The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Improving Health by Decreasing Food Insecurity
Authors: Craig Gundersen
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2021)

EditorialsDecember 2021The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Improving Health by Decreasing Food InsecurityCraig Gundersen, PhDCraig Gundersen, PhDBaylor University, Waco, TexasAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M21-3872 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is, by far, the most important tool used in the United States to alleviate food insecurity and its subsequent negative health consequences. The program's success was seen in 2020. In the setting of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of Agriculture increased SNAP benefit levels to the maximum, mitigating an anticipated increase in food insecurity rates (1).Food insecurity is associated with increased health care costs (2). In their article, Berkowitz and colleagues (3) report that SNAP participation is associated with declines in health care costs. Using administrative records from North Carolina for non–SNAP-participating ...References1. Gundersen C, Hake M, Dewey A, et al. Food insecurity during COVID-19. Appl Econ Perspect Policy. 2021;43:153-161. [PMID: 33042509] doi:10.1002/aepp.13100 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Berkowitz SA, Basu S, Gundersen C, et al. State-level and county-level estimates of health care costs associated with food insecurity. Prev Chronic Dis. 2019;16:E90. [PMID: 31298210] doi:10.5888/pcd16.180549 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Berkowitz SA, Palakshappa D, Rigdon J, et al. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participation and health care use in older adults. A cohort study. Ann Intern Med. 2021;174:1674-82. doi:10.7326/M21-1588 Google Scholar4. Dean O, Flowers L. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides benefits for millions of adults ages 50 and older. AARP Public Policy Institute Fact Sheet. April 2018. Accessed at www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/ppi/2018/04/snap-provides-benefits-for-millions-of-adults-ages-50-and-older.pdf on 27 September 2021. Google Scholar5. Lauffer S, Vigil A. Trends in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participation rates: fiscal year 2016 to fiscal year 2018. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. May 2021. Accessed at https://fns-prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/resource-files/Trends2016-2018.pdf on 27 September 2021. Google Scholar6. Gundersen C, Kreider B, Pepper JV. Reconstructing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to more effectively alleviate food insecurity in the United States. RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences. 2018;4:113-130. doi:10.7758/rsf.2018.4.2.06 Google Scholar7. Gundersen C. Viewpoint: a proposal to reconstruct the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) into a universal basic income program for food. Food Policy. 2021;101:102096. doi:10.1016/j.foodpol.2021.102096 Google Scholar8. Mozaffarian D, Fleischhacker S, Andrés JR. Prioritizing nutrition security in the US. JAMA. 2021;325:1605-1606. [PMID: 33792612] doi:10.1001/jama.2021.1915 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar9. Ziliak JP, Gundersen C. The health consequences of senior hunger in the United States: evidence from the 1999–2016 NHANES. Feeding America. 18 August 2021. Accessed at www.feedingamerica.org/sites/default/files/2021-08/2021%20-%20Health%20Consequences%20of%20Senior%20Hunger%201999-2016.pdf on 28 September 2021. Google Scholar10. Gundersen C. Ensuring the dignity and autonomy of SNAP recipients. Physiol Behav. 2020;221:112909. [PMID: 32305417] doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2020.112909 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Baylor University, Waco, TexasDisclosures: The author has reported no disclosures of interest. The form can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M21-3872.Corresponding Author: Craig Gundersen, PhD, Baylor University, Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty, 811 Washington Avenue, Waco, TX 76701; e-mail, [email protected]edu.This article was published at Annals.org on 19 October 2021. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoSupplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Participation and Health Care Use in Older Adults Seth A. Berkowitz , Deepak Palakshappa , Joseph Rigdon , Hilary K. Seligman , and Sanjay Basu Metrics Cited by"Now I Feel a Little Bit More Secure": The Impact of SNAP Enrollment on Older Adult SSI Recipients December 2021Volume 174, Issue 12Page: 1751-1752KeywordsElderlyFoodFood insecurityHealth care utilizationHealth disparitiesHealth equityMedicaidMedicareNutritionSocial welfare ePublished: 19 October 2021 Issue Published: December 2021 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2021 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...