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Cuts to SNAP could have far-reaching impacts

The vice president of research for Feeding America says reducing funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program could worsen hunger and economic strain across the U.S.  Emily Engelhard says, “Cuts in SNAP will undoubtedly increase food insecurity rates.”

She tells Brownfield the program supports local economies. “SNAP benefits stimulate the economy by about $1.54 for every dollar spent,” she says. 

She says SNAP also impacts employment in rural areas.  “The average is about .4 jobs per $10,000 of additional SNAP redemptions,” she says.  “Which seems like small numbers, but if you think about the order of magnitude, we could see a pretty big loss in employment.”

Engelhard says the COVID-19 pandemic was a natural experiment in what happens when SNAP benefits are increased. “There was a $1 billion increase in SNAP during the economic slowdown, and this boosted GDP by about $1.54 billion and close to 14,000 jobs,” she says. “And then a big portion of those were actually jobs in agriculture.”

The budget reconciliation bill, which is currently moving through the U.S. House of Representatives, contains proposed cuts to SNAP that exceed $290 billion, the largest cut to the program in history.

AUDIO: Emily Engelhard, Feeding America