Description/Abstract
Food insecurity is more common among military families than the general population, and the transition from active service to civilian life is a time of heightened risk. The Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) is designed to support food security among low-income families. Many eligible military and veteran families do not enroll in SNAP due to a lack of information, stigma, and administrative barriers. This brief highlights findings from a survey experiment conducted in 2022 and 2023 to assess how small changes to SNAP informational flyers, such as simplifying information provided about SNAP, highlighting that other veterans use SNAP, and emphasizing how much monetary support veterans may be foregoing, to improve SNAP uptake among military families transitioning to civilian life. Results of the study show that making these small changes to informational flyers increased veterans’ awareness and comprehension of SNAP, while also reducing the cognitive load placed on veterans and their families.
Document Type
Research Brief
Keywords
Food insecurity, SNAP, Veterans
Disciplines
Behavioral Economics | Military and Veterans Studies | Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration | Public Policy
Date
11-28-2023
Language
English
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Alyssa Kirk and Shannon Monnat for providing feedback on an earlier version of this brief.
Recommended Citation
Heflin, C., Patnaik, H., Lopoo, L., O’Keefe, S. (2023). Behavioral Science Interventions Could Increase SNAP Comprehension and Awareness Among Military Families. Lerner Center Population Health Research Brief Series. Research Brief #106. Accessed at: https://surface.syr.edu/lerner/233.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Included in
Behavioral Economics Commons, Military and Veterans Studies Commons, Public Policy Commons
