Issuing a Split Benefit in SNAP: Implications for Recipients

Objective: In the midst of high rates of participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and concerns for the associations between food insecurity and certain negative health conditions, the purpose of this project was to examine if the CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity should support the bi-monthly disbursal of SNAP benefits.

Design: The project set out to review research done regarding SNAP participant health and food purchasing behavior, and interview SNAP participants, food pantry managers, grocery store managers, and relevant researchers. This was performed to determine if bi-monthly disbursal of SNAP benefits would be beneficial to SNAP participants and other parties that would be affected by the policy change, such as food pantries and grocery stores.

Interviewee Respondents: 31 SNAP participants, eight food pantry managers, five grocery store representatives, and four researchers were interviewed regarding bi-monthly SNAP benefit disbursal.

Recommendation: The CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity should recommend that the USDA perform a significant survey of SNAP participants to better identify the number that would be affected by a change to bi-monthly benefit disbursal. In addition, the survey should be performed to better determine the benefits and costs of the change, to thus adequately identify whether a pilot project of the policy should be performed.