SNAP Advantages Don’t Cowl ‘Modestly Priced Meal’ in Most of US: Assume Tank

[ad_1] Evaluation by the City Institute, a nonpartisan analysis group based mostly in Washington, D.C., has discovered that the Supplemental Diet Help Program (SNAP) continues to fall brief in masking the price of modestly priced meals throughout nearly the complete United States.

In accordance with the report, the utmost SNAP profit didn't cowl the price of a meal in 99 % of U.S. counties in 2024. Out of three,144 counties nationwide, advantages totally met meal prices in solely 41.

Why It Issues SNAP is the biggest meals help program within the nation, serving over 40 million low- and no-income People. The City Institute’s findings present that, even with annual changes, SNAP advantages go away most households with lower than what is required to buy modestly priced meals.

Widespread Gaps in Protection The dimensions of the shortfall assorted by location, however the issue was most pronounced in 5 counties, with the biggest disparities have been New York County, New York; Leelanau County, Michigan; Teton County, Idaho; Teton County, Wyoming; and Marin County, California. In every of those, meal prices have been greater than 75 % increased than the utmost profit. In New York County, the value of a modestly priced meal was greater than twice the worth of the utmost profit.

The listing consists of each city facilities and rural counties. Whereas New York County and Marin County are city areas, Leelanau County in Michigan and Teton County in Idaho are rural communities close to standard vacationer locations.

General, greater than half of all counties—53 %—had meal prices a minimum of 50 cents increased per meal than what SNAP covers.

There are solely a handful of states the place SNAP advantages cowl greater than the typical meal value for that space, all of that are in Texas.

<img id="10794136" alt="" caption="Grocery Expenses. Concerned Brunette Woman Sitting At Table In Kitchen, Looking At Bill After Food Shopping, Millennial Lady Upset About Prices, Suffering Financial Crisis And Poverty, Free Space" captionoverride="Stock image of a concerned woman sitting at a kitchen table, looking at her food bill. (Photo: Getty Images)" credit="" sourcealt="" sources="[]" fetchpriority="auto" loading="lazy" width="2121" height="1414" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" style="color:transparent;aspect-ratio:inherit;object-fit:cover" src="https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/GettyImages-1301592405_361b74.jpg?w=1600&quality=75&webp=1 1x" bad-src="https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/GettyImages-1301592405_361b74.jpg?w=1600&quality=75&webp=1"/> Nationwide and Regional Shortfalls Throughout the nation, the typical value of a modestly priced meal was $3.41, which is 57 cents greater than the nationwide common most good thing about $2.84 per meal. This interprets right into a month-to-month hole of $53.01 between what the utmost profit offers and the precise value of meals for a family.

The divide is sharper in city areas. On common, meal costs in cities exceeded SNAP’s most profit by 82 cents, or 29 %. In rural counties, the distinction was smaller, however nonetheless important, with prices averaging 53 cents, or 19 %, above the profit.

Price-of-Dwelling Adjustment Made Little Distinction The findings additionally present that the 2025 cost-of-living adjustment, utilized in October 2024, did little to enhance the adequacy of SNAP advantages.

“The share of counties the place the utmost SNAP profit didn't cowl the price of a meal and the 5 counties with the biggest gaps remained the identical as earlier than the 2025 adjustment,” the report reads.

Nationwide averages additionally didn't change. The hole between meal prices and SNAP advantages held regular at 57 cents per meal, with the identical $53.01 month-to-month shortfall. Likewise, the variations between city and rural counties—29 % and 19 % respectively—remained unchanged after the adjustment.