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QUESTION

Why has there been an increase in cash and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits applications?

0:51:26

·

88 sec

The increase in applications for cash and SNAP benefits is attributed to the cessation of pandemic-era federal anti-poverty programs and the improved accessibility of online application processes.

The cessation of pandemic-era federal programs such as the enhanced child tax credit and rental assistance marks unequal recovery among communities.
Accessibility improvements, such as online applications, have facilitated easier application processes, contributing to the increase.
Programs like enhanced unemployment benefits that reduced poverty during the pandemic were also retracted, impacting application rates.
These developments reveal the substantial role of government policies and technology in influencing public assistance applications.

Diana I. Ayala

0:51:26

I had a just out of out of curiosity, I we've seen that there's been a significant increase in the number of applications for cash and SNAP benefits.

0:51:36

What do you think is driving the increase because it seems pretty significant.

Molly Wasow Park

0:51:41

I think there's 2 primary things going on.

0:51:45

1st, during the pandemic, the federal government invested in a lot of anti poverty programs.

0:51:51

Right?

0:51:51

There was the enhanced child tax credit, there was enhanced unemployment, there was rental assistance, there were a variety of tools that we saw made a really significant difference in poverty rates.

0:52:03

And then those have all been pulled back.

0:52:05

And so I think what what this is exposing, what we're seeing in the benefits application right now is exposing that pandemic recovery has not happened equally across every community.

0:52:17

So that is a big issue.

0:52:19

Shoe, and a really serious one that we all need to be thinking about.

0:52:23

The other piece of it, which is slightly more positive, is I think we really have lowered the barrier to location significantly.

0:52:30

Right?

0:52:30

So it used to be that you had to physically go into a center and taking a big chunk of time out of your day, getting on the subway, if you have kids finding childcare, bringing them with you for some people that were stigma associated with that.

0:52:44

Now you can apply from your own home online at whatever time is convenient for you, and I think lowering access, lowering those barriers has also contributed to the increase in applications.

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