A new study found the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) plays a key role in reducing racial disparities in food insecurity between Black and white households.
Black and multi-racial households have a higher rate of food insecurity compared to white households, but SNAP benefits close the gap in racial disparities, according to a recent study published by JAMA Network Open. The study, conducted by a research team from the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, analyzed the data of 44,870 households from the 2018 Survey of Income and Program Participation.
Of the nearly 5,000 households that were eligible for SNAP benefits, which is an income level of 130 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, food insecurity rates were 20 percent higher in Black households and 28 percent higher in multi-racial households compared to white households. However, when researchers looked at SNAP-participating households, there were no racial differences in food insecurity rates. Researchers found that Black households that participated in SNAP benefits were actually less likely to experience food insecurity compared to white households that participated in the program.
While the findings do indicate that benefits such as SNAP could address longstanding racial disparities in food insecurity, the research team cautioned that the racial disparities do still exist.
“Although SNAP benefits may help address racial economic inequality by providing money for food and despite evidence from prior studies that SNAP participation reduces food insecurity, our results contribute to the literature by suggesting that the current SNAP program is not eliminating racial disparities in food insecurity,” wrote researchers. “This situation is likely attributable to the pervasive nature of structural and systemic factors that contribute to racial disparities in food insecurity.”
Researchers attribute existing gaps in the current SNAP program to a couple factors. First, predominantly Black communities have been found to have less access to grocery stores and healthy food options, adding to the cost of food. Additionally, racial disparities in the access to the SNAP benefits also play a role, researchers noted.
“In other words, the findings of differences in food insecurity disparities based on SNAP participation may be because Black households that participate in SNAP are qualitatively different from Black households that do not,” the researchers wrote. “Because of pervasive structural racism in the U.S., it is plausible that there are race-based barriers to SNAP enrollment. The SNAP enrollment process is cumbersome, which has been credited among low-income adults as a reason for nonparticipation, and there may be requirements that disproportionately affect Black and multiracial households.”
The research team underscored the need for greater attention to the existing structural barriers and racial inequities interfering with access to affordable food and food assistance.