Food insecurity gaps in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program based on disability status.
Laura J Samuel, Jiafeng Zhu, Pallavi Dwivedi and 6 others
PMID 37353370WHAT IT FOUND
Low-income households that included someone with a disability were more likely to be food insecure, even when they received SNAP.
Benefit amounts and enrollment did not close the gap, so this is not proof that SNAP caused or fixed the problem.
Key findings
01Among households with incomes at or below 130% of the federal poverty threshold, households that included someone with a work-limiting disability or a non-work-limiting disability were more likely to experience food insecurity than households without disability, at 36% and 26% versus 17%.
02Households that included someone with a work-limiting disability or a non-work-limiting disability were more likely to be food insecure while receiving SNAP than households without anyone with disabilities.
03Among households that received SNAP during the survey month, total household benefit amounts differed by disability group, but per-person benefit amounts were not statistically significantly different.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show that disability or SNAP caused food insecurity. The sample was limited to households below the federal SNAP income cutoff, so it does not describe all households that may receive SNAP through state rules. The survey may not have fully inclusive enrollment or data collection processes, so it may not represent all community-dwelling people with disabilities. The disability questions may miss people with learning, psychological, intellectual, or developmental disabilities, which likely undercounts disability-related food insecurity. SNAP participation may be under-reported, although the paper says there is no reason to think this differs by disability group.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that SNAP alone fixes food insecurity for households that include someone with a disability. The study found food insecurity gaps even among households receiving SNAP, and it cannot prove cause and effect.