The Location and Timing of SNAP Purchases

Abstract

In this paper we first study where food purchases are made by SNAP recipients in comparison to eligible and ineligible non-SNAP recipients. Particularly, we analyze whether SNAP recipients use retail food outlets which generally have lower prices and how far they travel to purchase food. We next compare the timing of shopping decisions between SNAP recipients and SNAP eligible non-recipients. We study whether SNAP recipients make a higher percentage of their food purchases at one time close to the receipt of SNAP benefits and how is local food geography related with the timing of purchases by SNAP recipients.