USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is designed to increase the food purchasing power of program participants. The program provides low-income households with monthly benefits for purchasing food from authorized food stores (referred to as “food at home”).
A recent ERS study found that SNAP benefits accounted for 63 percent of the average food-at-home spending of SNAP households in 2012, with households using other resources, such as their own income or benefits from other programs, to pay for the remaining 37 percent.
SNAP’s contribution to food-at-home spending was higher than the average for SNAP households with children, those with no elderly members, and those in poverty. SNAP is designed so that benefits increase with household size and decrease with income, and households with lowest incomes per household member receive higher SNAP benefits. SNAP benefits accounted for 80 percent of food-at-home spending of SNAP households with incomes below 50 percent of the Federal poverty guidelines in 2012.
This chart appears in the ERS report, Food Spending Patterns of Households Participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Findings from USDA’s FoodAPS, August 2017.
Announcements
Vacancies
- Sales Representative Substrates Peru
- Head Grower – High Technology Organic Greenhouse
- Import and Export Sales Manager
- Sales Manager - US
- Key Account Manager (f/m/d) - Full-time
- Vice President of Growing Operations
- Account Manager - Canada
- Account Manager - United States
- Procurement Manager Blueberries
- International Fruit Trader
US: SNAP benefits play strong role in food budgets
Publication date:
Receive the daily newsletter in your email for free | Click here
Other news in this sector:
- 2023-12-01 USDA grant to support beginning farmer and rancher program
- 2023-12-01 "Warm September created Belgian strawberry supply gap"
- 2023-11-30 Brussels greenlights EU-New Zealand trade deal
- 2023-11-30 "Moroccan tomatoes sell well in Spain and the UK, but Dutch clients must get used to the prices"
- 2023-11-30 Survey: Prioritizing the challenges that accompany CEA spinach production
- 2023-11-29 "In recent years, romanesco broccoli has offered interesting price stability"
- 2023-11-29 “Saturated” French tomato market
- 2023-11-29 Ireland: 44% farm income drop is a serious concern, says IFA president
- 2023-11-29 Bank of Kigali advises Rwandan agri-exporters on its financial solutions
- 2023-11-28 Next year’s freight rate expectations have sunk well below the waterline
- 2023-11-28 Flood control measures in place in Kenya as Karimenu II dam fills up
- 2023-11-28 Dutch tomato exports fell by 8% on the European market - first eight months of 2023
- 2023-11-28 Movement of blueberries from Mexico expected about the same
- 2023-11-28 Rees-Mogg criticized after calling on 'cheap food imports' to replace UK seasonal workers
- 2023-11-28 "Weather extremes affect the whole supply chain"
- 2023-11-28 US: Biden-Harris administration partners with ag producers to strengthen supply chains and lower food costs
