Recent Data Show Continued Growth in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Use

The Great Recession had profound effects on families across the United States, and economic recovery has been slow. Poverty and unemployment remained high in 2011, and job growth was stagnant. Amid these signs of a sluggish recovery, social safety net programs have played a key role in supporting vulnerable families. Perhaps one of the most efficient and effective safety net programs, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP (formerly known as food stamps), has remained particularly important for providing families and children with  utritious foods and alleviating poverty. For example, if SNAP benefits were counted as income, 4.4 percent fewer families would have been considered poor between 2000 and 2009. SNAP funding also has a multiplicative economic effect on communities, and research shows that every $5 increase in benefits generates$9 of economic activity