Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Military Families: Who Qualifies and Where?
Abstract
The Director of the 13th Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation (QRMC) asked CNA to determine state and District of Columbia eligibility requirements for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, to identify which military allowances and in-kind benefits count toward eligibility, and to estimate the number of active component servicemembers who would be eligible for SNAP. We were also asked to estimate the number of servicemembers serving in the United States who would be eligible for the Family Subsistence Supplemental Allowance (FSSA) if it were reinstated for those servicemembers. We found that no servicemember without dependents would qualify for SNAP in any Military Housing Area (MHA) and that no servicemember with dependents above the paygrade of E-7 would qualify. While fewer in numbers, members who live on base and receive quarters-in-kind (that is, they do not receive Basic Allowance for Housing) are far more likely to be eligible for SNAP than their peers who have dependents and do not live on base because the in-kind benefit is not considered income for SNAP purposes. We estimate that far fewer servicemembers would be eligible for FSSA if it were made available in the United States because the value of quarters provided in-kind is imputed as income when determining eligibility for FSSA.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2020
- Accession Number
- AD1145621
Entities
Organizations
- Center for Naval Analyses