U.S. Food and Nutrition Assistance Programs Continued To Respond to Economic and Public Health Conditions in Fiscal Year 2022

Economic conditions and other factors affect spending on USDA’s food and nutrition assistance programs by influencing the portion of the population that is eligible to participate, rates of participation, and benefit levels. Because these programs are means-tested, the portion of the population that is eligible to participate increases during economic downturns—when unemployment rates rise and incomes fall —as does the participation rate and the size of benefits for which participants are eligible. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides low-income households with additional resources to buy food and reaches tens of millions of people each month. As one of the Nation’s primary countercyclical programs, SNAP expands during economic downturns and contracts during periods of growth. Historically, the SNAP participation rate tends to track the unemployment and poverty rates.