According to the Urban Institute, approximately 45 million people receive food supports through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which is an increase of about 69 percent since the beginning of the recession in late 2007. The Urban Institute states that caseload increases reflect; high unemployment (increasing the number of people eligible for benefits), increased participation rates (more eligible households enrolling in the program) and recent program changes that allow states to make it easier for families to get and keep SNAP benefits.
The increase in SNAP participation makes the Urban Institute’s Fact Sheet: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Counters High Unemployment, a great resource for policymakers and others interested in learning the program’s basics, seeing the relationship between the program and the growth in unemployment, reviewing the changes in SNAP participation by state, and for considering potentially issues moving forward.
For results-based policy strategies for Ensuring Children Grow Up in Safe, Supportive, and Economically Successful Families visit PolicyforResults.org.
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