SNAP, P-EBT Accounted for More Than 1/9 of Total Food-At-Home Spending

Shutdowns, stay-at-home orders, and the need for social distancing led households to buy more food for consumption at home during the Coronavirus pandemic. In response to the economic downturn and pandemic conditions, emergency allotments were issued to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program households. Additionally, Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer benefits were distributed to households with children missing free and reduced-price school meals. The Economic Research Service says the expansion led to a rapid increase in the dollar amount of these benefits issued to households and redeemed for food at home.

In March 2020, food at home spending spiked.

In June 2020, redemptions of the benefits peaked at $9.5 billion-making up 13.3% of food at home spending that month.

The share fell the following three months. Overall, the share of spending attributable to SNAP and P-EBT from April through September 2020 was 11.7%, more than one in nine dollars and nearly 5% points higher than the same months in 2019.

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