Nutrition and diet quality of food at home by Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) status. (December 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Katare, Bhagyashree; Binkley, James K.; Chen, Kaiyan
• Is Part Of: Food policy. Volume 105(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-12
• Subjects: SNAP -- Food stamps -- HEI -- Propensity score matching; Food supply -- Periodicals; Food security -- Periodicals; Food -- Quality -- Periodicals; Food Supply -- Periodicals; Alimentation -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 338.1905
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2021.102165
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0306-9192

Abstract

Highlights: No difference in diet quality of current SNAP participants and those who have participated in SNAP in the recent past. Eligible non-participants, who have never participated in SNAP, have higher diet quality than current SNAP participants. Choice of comparison group can be important when examining the relationship between diet quality and SNAP participation. Abstract: We use the data from the four NHANES surveys conducted from 2007 to 2014 to compare the nutrition and diet quality of food at home (FAH) of current SNAP participants with that of two types of past participants—more recent and less recent—and with that of eligible non-participants. We investigate the three outcome measures of FAH diet quality: the USDA Healthy Eating Index (HEI), an index based on nutrient profiling, and a measure of calorie density. We also examine HEI components and consider selected healthy/unhealthy foods. Our estimates suggest that SNAP participation does not drive FAH diet quality. In particular, we find no evidence that current SNAP participants have a lower FAH nutrition or diet quality when compared to other groups that have participated in SNAP at more or less recent times in the past.