The Association between Federal Nutrition Assistance Programs and Adolescent Food Security during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from Baltimore, Maryland

Abstract During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government authorized several temporary changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to alleviate the increased economic hardships, including creating a new program called the Pandemic-Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) and expanding the eligibility and benefits of SNAP. While evidence suggests that these changes may provide positive impacts for adults and younger children, very little is known about how they can mitigate food insecurity among adolescent children. To address this gap, this study evaluated the association of P-EBT and increased SNAP benefits, with food security status among adolescents. Adolescents, ages 14-19 years, who completed an application to a Baltimore City youth employment program and lived in SNAP-eligible households, were invited to participate in two online surveys. The first survey (Survey 1) was implemented between October 2020-January 2021, while the second survey (Survey 2) took place one year later from November 2021- January 2022 after schools had re-opened. We then matched survey participants with data obtained from the Maryland Department of Human Services to obtain their household participation in food nutrition assistance programs. Our results show that there were no significant associations between adolescent food security and participation in any of the federal nutrition assistance programs during the COVID pandemic. While federal assistance programs during the pandemic resulted in families receiving nearly $700 more a month, they were not associated with improved food security among adolescents. Increased attention on how best to improve adolescent food security in low-income households is clearly warranted.