Wednesday, September 25

USDA: Households with children have higher rates of participation in SNAP

SNAP Chart

Baton Rouge, LA - On September 4, 2013 Economic Research Report No. (ERR-155)  revealed that an estimated 14.5 percent of American households were food insecure at least some time during the year in 2012, meaning they lacked access to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. Within the same month, another ERS publication reveals that households with children have higher rates of participation in the SNAP program. The ERR-156 report was released September 19, 2013.

Estimates of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation rates—the proportion of eligible individuals who receive SNAP benefits—are regularly published at the State and national level. Estimates of SNAP participation by the elderly, children, or other subpopulations within individual States, however, have not previously been available due to data limitations. ERS researchers overcame these limitations by linking SNAP administrative records to individual records in the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, using Texas as a pilot study. Researchers found significant geographic and demographic differences in SNAP participation within the State. Nationally, participation rates are higher for households with children than for childless households, a pattern also evident in Texas. Overall, Texas households with children were about twice as likely to participate in SNAP as households without children in 2009. The presence of children in a household was associated with significantly higher participation across all household types—households headed by couples, single females, single males, and households composed of multiple unmarried adults.  The full report is available at the ERS website

To reduce food insecurity in underserved communities, the Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center’s Nutrition and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAPEd) team is implementing gardens and nutrition education across the state. The SNAP program at SU Ag Center is led by De’Shoin York-Friendship.  For further details, contact Friendship at 225-771-2582 or via email deshoin_york@suagcenter.com.

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Contact:        
Bridget Udoh
(225) 771-5714

bridget_udoh@suagcenter.com

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