SNAP Online Research

In March 2020, as COVID-19 spread rapidly throughout the United States, millions of Americans began shopping online to avoid exposure to the virus in grocery stores. For SNAP participants, however, it was almost impossible to use benefits to shop online for grocery delivery. At the time, the SNAP Online Purchasing Pilot was available in fewer than 10 states, and at only a handful of retailers. Furthermore, there was almost no data available on the program, its implementation, or usage trends. To help inform and advocate for the equitable expansion of the SNAP Online Purchasing Pilot, we submitted Public Records Requests to every single participating state, and a FOIA request to the federal government.

Many states refused to share data, and those who did shared it in myriad different formats. Despite challenges in aligning data across states, the information revealed several noteworthy trends in SNAP Online Purchasing uptake nationwide. We have published our research in a brief shared with policymakers, advocates and activists, and the public, through our website. The research helped inform USA Today article and a Healthy Eating Research Brief.

We are very grateful for the engaged cooperation of the state SNAP directors and social service staff who provided us access to the data used, and to our advisors Dr. Pasquale Rummo, Dr. Eric J. Brandt, and Dr. Eric Rimm, who guided us through the data analysis and publication process.