All Research
Report
How Policy and Demographics Are Reshaping SNAP: From Families with Children to Older Adults
…was driven largely by relief efforts related to the COVID-19 pandemic and a onetime permanent increase of the maximum benefit level. SNAP benefit amounts typically phase out from a maximum…
COSM Commentary
Understanding the Recent Declines in SNAP Participation
…disruptions had largely ended. The sustained SNAP increase coincided with several policy decisions, including waiving work requirements, temporarily increasing benefits through September 2021, and a permanent increase in the maximum…
Commentary
Major Changes Coming to SNAP in 2026
…those who were previously living in an area that received a waiver of work requirements. The OBBBA expanded the maximum age of non-disabled SNAP adults subject to work requirements from…
Blog Post
SNAP Prioritizes Nutrition in New Administration
…with no other income can receive a maximum benefit of $975 per month. Currently, participants can purchase any food or beverage for home consumption using SNAP benefits, with the exception of alcohol,…
Blog Post
Common-Sense SNAP Reforms Included in House Agriculture Reconciliation Proposal
…increasing benefit levels for inflation. The Thrifty Food Plan sets maximum SNAP benefit levels, intending to represent the cost of a “nutritious, practical, cost-effective diet” for home consumption. President Biden’s…
Op-Ed
Legislators Want to Give Tens of Millions of Free Lunches to Students Who Don’t Need Them
…year (the most recent year of data available). Approximately 60 percent of those public school lunches were free or at reduced price (a maximum price of 40 cents per meal)…
Report
Eliminating the Benefit Cliff and Achieving Savings for Taxpayers: A Reform Proposal for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
…SNAP benefit structure—the maximum benefit levels, the tapering point, the benefit reduction rate, and the exit point—to eliminate benefit cliffs and improve employment outcomes for participants while reducing program costs….
Commentary
President Trump’s USDA Should Fix Food Stamp Work Requirement Waivers
…of maximizing their waiver coverage. Therefore, even if one area (county, city, town, etc.) is not eligible for a waiver according to any of the above criteria, the area may…
Commentary
Household Food Insecurity Rises Again – Inflation, Especially for Households Ineligible for Safety Net Programs, to Blame
…combined with adjustments to SNAP benefits to account for inflation, the maximum SNAP benefit increased in nominal terms by an astonishing 46.3 percent from 2019 to 2023. Consistent with this…
Commentary
How Many Forms of “Wage Insurance” Do We Need, Exactly?
…recessions offer additional weeks of checks to the long-term unemployed (that is, generally beyond six months, continuing state UI check amounts). During the last two recessions, maximum durations stretched to…
Commentary
Options for Improving the Child Tax Credit Provisions in H.R. 7024, the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024
…H.R. 7024, we recommend several improvements to its CTC provisions, including provisions to retain and provisions to drop. Provisions to Retain Increase the Maximum CTC to Account for the Rising…
Commentary
Solving Benefit Cliffs in SNAP
…benefit amounts phase out as household earnings increase. Households with no income receive the maximum benefit—$766 per month for a family of three—but for each additional dollar that a household…