Snap and Food Expenditures for Ssi Recipients Evaluating the Effects of California's Cash-Out Policy

This paper investigates how Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program(SNAP) eligibility and benefits affect food expenditures by exploiting theCalifornia "cash-out" policy, which made Supplemental Security Income(SSI) recipients ineligible for SNAP. Using the Consumer ExpenditureSurvey, we find that after the California cash-out policy ended, affected SSIrecipients increased their "food at home" budget share by 2.5 to 4.3percentage points ($120 to $206 per quarter). The cash-out effect on totalfood expenditures is dampened by a decrease in "food away from home" anddriven by extramarginal households. We use changes in SNAP benefits andSSI optional state supplements from 2003 to 2020 to compare theconsumption of in-kind versus cash transfers and find an increase in SNAPbenefits leads to a greater increase in food at home expenditures ($0.40 centsper $1) compared to SSI cash benefits ($0.15 cents per $1). These findingssuggest that SNAP is effective in increasing food at home consumptionamong its lowest-income beneficiaries