Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Previous literature documents a strong relationship between food insecurity and mental health, while another extensive literature examines the impact of public safety net programs, particularly food programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), on reducing food insecurity. However, little is known about the intersection between mental health, safety net participation, and food insecurity. This paper uses a multi-program safety net calculator that takes into account program interactions and data from the 1997-2015 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) to examine the effects of safety net generosity on food insecurity, mental health, and the relationship between the two. We ask three interrelated research questions: (1) Do mental health issues prevent take-up of SNAP and other benefits conditional on eligibility? (2) How do SNAP and the broader safety net affect mental health? and (3) How do SNAP and the broader safety net affect food insecurity in the presence of mental health issues? We focus on low-income single-mother families, as these families are more likely to suffer material hardship, are more likely to have poor mental health (DeKlyen et al. 2006), and are key beneficiaries of safety net programs. The answers to these questions have important implications for the effectiveness of safety net programs for some of the most vulnerable members of society: low-income mothers suffering from mental health challenges and their children.