Diluting the Dose: Cuts to SNAP benefits increased food insecurity following the Great Recession details new research on the impact of the SNAP benefit rollback in November 2013 had on food insecurity among families with young children. These findings confirm that the amount of the monthly benefit matters and that the SNAP rollback had a measurable, negative effect on household and child food insecurity.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the largest child nutrition program in the United States and is designed to rapidly respond to economic downturns that increase the need for assistance. In 2009, in response to the economic hardships associated with the Great Recession Congress passed the American Recovery Reinvestment Act (ARRA) which increased SNAP benefit amounts by 13.6%. This boost in benefits stabilized food insecurity rates nationally and improved the health of young children, but the SNAP benefit boost was prematurely rolled back in 2013 to fund other programs.