SNAP SPENDING AND CASELOADS FALLING

The number of SNAP participants has started to fall, and SNAP spending, which doubled as a share of the economy during the Great Recession, has begun to decline. SNAP spending as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) was stable in fiscal years 2012 and 2013 and is on track to fall substantially in 2014 and thereafter.  Government data show that spending on SNAP fell slightly as a share of GDP in 2012 and 2013 and is expected to fall by 9% in 2014.   As the economic recovery continues and fewer low-income people qualify for SNAP, the Congressional Budget Office expects SNAP spending to return to its 1995 levels as a share of GDP by 2019. 

SNAP caseload growth slowed in 2011 and 2012.  Caseloads held steady in 2013 and have now begun to decline:  fewer people participated in SNAP in each month between September 2013 and February 2014 than in the same months one year earlier. Participation was down by 1.6 million people in February 2014 from its peak in December 2012.   

Source: Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, 5/29/14, SNAP Participation