The number of SNAP participants fell by 1.8 million people over the first seven months of FY 2017, nearly matching the decline over all 12 months of fiscal year 2016 (1.875 million). SNAP’s 41.6 million participants in April 2017, the most recent month for which data are available, are the fewest since mid-2010 and 13%, or 6.2 million, below the December 2012 peak. For the fourth straight year SNAP spending also continues to fall. For the first nine months of this fiscal year, it was 4.3% below the same months last year, and almost 15% lower than the same months in 2013, when spending peaked. These declines are in nominal — not inflation-adjusted — dollars. The stronger economy likely explains most of the decline, though the return of the three-month time limit on certain unemployed childless adults also is a contributing factor. The Congressional Budget Office projects SNAP participation will continue falling 1 to 2% annually over the next decade, from 42 million people in 2017 to 32 million in 2027.
Source: Center for Budget & Policy Priorities, 7/19/17, SNAP Caseloads
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