Food Stamps: The Impact on Consumer Expenditure Behavior

Abstract

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, is one of the largest and most important federal assistance programs provided by the United States government. The purpose of the program is to promote proper nutrition for low-income consumers. This paper analyzes the effect of SNAP benefits on consumer spending behavior. Using survey data on food expenditures from 2012-2014, regressions were run on how receiving SNAP benefits impacted average weekly expenditures for different categories of food. The results indicate that SNAP-receiving households spend less on total food per week compared to non-recipients. In addition, SNAP benefits correlated with higher expenditures on unhealthy food, with inconclusive evidence on how the benefits impacted spending on healthy foods. This indicates that the purpose of SNAP is not being fulfilled as intended.