TEST SCORES DROP WHEN SNAP RUN OUT

A new study that confirms that it’s harder to think when you’re hungry. The study’s authors matched up the timing of math tests in South Carolina to the dates when low-income students’ families received monthly SNAP benefits. They found that kids’ test scores dropped at times of the month when nutrition benefits had run out. Put another way, access to SNAP substantially improves students’ academic performance—but only when there are actually enough benefits for families to be able to eat. Running out of SNAP benefits isn’t an anomaly—nearly half of participating families run out before the end of the month. Many previous studies have demonstrated the long-term effects of food insecurity on children; this study shows that the effect of losing SNAP benefits is immediate.

Source: Talk Poverty, 9/25/17, Test Scores