemployed adults who receive SNAP.

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POLICY BASICS INTRODUCTION TO SNAP

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Responding quickly to disasters SNAP and other
States can provide emergency SNAP within a matter of days to help nutrition programs
disaster victims purchase food. After the hurricanes of 2005, for
example, SNAP provided more than 2 million households with almost have helped make
$1 billion in food assistance. In 2011, SNAP responded to two major severe hunger in
sets of disasters: the spring floods and tornados (primarily in the America rare.”
Southeast and Midwest), and in the fall, Hurricane Irene and Tropical
Storm Lee (in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.)
Supporting healthy eating
SNAP enables low-income households to afford more healthy foods.
Because they can be spent only on food, SNAP benefits raise families’
food purchases more than an equivalent amount of cash assistance
would. Fruits and vegetables, grain products, meats, and dairy products
comprise almost 90 percent of the food that SNAP households buy. In
addition, all states operate SNAP nutrition education programs to help
participants make healthy food choices. Recent research finds that the
nationwide expansion of SNAP in the 1960s reduced the incidence of
low birth weight and modestly improved infant mortality.

How Effective and Efficient Is SNAP?

SNAP and other nutrition programs have helped make severe hunger in
America rare. Before the late 1960s, when the federal government
began providing nutrition assistance, hunger and severe malnutrition
could be found in many low-income communities in the United States.
Today, in large part because of these programs, such severe conditions
are no longer found in large numbers.
To promote efficiency, SNAP has one of the most rigorous quality
control systems of any public benefit program. Its error rates stand at
record lows; fewer than 2 percent of SNAP benefits are issued to
households that do not meet all of the program’s eligibility
requirements.

At the same time, SNAP reaches a large share of eligible households.

Almost three-quarters of individuals who qualified for SNAP benefits
received them in fiscal year 2009. This represents an all-time high and
shows significant improvement from 2001, when the participation rate

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POLICY BASICS INTRODUCTION TO SNAP

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bottomed out at 54 percent.
Many low-income
SNAP participation among some groups remains disappointing,
households that however. Just 34 percent of eligible seniors and 60 percent of eligible
receive [SNAP] individuals in working families receive SNAP. In addition, many low-
income households that receive benefits still have trouble affording an
benefits still have adequate diet — especially in years when food prices are rising quickly.
trouble affording an Many families face stark choices between purchasing food and paying
adequate diet — for rent and other necessities. If they manage this shortfall by buying
less-nutritious foods, it can adversely affect their health: many low-
especially in years cost, energy-dense foods that contribute to obesity are cheaper than
when food prices are nutritious foods such as fruits and vegetables.
rising quickly.” For more information, see “SNAP is Effective and Efficient” at
http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3239.

How Do People Apply for SNAP?

Each state designs its own SNAP application process, following federal
guidelines. In most states, households apply in person at the welfare
office, though they can also mail or fax their applications, and many
states are developing online applications. Applicants must participate
in an eligibility interview, which is typically in-person but can be on the
phone, and must document numerous aspects of their eligibility,
including their identity, residency, immigration status, household
composition, income and resources, and deductible expenses.
Households found to be eligible receive an EBT (electronic benefit
transfer) card, which is loaded with benefits once a month. Household
members may use it to purchase food at one of the over 200,000
retailers authorized to participate in the program. Almost 85 percent of
benefits are redeemed at supermarkets or superstores like WalMart.
SNAP cannot be used to purchase alcoholic beverages, cigarettes,
vitamin supplements, non-food grocery items such as household
supplies, or hot foods.
Households must contact the welfare office to report if their income
goes up dramatically. They also must reapply for SNAP periodically,
typically every six to 12 months for most families and every 12 to 24
months for seniors and people with disabilities.

How Much Do Households Receive in Benefits?

The average SNAP recipient received about $133.70 a month (or
about $4.40 a day) in fiscal year 2011. The SNAP benefit formula
targets benefits according to need: very poor households receive
larger benefits than households closer to the poverty line since they
need more help affording an adequate diet. The benefit formula
assumes that families will spend 30 percent of their net income for
food; SNAP makes up the difference between that 30-percent
contribution and the cost of the Thrifty Food Plan, a low-cost but
nutritionally adequate diet established by the Agriculture Department.
A family with no net income receives the maximum benefit amount,
which usually equals the cost of the Thrifty Food Plan for a household

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POLICY BASICS INTRODUCTION TO SNAP

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Maximum SNAP Benefits Average Monthly Economists consider
By Household Size Benefit
the increase to SNAP
Maximum Monthly Average Monthly
Household Size
SNAP Benefit, 2012 Benefit, FY 10 benefits to be one of
1 $200 $152 the most effective and
2 $367 $277
fast-acting provisions
3 $526 $401
of the [2009]
economic recovery
4 $668 $496
package.”
5 $793 $581
6 $952 $702
7 $1052 $719
Each Additional Person $150

of its size (see table) — though it is temporarily higher because of the

2009 Recovery Act. For example, a family of three that has $600 in net
monthly income would receive the maximum benefit ($526) minus 30
percent of its net income (30 percent of $600 is $180), or $346.

SNAP in the 2009 Recovery Act

The 2009 Recovery Act temporarily boosted SNAP benefits by 13.6
percent for all SNAP households. Most households received an
additional $20 to $24 per person per month in fiscal years 2009
through 2011 and a somewhat smaller increase in fiscal year 2012.
Economists consider this increase one of the most effective and fast-
acting provisions of the economic recovery package. Low-income
individuals generally spend all of their income meeting daily needs such
as shelter, food, and transportation, so every dollar in SNAP that a low-
income family receives enables the family to spend an additional dollar
on food or other items. Eighty percent of SNAP benefits are redeemed
within two weeks of receipt, and 97 percent are spent within a month.
The Recovery Act called for SNAP benefits to remain at their new, higher
level until the program’s regular annual inflation adjustments overtook
it. However, as a result of legislation passed in 2010, the increase will
terminate in November 2013, causing a sizeable and abrupt benefit
reduction for virtually all households on the program.