Report

A Reform Framework for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

By Angela Rachidi | Leslie Ford

American Enterprise Institute

October 30, 2024

Key Points

  • The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) needs reform to remain an effective safety-net program that decreases food insecurity and supports self-reliance through employment and good health.
  • SNAP policy experts developed this reform framework with a long-term lens, aiming to improve the effectiveness of SNAP’s administration, reestablish appropriate eligibility and benefit structures, support employment and upward mobility, improve nutrition, and address program-integrity issues.
  • This report offers a road map for policymakers wanting to build on the success of SNAP while improving SNAP’s efficiency and effectiveness.

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Executive Summary

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is among the largest safety-net programs for low-income households in the US. After beginning as a small program—then titled the Food Stamp Program—aimed at transferring excess commodities to low-income households, SNAP has become one of the largest components of the American safety net, providing more than $100 billion in food benefits to low-income households each year.1

In the original authorization of the Food Stamp Program, Congress stated, “It is hereby declared to be the policy of Congress, in order to promote the general welfare, to safeguard the health and well-being of the Nation’s population by raising levels of nutrition among low-income households.”2 Today, SNAP needs substantial reform to realize this goal. As caseloads and expenditures have grown, SNAP has become increasingly disconnected from the core goal of reducing food insecurity and improving nutrition, failing to reverse downward trends along various measures of health and well-being.3 The purpose of this report is to offer specific SNAP reforms that maximize the program’s strengths while addressing certain weaknesses that limit its effectiveness.

This report is the result of several meetings involving SNAP policy experts throughout 2024. The ideas contained in this report are not necessarily endorsed by every individual involved in the meetings; rather, the intent is to present a comprehensive set of ideas and policy recommendations to inform ongoing policy debates surrounding SNAP. We focused on five areas in SNAP that particularly need reforming: (1) program administration, (2) eligibility and benefit levels, (3) employment and poverty reduction, (4) nutrition improvement, and (5) program integrity.

Read the full report.

Notes

  1. US Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, “SNAP Data Tables,” August 21, 2024, https://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap.
  2. Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, Pub. L. No. 88-525.
  3. Angela Rachidi and Thomas O’Rourke, “Promoting Mobility Through SNAP: Toward Better Health and Employment Outcomes,” American Enterprise Institute, May 1, 2023, https://www.aei.org/researchproducts/report/promoting-mobility-through-snap-toward-betterhealth-and-employment-outcomes; and Angela Rachidi and Thomas O’Rourke, “Economic Characteristics of the Food Insecure,” American Enterprise Institute, March 26, 2024, https://www.aei.org/researchproducts/report/economic-characteristics-of-the-food-insecure.