Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

In 2017, an estimated 1 in 8 Americans were food insecure at some time during the year, equating to 40 million Americans including more than 12 million children. Food insecurity is more severe among households with unemployed workers. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly Food Stamp) is the largest federal food assistance program, which helps to relieve food insecurity. In this study, we examine the effects of Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits on food insecurity and food stamp take-up using Current Population Survey - Food Supplement Survey in December and Annual Social and Economic Supplement in March from 1999 to 2016. Our identification relies on the exogenous variation in the state maximum UI weekly benefits across states and over the years. Our results show that a $100 increase in the state UI weekly benefits leads to 8% decline in the likelihood of falling into food insecurity. We do not find pronounced impact among the households without unemployed members. We further find that a $100 increase in UI benefits can reduce food stamp take-up by 7% and food stamp market value by 4%.