New SNAP Program Access Index Data Help in Identifying Factors for Better SNAP Performance
Recently released national and state-by-state estimates of the degree to which the Supplemental Assistance Program (SNAP) is reaching residents with lower incomes are a helpful tool for assessing the program’s reach and gaps. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) SNAP Program Access Index (PAI) for 2021[i] indicates that on a national level SNAP is reaching over three in four (77 percent) residents who have incomes at or below 125 percent of the federal poverty line (FPL), an improvement over the 2019 PAI of 70 percent.[ii]