Early Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Emergency Allotment Withdrawal and Household Food Insufficiency

Abstract

Introduction

To mitigate increases in food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of Agriculture allowed states to distribute emergency allotments to households participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which substantially increased benefit amounts. Emergency allotments were available through March 2023, but 18 states chose to withdraw from emergency allotments early. The purpose of this study is to estimate the effect of early emergency allotment withdrawal among Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program–eligible households.

Methods

Data were obtained from the Household Pulse Survey from January 2021 to February 2023. Analyses were restricted to 290,752 households that were estimated to be Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program eligible on the basis of state-specific eligibility criteria. Staggered difference-in-differences models estimated effects of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program emergency allotments withdrawal on food insufficiency overall and by household income because relatively higher-income households experienced greater reductions in benefits. Analyses were conducted in 2024.

Results

Twenty-three percent of households reported experiencing food insufficiency before early emergency allotments withdrawal. Emergency allotments withdrawal was associated with a 3.6 (95% CI=1.0, 6.3) percentage-point increase in household food insufficiency, a relative increase of 16%. Food insufficiency increased more for higher-income households (change=7.9 percentage points, 95% CI=2.0, 13.8) than for the lowest-income households (change=2.2 percentage points, 95% CI= −0.9, 5.5).

Conclusions

Early withdrawal of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program emergency allotments was associated with increased household food insufficiency, especially for households that experienced the greatest reduction in benefits. Higher Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefit amounts may be warranted given the large number of households that continue to experience food insufficiency in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.