Adequacy of SNAP Benefits for Indiana Households, 2022

Abstract

We investigated the adequacy of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for Indiana households. Methods included focus groups, interviews, and a statewide survey of 652 households. SNAP benefit-level increases over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic increased their adequacy overall yet were still inadequate for some households. As of June 2022, Indiana households reported their SNAP benefits lasting 13 days a month. The inadequacy of SNAP benefits reveals that some participating households still experience food insecurity, which has adverse public health implications. (Am J Public Health. 2023;113(S3):S224–S226. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2023.307408)

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a US federal program that provides food-insecure households with monetary assistance. Households that meet a low-income threshold are eligible to receive SNAP benefits, which can be used to purchase food and food-producing plants. In 2022, more than 40 million households used SNAP and received a monthly average benefit of $230 per person.¹ Historically, the average SNAP benefit has been insufficient for many households to acquire a nutritious diet,^2,3 and more recently, research suggests that the maximum allowable SNAP benefit amount has been insufficient.⁴

With the COVID-19 pandemic came several adjustments to SNAP benefit amounts. The pandemic became a national emergency in the United States in March 2020, resulting in the passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act (Pub L No. 116–136), which included an increase in SNAP benefits. Every household started receiving the maximum allowable SNAP benefit set by the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP), and all income-based reductions from that maximum benefit were halted. In January 2021, the Consolidated Appropriations Act (Pub L No. 116–260) raised the SNAP benefit to 115% of the TFP set in June 2020. In October 2021, the TFP calculation was updated, and SNAP-participating households started receiving an average of 128% of the amount in SNAP benefits they were receiving before the COVID-19 pandemic began.⁵ These increased benefit levels were estimated to reduce instances of food insufficiency and decreased pressure on food pantries.⁶

STUDY OBJECTIVE

We investigated the adequacy of SNAP benefits for Indiana households experiencing food insecurity.

RESEARCH OR ASSESSMENT QUESTION(S)

Given the historical inadequacy of SNAP benefits and recent increases in benefit levels during the COVID-19 pandemic, we asked whether SNAP benefits were enough to meet the needs of Indiana households during the COVID-19 pandemic.

PARTICIPANTS, SAMPLE, GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION, SETTING, AND YEAR OF STUDY

We obtained the qualitative data from (1) focus groups and interviews with 103 Indiana households, and (2) an online survey of 652 Indiana households. We conducted the focus groups and interviews across Indiana throughout 2021; we conducted approximately half virtually and the rest in person. We administered the statewide survey online in June and July 2022. The focus groups, interviews, and survey all targeted households that had experience as adults with food insecurity and younger children in the household. The survey targeted households at or below 200% of the 2021 poverty threshold, as determined by the US Census Bureau.

METHODS

A statewide network of community partners representing food policy councils, community health foundations, and antihunger organizations designed and conducted the focus groups. Some of these focus groups became one-on-one interviews. The network conducted the focus groups and interviews in 2021 with 103 participants. We coded data from focus groups and interviews in NVivo (QSR International, Melbourne, Australia) and used them to develop a statewide survey intended to corroborate and further investigate the prevalence of experiences shared in focus groups and interviews. We administered the survey online in partnership with Qualtrics custom survey services (Seattle, WA). Community partners recruited additional survey participants to reach a representative sample for Indiana.

The survey included specific questions about the adequacy of SNAP benefits before COVID-19 and with each change in benefits since April 2020. With respect to each period, the survey asked households to “rate the monthly amount of SNAP benefits … from 1 (Less than Enough) to 3 (More than Enough).” We used McNemar-Bowker statistics to test the significance of changes in responses between each of the four periods and between the first and last period (before April 2020, April–December 2020, January–September 2021, and after September 2021).

KEY FINDINGS

Focus groups and interviews revealed that SNAP benefit levels were not always enough for households experiencing food insecurity. Whereas some households indicated that increases in SNAP benefit levels during the COVID-19 pandemic were helpful and even adequate to meet their needs, others claimed that SNAP benefits were still not enough despite the increases:

“So, for us, SNAP has not always been enough. You know, right now it is because of the pandemic extra money—it’s plenty, it’s a great amount” (Bloomington, IN, January 2021).

“At this time, yes [benefits are adequate]. We’re currently receiving the max benefit because of the COVID relief … but prior to that, we were only receiving $160 a month. Which [meant] we have come out of pocket at times” (Elkhart, IN, February 2021).

“Right now, with the additional benefits that we’re getting due to COVID, it’s a little bit easier. But I mean, generally, I still have to hit food pantries” (Indianapolis, IN, February 2021).

The survey results showed that a majority of surveyed households claimed their monthly benefits improved significantly with COVID-19 relief funding, but one quarter of our survey sample claimed that SNAP benefits were still inadequate to meet their needs (Table 1). Approximately half of the survey respondents indicated that SNAP benefits were inadequate before the COVID-19 pandemic began. This rate was cut in half when the CARES Act raised benefits for all households to the maximum benefit before COVID-19. When SNAP benefits were increased again in January 2021, this time to 115% of the maximum benefit, a few more households reported benefits being enough for their household. And lastly, for October 2021, we saw an increase in the percentage of households reporting that their SNAP benefits were less than enough to meet their needs.

TABLE 1—

Answers to the Question “How would you rate the monthly SNAP benefit you received (during specified time period)?”: Indiana, June–July 2022

Response	Before April 2020, No. (%)	April–December 2020, No. (%)	January–September 2021, No. (%)	As of October 2021, No. (%)
Less than enough	146 (50)	66 (24)	59 (21)	68 (25)
Enough	123 (42)	173 (62)	179 (65)	170 (61)
More than enough	22 (8)	41 (15)	39 (14)	39 (14)
Total households	291 (100)	280 (100)	277 (100)	277 (100)

Note. SNAP = Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Percentages may not add to 100% because of rounding.

The difference across the first and second periods (occurring in April 2020) is statistically significant (χ² = 3.6E^–11), as is the difference from the first to the last period (χ² = 4.7E^–11). Households were most likely to perceive benefits as adequate during the period of January through September 2021, when they were receiving 115% of the TFP. Additionally, households claimed that current SNAP benefits lasted an average of 13 days into each month.

EVALUATION, TRANSFERABILITY, AND ADVERSE EFFECTS

The study provides an answer to our research question on the adequacy of SNAP benefits. With increases during the COVID-19 pandemic, SNAP benefit levels were still not enough to meet the needs of all households. Given that the maximum SNAP benefit level is the same for all 48 contiguous United States, these findings are likely transferable to other states, especially those with similar costs of living. Because SNAP is intended to be supplemental, and benefits are reduced per household income, further investigation of the maximum benefit level (i.e., the TFP) and the benefit reduction rate will improve our understanding of resulting SNAP benefit adequacy.

SCALABILITY

The study may be scaled for a larger qualitative and quantitative study of SNAP benefit adequacy across the entire United States. A nationwide study of SNAP benefit adequacy would inform future updates to the federal calculation of maximum SNAP benefit levels, which must be updated every five years per the 2018 Farm Bill (Pub L No. 115-334).

PUBLIC HEALTH SIGNIFICANCE

SNAP is the largest safety net for households experiencing food insecurity. Although food security improves with the use of SNAP benefits,⁷ the inadequacy of SNAP benefit levels reveals that some participating households are still experiencing food insecurity, which has several public health implications. Food insecurity is associated with many adverse health outcomes, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, asthma, depression, and chronic kidney disease.⁸ Improving SNAP benefit adequacy would improve food security and public health outcomes for all US households in need of food assistance.