SNAP office accessibility and its association with rurality

Abstract

While several studies have explored geographic relationships within the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), results have been mixed. Findings have revealed an imbalanced SNAP participation rate among eligible populations in both suburban and rural areas. Studies on SNAP accessibility have often focused on store locations, but few have examined issues of traveling to SNAP offices. In this study, we focused on SNAP office accessibility and its association with rurality. Using Google Map API, we calculated road travel time and distance to the most conveniently located SNAP office for each block group in the conterminous United States. We investigated the degree to which the SNAP office accessibility is linked to rurality, participant demographics, socioeconomic characteristics, and the program's overall participation rate. Results showed that at the block-group level, the SNAP-eligible average driving time to the most convenient SNAP office is 15.28 min, while the SNAP-eligible average distance is 8.57 miles. More than 75% of the SNAP-income eligible population lives within a 20-min drive to a SNAP office, and 91.8% lives within 30 min. Every ten percentage points of increase in rurality decreases SNAP office accessibility by one additional minute of car travel time. We designed a Rurality-Travel Clock (RTC) visualization tool to provide a graphic description of the urban-rural setting and SNAP office accessibility. Other observations include a noticeable cross-relationship between population concentration (e.g., white or black) and SNAP office accessibility. The findings help us to understand the dynamic relationships between SNAP participation rate and SNAP accessibility factors, including eligibility, employment status, population, and rurality at the county and state levels.