Benefit Redemption Patterns in SNAP: Fiscal Year 2017

This report examines patterns of SNAP benefit redemption in Fiscal Year 2017, particularly related to the timing and amount of transactions and the rate at which households​ exhaust their benefits. Patterns in Fiscal Year 2017 are compared with findings from two similar studies conducted for Fiscal Years 2003 and 2009. This study also examines spending behaviors identified as atypical – months in which a benefit is received but the household does not make a transaction, an ending monthly balance greater than $200, and out-of-state transactions that occur beyond the state’s border counties.​