USDA’s FoodAPS survey provides a detailed snapshot of SNAP household food purchasing and acquisition during April 2012-January 2013. The estimates cover spending, benefit-cycle timing, retail and community food sources, nutritional quality, calories, and food access. They describe that measurement period and should not be read as current benefit levels.
Contents
- Spending and Thrifty Food Plan benchmarks
- Benefit-cycle timing
- Where households acquired food
- Restaurants, schools, work, and social sources
- Nutritional quality of purchases
- Calories and food access
Spending and Thrifty Food Plan benchmarks
The USDA Economic Research Service report The Food-Spending Patterns of Households Participating in SNAP: Findings From USDA’s FoodAPS estimated that SNAP households spent an average of $107.63 per week on all food purchases and acquisitions. On an adult male equivalent basis, the estimate was $46.77 per week. Average total food spending was 1.08 times, or 108 percent of, the Thrifty Food Plan cost per adult male equivalent.
Food-at-home spending made up most of the reported total: $80.87 per week on average, or $35.65 per adult male equivalent. On that same basis, food-at-home spending was 0.82 times the Thrifty Food Plan cost. SNAP benefits contributed an average of $51.18 per week to household food spending, while WIC contributed $1.32 per week.
| Measure | SNAP household estimate | Measurement context |
|---|---|---|
| All food purchases and acquisitions | $107.63 per week | FoodAPS, April 2012-January 2013 |
| All food, per adult male equivalent | $46.77 per week | FoodAPS, April 2012-January 2013 |
| Food at home | $80.87 per week | FoodAPS, April 2012-January 2013 |
| Food at home, per adult male equivalent | $35.65 per week | FoodAPS, April 2012-January 2013 |
| Food away from home | $26.76 per week | FoodAPS, April 2012-January 2013 |
The remaining average food-away-from-home spending was $26.76 per week. These categories describe where food was purchased or acquired; they are not a meal plan or a recommendation about how a household should allocate benefits.
Benefit-cycle timing
Food-at-home purchasing varied sharply across the benefit month in the FoodAPS analysis. Spending averaged $66 per day on benefit-receipt days 0-1, compared with $18 per day during days 2-8. SNAP benefits paid for 89 percent of average food-at-home spending on the day of and day after benefit receipt. By benefit-cycle days 16 and later, benefits accounted for 40 percent of average daily food-at-home spending.
Food away from home followed a different pattern. The USDA report found no significant variation across the benefit month, with average spending between $4 and $6 per day. For meal planning, the figures indicate that the timing of benefit-supported grocery purchasing was more concentrated than the timing of food-away-from-home spending.
Food security was also associated with spending differences. Food-secure SNAP households spent 22-23 percent more per adult male equivalent on food than food-insecure SNAP households. Food-insecure SNAP households averaged $42 per adult male equivalent, or 96 percent of the Thrifty Food Plan cost. Households with very low food security also averaged $42 per adult male equivalent, equal to 97 percent of that cost.
Where households acquired food
The USDA ERS report FoodAPS Survey Shows Where Households Get Food in a Typical Week counted acquisition events during a typical FoodAPS week. SNAP households that visited large grocery stores reported an average of 2.91 such events per week. Fourteen percent acquired food from small or specialty stores, averaging 1.65 events among households that used those stores. Households using other food-at-home stores reported 2.49 events per week on average.
Some households used nonretail sources. Four percent of SNAP households acquired food from their own production, with 1.84 events among users. Five percent acquired food from food banks or Meals on Wheels, averaging 1.50 events among users.
Across all places, SNAP households reported 10.75 food-acquisition events during the week. The comparable figure for non-SNAP households below 185 percent of the poverty line was 9.06 events. Among households with a geocoded primary or alternate store, 24.3 percent visited both stores during the FoodAPS week, while 51.2 percent visited one.
The location figures measure participation among households and, where stated, the average number of events among users. A percentage reporting a store or source does not mean that the source supplied the same share of household food or calories.
