An Overview of SNAP, Food Security, and Geographic Factors in Food Purchase and Acquisition Decisions

In April 2012 the Economic Research Service (ERS) and the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) in the U.S. Department of Agriculture embarked on an ambitious new data collection enterprise known as the National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey (FoodAPS). FoodAPS is innovative in that it is the first nationally representative household survey to collect comprehensive data on household food expenditures and acquisitions, including those obtained using benefits from food assistance programs. The survey includes data from 4,826 households, including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) households, low-income eligible households not participating in SNAP, and higher income households. FoodAPS is specifically well suited to address factors affecting food demand, including access to food stores, as well as the pressing public health threat posed by food insecurity and how well America’s food and nutrition assistance programs serve to alleviate that threat