HIGHER SNAP BENEFITS MEANS MORE FOOD, BETTER NUTRITION

Boosting SNAP benefits raises not only the amount that low-income households spend on groceries but also its nutritional quality, according to a new study. The study’s main findings include:

• Low-income families report that to meet their food needs, they would need to spend an additional $4-$9 per person weekly on food.  “Food-insecure” families, who are more likely to be poorer, report needing to spend an additional $12-$20 per person weekly.
• If households received an additional $30 per month per person in SNAP benefits (which would be about a 20% increase in the cost of the Thrifty Food Plan, the basis for SNAP benefits), their food spending would go up by about $19 per person, based on the food spending patterns of households with somewhat more resources.
• That increase in food spending, in turn, would raise consumption of more nutritious foods--households would consume more tomatoes and vegetables and less fast food.

Source: Center for Budget & Policy Priorities, 6/14/16,  More SNAP, Better Nutrition