Table 2.
General attitudes about SNAP of the survey respondents (n 522) with a stakeholder interest, October–December 2011
| By sector | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Academia | Advocacy | Government | Health care | Industry | ||||||||
| Mean or n | sd or % | Mean or n | sd or % | Mean or n | sd or % | Mean or n | sd or % | Mean or n | sd or % | Mean or n | sd or % | P | |
| General attitudes | |||||||||||||
| What do you view as the purpose of SNAP? (mean and sd) | |||||||||||||
| To provide income assistance | 6·7 | 2·7 | 6·5 | 2·7 | 7·1 | 2·8 | 6·4 | 2·9 | 6·4 | 2·6 | 6·3 | 2·6 | 0·22 |
| To alleviate food insecurity | 8·5 | 2·8 | 8·4 | 3·0 | 8·6 | 2·8 | 8·7 | 2·7 | 8·4 | 2·9 | 7·5 | 3·3 | 0·48 |
| To ensure adequate dietary intake | 7·4 | 2·8 | 7·0 | 2·8 | 7·7 | 2·6 | 7·6 | 2·8 | 7·1 | 2·8 | 7·2 | 3·2 | 0·29 |
| To improve nutrition and overall health | 7·4 | 2·7 | 7·0 | 2·7 | 7·5 | 2·8 | 7·6 | 2·7 | 7·3 | 2·8 | 7·0 | 3·3 | 0·58 |
| Do you view SNAP as a stimulus for the US economy? (n and %) | 0·01 | ||||||||||||
| Yes | 291 | 60 | 60 | 65 | 79 | 64 | 85 | 66 | 33 | 42 | 12 | 55 | |
| No | 130 | 27 | 17 | 18 | 32 | 26 | 28 | 22 | 33 | 42 | 6 | 27 | |
| Not sure | 68 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 13 | 11 | 15 | 12 | 13 | 17 | 4 | 18 | |
| Attitudes towards SNAP enrolment | |||||||||||||
| Barriers that prevent SNAP-eligible people from enrolling in the programme (n and %) | |||||||||||||
| Fingerprinting requirements of SNAP applicants in some states | 123 | 33 | 25 | 36 | 42 | 46 | 30 | 25 | 16 | 29 | 3 | 23 | 0·12 |
| Mandatory interview for SNAP applicants | 108 | 29 | 23 | 33 | 28 | 31 | 31 | 26 | 11 | 20 | 5 | 39 | 0·44 |
| Stigma attached to SNAP | 239 | 64 | 40 | 58 | 57 | 63 | 77 | 64 | 33 | 60 | 9 | 69 | 0·03 |
| Low benefit levels not worth hassle of the application process | 182 | 49 | 40 | 58 | 39 | 43 | 60 | 50 | 25 | 46 | 2 | 15 | 0·002 |
| Distance from SNAP enrolment facilities | 100 | 27 | 21 | 30 | 25 | 28 | 24 | 20 | 18 | 33 | 4 | 31 | 0·93 |
| Length of SNAP application | 138 | 37 | 21 | 30 | 37 | 41 | 50 | 41 | 17 | 31 | 5 | 39 | 0·02 |
| Inability to fill out the SNAP application online | 111 | 30 | 28 | 41 | 30 | 33 | 21 | 17 | 17 | 31 | 4 | 31 | 0·2 |
| Lack of awareness of SNAP eligibility | 228 | 62 | 41 | 59 | 60 | 66 | 65 | 54 | 35 | 64 | 8 | 62 | 0·56 |
| Attitudes towards benefits distribution (n and %) | |||||||||||||
| The current amount of SNAP benefits is adequate for participants to maintain a healthy diet | <0·001 | ||||||||||||
| Strongly agree/moderately agree | 105 | 21 | 20 | 21 | 14 | 11 | 32 | 24 | 23 | 30 | 9 | 45 | |
| Neutral | 42 | 9 | 14 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 10 | |
| Strongly disagree/moderately disagree | 346 | 70 | 63 | 65 | 108 | 86 | 86 | 66 | 48 | 62 | 9 | 45 | |
| SNAP participants already purchase generally healthy foods using their benefit dollars | 0·04 | ||||||||||||
| Strongly agree/moderately agree | 116 | 25 | 20 | 23 | 36 | 32 | 36 | 29 | 13 | 18 | 3 | 14 | |
| Neutral | 107 | 23 | 24 | 28 | 31 | 28 | 21 | 17 | 14 | 19 | 5 | 24 | |
| Strongly disagree/moderately disagree | 234 | 51 | 43 | 49 | 44 | 40 | 68 | 54 | 47 | 64 | 13 | 62 | |
| How frequently should SNAP benefits be distributed? | 0·001 | ||||||||||||
| Once per month | 75 | 17 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 14 | 36 | 31 | 7 | 10 | 3 | 15 | |
| Twice per month | 191 | 44 | 40 | 45 | 41 | 39 | 47 | 41 | 35 | 49 | 7 | 35 | |
| Weekly | 57 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 20 | 19 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 16 | 5 | 25 | |
| Allow SNAP recipients to choose | 116 | 26 | 27 | 30 | 29 | 28 | 29 | 25 | 18 | 25 | 5 | 25 | |
| Attitudes towards programme nutrition (n and %) | |||||||||||||
| Foods purchased with SNAP dollars should be required to meet USDA Dietary Guidelines | 0·049 | ||||||||||||
| Yes | 297 | 77 | 54 | 74 | 62 | 69 | 78 | 74 | 60 | 88 | 18 | 86 | |
| No | 91 | 24 | 19 | 26 | 28 | 31 | 27 | 26 | 8 | 12 | 3 | 14 | |
| SNAP benefits should be turned into a defined food package following USDA guidelines, similar to WIC | 0·048 | ||||||||||||
| Strongly agree/moderately agree | 259 | 54 | 48 | 52 | 55 | 46 | 70 | 55 | 55 | 71 | 10 | 50 | |
| Neutral | 56 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 17 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 3 | 15 | |
| Strongly disagree/moderately disagree | 164 | 34 | 37 | 40 | 49 | 41 | 46 | 36 | 15 | 19 | 7 | 35 | |
SNAP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; USDA, US Department of Agriculture; WIC, Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.