Is the Housing Crisis Preventing Families with Children from Receiving Food Assistance?

Start Date: July 2022

ID #: 283-5107

Principal Investigator: Matthew Desmond, PhD

Co-Principal Investigator: Carl Gershenson, PhD

Organization: The Trustees of Princeton University

Funding Round: 2021 Special Solicitation on COVID-19 and Socioeconomic Recovery Efforts

See more related research

Share

Housing and food insecurity are tightly linked. As housing advocates prepare for and respond to the surge of evictions in 2022, it is important to understand how usage of SNAP, WIC, and other programs is affected by families experiencing evictions. The study aims to answer the following questions: What effect do evictions have on receipt of food assistance via SNAP and WIC? How does this effect vary by the presence of children in the household, by race of household, and by rural/urban status? In states that impose larger administrative burdens, is there a larger negative effect of evictions on SNAP and WIC participation rates?

Start Date: 6/15/2022

Keywords: COVID-19, Housing, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)

Focus Areas: Food Access, Nutrition Policy & Programs

Resource Type: Grant Summary

Related Research

October 2023

A Comprehensive Demographic Profile of the U.S. Evicted Population

Millions of American renter households every year are threatened with eviction, an event associated with severe negative impacts on health and economic well-being. Yet we know little about the characteristics of individuals living in these households. Here, we link 38 million eviction court cases to US Census Bureau data to show that 7.6 million people, More

May 2026

A Pediatric Perspective on the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines

Clear, evidence-based guidance on what foods and beverages children and adolescents should consume—and in what amounts—is foundational for promoting healthy growth and preventing diet-related chronic disease across the life course. Yet many children and adolescents in the US continue to have diets of poor nutritional quality. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs), issued every 5 More

May 2026

Ultraprocessed Foods in the U.S.: Recommended Definitions and Policies

Despite growing interest in ultraprocessed foods (UPFs), there is not consensus on how to define UPFs for policy purposes. To meet this need, Healthy Eating Research convened an expert panel to develop evidence-informed recommendations for policymakers and advocates interested in advancing policies to limit UPF exposure and consumption at the local, state, and federal levels. More