Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Military Families: Who Qualifies and Where?

reportActive / Technical Report | Accesssion Number: AD1145621 | Open PDF

Abstract:

The Director of the 13th Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation (QRMC) asked CNA to determine state and District of Columbia eligibility requirements for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, to identify which military allowances and in-kind benefits count toward eligibility, and to estimate the number of active component servicemembers who would be eligible for SNAP. We were also asked to estimate the number of servicemembers serving in the United States who would be eligible for the Family Subsistence Supplemental Allowance (FSSA) if it were reinstated for those servicemembers. We found that no servicemember without dependents would qualify for SNAP in any Military Housing Area (MHA) and that no servicemember with dependents above the paygrade of E-7 would qualify. While fewer in numbers, members who live on base and receive quarters-in-kind (that is, they do not receive Basic Allowance for Housing) are far more likely to be eligible for SNAP than their peers who have dependents and do not live on base because the in-kind benefit is not considered income for SNAP purposes. We estimate that far fewer servicemembers would be eligible for FSSA if it were made available in the United States because the value of quarters provided in-kind is imputed as income when determining eligibility for FSSA.

Author(s):
No Author(s) Identified
Author Organization(s):
CENTER FOR NAVAL ANALYSES
Funding Organization(s):
OFFICE OF NAVAL RESEARCH, ARLINGTON , VA
Document Type:
Technical Report/Technical Report
Publication Date:
2020 Sep 01
Pagination:
42

Security Markings

DOCUMENT & CONTEXTUAL SUMMARY

Distribution Code:
A - Approved For Public Release
Distribution Statement: Public Release

RECORD

Collection: TRECMS
Identifying Numbers
Contract Number(s):
N00014-16-D-5003
Subject Terms
Communities of Interest:
Biomedical
Descriptor(s):
families (human), united states, revenue, business administration, district of columbia, governments, virgin islands, financial management, food stamps, military families, puerto rico, state governments, compensation, islands, motivation, nutrition, organizational structure
Keyword(s):
snap (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), fssa (Family Subsistence Supplemental Allowance), in-kind benefits, qrmc (Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation), bbce (Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility)
Subject Categories:
Military Sciences; Behavioral and Social Sciences; Behavioral and Social Sciences
Creation Date:
2021 Aug 20
Update Date:
2021 Nov 16