macro
SNAP Participants (Persons)
Latest
36,352,716persons
Methodology
## What this measures
The number of people receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamp) benefits in the month, national, monthly since October 1988.
## Why it matters
SNAP enrollment rises when household incomes fall below the line where groceries become unaffordable; it is the most direct federal count of food hardship.
## How to read it
Read the trend over several months. The latest months are preliminary and revised.
## What it does not say
Participation reflects eligibility rules and outreach as well as need. Changes to eligibility rules move it independently of hardship, so read it alongside income and food-price series.
## Source
USDA Food and Nutrition Administration, SNAP Data Tables. Public domain. Pandemic EBT (2020–2023) is excluded: it was a separate benefit, and USDA's summary file that includes it overstates FY2023 participation by up to a third. https://www.fna.usda.gov/pd/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap
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