Health Services/Policy
Expiration of SNAP Emergency Allotments and Food Insecurity among Adults with Disabilities Banushree Jawaharlal Nehru* Tarang Parekh Parekh University of Delaware
Background
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) emergency allotments (EA) increased food benefits for low-income households. These allotments ended nationwide by March 2023, raising concerns about food insecurity, particularly among adults with disabilities who face heightened economic vulnerability.
Methods
We conducted a serial cross-sectional study using Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data from March 2022-December 2023. The analytic sample included 34,346 adults with disabilities residing in 22 states where SNAP-EA ended in March 2023 and who were eligible for SNAP based on state-specific income criteria. We compared SNAP participants with SNAP-eligible nonparticipants using survey-weighted difference-in-differences models adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, marital status, income with state and survey month fixed effects. Event-study models assessed dynamic changes relative to EA expiration.
Results
Among adults with disabilities, 10,392 were SNAP participants (81.6% aged 18-64 years; 63.2% female) and 23,954 were SNAP-eligible nonparticipants (58.8% aged 18-64 years; 54.0% female). Food insecurity increased among SNAP participants after EA expiration, while remaining stable or declining among nonparticipants. Adjusted food insecurity increased by 6.2 percentage points among SNAP participants and decreased by 3.1 percentage points among nonparticipants, yielding an adjusted difference-in-differences of 9.3 percentage points (95%CI: 5.2-13.5; p<0.001). Event-study analyses showed no differential pre-trends and demonstrated an immediate and sustained post-expiration increase in food insecurity among SNAP participants through December 2023.
Conclusions
The expiration of SNAP emergency allotments was associated with a significant increase in food insecurity among adults with disabilities, highlighting disproportionate impact of benefit reductions on a medically and economically vulnerable population.
