(P21-007-23) Effects of the 2021 Thrifty Food Plan Benefit Increase on SNAP Participants’ Short-Term Food Security and Health Outcomes

Objectives: The Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) is the basis for benefit allotments in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). In 2021, the U.S. Department of Agriculture updated the TFP, resulting in a 21% monthly benefit increase for SNAP participants. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of the TFP re-evaluation on food insecurity, diet quality, and mental health using a natural experiment design.

Methods: We conducted a longitudinal, web-based study with 1,004 U.S. adults with incomes ≤$65,000. Participants completed surveys in September 2021 (one month before the policy change) and February 2022 (four months after the policy change). Outcomes included household food security (the U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module), diet quality (the Prime Diet Quality Score), perceived stress (the Perceived Stress Scale), and anxiety/depression (the Patient Health Questionnaire-4). We assessed the impact of the TFP benefit increase on participants’ outcomes using difference-in-differences (DD) modeling, adjusting for sociodemographic covariates.

Results: In the sample, 41% participated in SNAP at both time points and 59% did not participate in SNAP at either time point. At baseline, SNAP participants had significantly worse food insecurity, lower diet quality scores, particularly higher intakes of red/processed meats, refined grains, and sugar-sweetened beverages, and higher perceived stress and anxiety/depression when compared to non-participants (all Ps < 0.05). There were no significant impacts of the TFP re-evaluation on food insecurity, diet quality, and mental health outcomes among SNAP participants relative to non-participants over the five-month time period (all Ps >0.05). Responses to open ended questions by SNAP participants indicate that high food prices and rapid inflation blunted the potential impact of the higher SNAP benefits.

Conclusions: The long overdue TFP modernization resulted in a substantial increase in SNAP benefits amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. However, results from the current study show the increased benefit allotments were still insufficient in reducing disparities between SNAP participants and non-participants.

Funding Sources: This study was funded the Bloomberg American Health Initiative at the Johns Hopkins University and by internal funds at the University of Michigan.