UMass Study Reveals Reliance on SNAP Among Growing Sectors,Warns of Disruption from Benefit Cuts
AMHERST,MA – A new report from the University of Massachusetts Amherst reveals a significant and growing number of Massachusetts workers,notably those in expanding sectors like healthcare and gig economy jobs,rely on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to feed their families. The study’s findings come as proposed restrictions to SNAP eligibility raise concerns about potential social and economic disruption.
the UMass report highlights a decades-long shift in economic distribution, with workers receiving a smaller share of the overall economy. “In the 1970s workers received about 60% of the economy, the money in the economy in terms of pay and compensation, and that has declined to just over 50%,” explained researcher Meyers. “So, there’s been about a 15% decline in the share of the economy going to workers, and that has not been a decline that’s been evenly spread, but its been borne especially by workers in middle earnings jobs, and low wage workers have fared poorly as well.”
The study points to a troubling paradox: job growth is concentrated in low-wage sectors where SNAP reliance is high. Over 30% of nursing assistants and personal care aides, for exmaple, currently receive food assistance, despite working in the rapidly expanding healthcare sector. Similar trends are observed in transportation (including companies like Uber and Amazon) and food service.
“We have this tension between a push to reduce food assistance, but at the same time, there’s an increasing need for food assistance, and those two factors are in conflict with one another,” Meyers stated.
Further complicating the issue, a 2020 Government Accountability Office report identified major, national chain companies as significant employers of SNAP recipients. Kerrissey,a researcher involved in the umass study,argues this effectively subsidizes these companies. “These are the biggest companies in the state, in the nation…thay’re not paying as much as they could be paying, or maybe they should be paying, and SNAP is left to fill in the hunger factor.”
Researchers suggest a re-evaluation of employer practices is needed. “We should think about how employers are allowed to hire employees,” Meyers said. “We could think about factors such as raising wages, minimum wages, or thinking about scheduling and hours for workers who are receiving SNAP so that they can receive sufficient hourly wages and hours to earn enough to be lifted out of poverty and afforded dignity.”
The findings are particularly timely as a coalition of Attorneys General, including Massachusetts Democrat Andrea Campbell, are mounting a legal challenge to new SNAP guidance concerning the eligibility of some legal immigrants, arguing the guidance is unlawful. The UMass report underscores the potential consequences of further restricting access to SNAP benefits for a workforce increasingly reliant on them.
