TY - JOUR
T1 - Federal Food Assistance Program Participation during the COVID-19 Pandemic
T2 - Participant Perspectives and Reasons for Discontinuing
AU - Melnick, Emily M.
AU - Ganderats-Fuentes, Montserrat
AU - Ohri-Vachaspati, Punam
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by a COVID-19 seed grant from the Arizona State University College of Health Solutions and the university’s Investigator Research Funds. The funders had no role in the design, analysis, or writing of this article.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors.
PY - 2022/11
Y1 - 2022/11
N2 - This study aims to describe reasons for discontinuing participation and experiences participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) during the COVID-19 pandemic. We analyzed data from a cross-sectional online survey distributed to a national sample, restricted to (1) households that discontinued participating in SNAP (n = 146) or WIC (n = 149) during the pandemic and (2) households that participated in SNAP (n = 501) or WIC (n = 141) during spring 2021—approximately one year into the pandemic. We conducted thematic analyses of open-ended survey questions and descriptive statistics for Likert-scale items. Themes raised by respondents who discontinued participating in SNAP or WIC included difficulty recertifying and virus exposure concerns. Former WIC participants reported the program was not worth the effort and former SNAP participants reported failing to requalify. Respondents participating in WIC or SNAP during the pandemic mentioned transportation barriers and insufficient benefit value. WIC participants had trouble redeeming benefits in stores and SNAP participants desired improved online grocery purchasing experiences. These results suggest that enhancements to WIC and SNAP, such as expanded online purchasing options, program flexibilities, and benefit increases, can improve program participation to ensure access to critical nutrition supports, especially during emergencies.
AB - This study aims to describe reasons for discontinuing participation and experiences participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) during the COVID-19 pandemic. We analyzed data from a cross-sectional online survey distributed to a national sample, restricted to (1) households that discontinued participating in SNAP (n = 146) or WIC (n = 149) during the pandemic and (2) households that participated in SNAP (n = 501) or WIC (n = 141) during spring 2021—approximately one year into the pandemic. We conducted thematic analyses of open-ended survey questions and descriptive statistics for Likert-scale items. Themes raised by respondents who discontinued participating in SNAP or WIC included difficulty recertifying and virus exposure concerns. Former WIC participants reported the program was not worth the effort and former SNAP participants reported failing to requalify. Respondents participating in WIC or SNAP during the pandemic mentioned transportation barriers and insufficient benefit value. WIC participants had trouble redeeming benefits in stores and SNAP participants desired improved online grocery purchasing experiences. These results suggest that enhancements to WIC and SNAP, such as expanded online purchasing options, program flexibilities, and benefit increases, can improve program participation to ensure access to critical nutrition supports, especially during emergencies.
KW - COVID-19
KW - SNAP
KW - WIC
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U2 - 10.3390/nu14214524
DO - 10.3390/nu14214524
M3 - Article
C2 - 36364785
AN - SCOPUS:85141561866
SN - 2072-6643
VL - 14
JO - Nutrients
JF - Nutrients
IS - 21
M1 - 4524
ER -