Restaurants, schools, work, and social sources
Restaurants and other eating places were reported by 72 percent of SNAP households, with 4.18 events among households that acquired food there. The ERS comparison article, Supermarkets, Schools, and Social Gatherings: Where SNAP and Other U.S. Households Acquire Their Foods, gives comparison shares of 78 percent for lower income non-SNAP households and 89 percent for higher income non-SNAP households. Among users, higher income non-SNAP households averaged 5.91 restaurant events, compared with 4.18 for SNAP households.
School food was acquired by 20 percent of SNAP households, compared with 12 percent of lower income non-SNAP households and 14 percent of higher income non-SNAP households. Among participating households, SNAP households averaged 8.01 school events per week, versus 6.64 for lower income non-SNAP households and 5.72 for higher income non-SNAP households.
Social and workplace sources added other acquisition channels. Thirty-eight percent of SNAP households acquired food from family, friends, parties, or places of worship, averaging 3.07 events among users. Thirteen percent acquired food at work, averaging 3.34 work-related events among users. By comparison, 26 percent of higher income non-SNAP households reported food acquired at work, twice the SNAP household share.
Nutritional quality of purchases
The USDA ERS report Nutritional Quality of Foods Acquired by Americans: Findings From USDA’s FoodAPS assessed acquisitions with the Healthy Eating Index-2010. SNAP household food-at-home acquisitions scored 45.77 out of 100, while food-away-from-home acquisitions scored 41.77.
For comparison, low-income non-SNAP households scored 49.89 for food at home and 42.12 for food away from home. Higher income non-SNAP households scored 53.74 for food at home and 45.07 for food away from home. The ERS comparison described SNAP food-at-home acquisitions as 4 Healthy Eating Index points below low-income non-SNAP households and 8 points below higher income non-SNAP households.
| Household group | Food at home | Food away from home |
|---|---|---|
| SNAP | 45.77 | 41.77 |
| Low-income non-SNAP | 49.89 | 42.12 |
| Higher income non-SNAP | 53.74 | 45.07 |
Within SNAP acquisitions, food at home supplied 0.77 units of total vegetables per 1,000 calories, compared with 0.75 units from food away from home. Food at home supplied 0.42 units of total fruit versus 0.24 away from home, 0.31 units of whole fruit versus 0.16, and 0.31 units of whole grains versus 0.11.
Store type was associated with measured quality. Among SNAP households, acquisitions from large grocery stores scored roughly 10 Healthy Eating Index points above acquisitions from small and specialty food stores, and 11-17 points above convenience, dollar, and other stores.
Calories and food access
FoodAPS estimated that SNAP households acquired roughly 3,000 calories per adult equivalent per day. The corresponding estimates were 2,800 for low-income non-SNAP households and 3,200 for higher income non-SNAP households. Large grocery stores supplied more than 60 percent of weekly household calories across SNAP and non-SNAP groups.
The source mix differed across groups. SNAP households acquired about 1,000 more weekly calories per adult equivalent from convenience, dollar, and other stores than higher income non-SNAP households. They acquired roughly 370 more weekly calories per adult equivalent from family and friends than higher income non-SNAP households. From restaurants, SNAP households acquired about 60 fewer weekly calories per adult equivalent than low-income non-SNAP households and about 1,500 fewer than higher income non-SNAP households. From schools, SNAP households acquired about 500 more weekly calories per adult equivalent than both comparison groups.
Food access was another measured context. SNAP households in low-access food retail situations had a Healthy Eating Index score 9 percent lower than households with better access in the FoodAPS analysis. Low-access households acquired 31 percent less dark green vegetables and beans per 1,000 calories, 39 percent less whole grains, 20 percent less dairy, and 21 percent less total fruit than households with better access.
Together, these estimates connect household food purchasing with timing, source, and access. They also show why a single grocery-spending figure cannot describe SNAP food acquisition: the FoodAPS results include stores, schools, restaurants, social sources, benefits, and food obtained outside ordinary retail purchases, all measured during April 2012-January 2013.