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From Checkout to Clicks: SNAP Online Purchase Pilot Program and Its Impact on Food Security

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  • Lee, Sungjin

Abstract

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Online Purchasing Pilot (OPP) represents a major shift in how SNAP households can redeem food benefits, yet its broader effects on food security remain unclear. This study examines the impact on food security of low-income households using the 2017-2023 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) data. Leveraging the staggered rollout of the OPP across states, we estimate program effects using a two-way fixed effects model and heterogeneous-robust difference-in-differences estimators. While the TWFE specification suggests that OPP adoption increases the likelihood of food insecurity, diagnostic tests reveal substantial negative weighting, indicating bias from staggered adoption timing. Robust estimators that address this issue show no meaningful effect of the OPP on food security, and this null result is consistent across alternative specifications, eligibility thresholds, and household subgroups. These findings differ from prior evidence showing reductions in food insufficiency during the early COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting that the OPP’s benefits were tied to the unique conditions of that period rather than reflecting a sustained improvement in food access

Suggested Citation

  • Lee, Sungjin, 2026. "From Checkout to Clicks: SNAP Online Purchase Pilot Program and Its Impact on Food Security," 2026 Annual Meeting, July 26 - 28, 2026, Kansas City, Missouri 404563, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:aaea26:404563
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.404563
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    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/404563/files/177570_199050_115232_Working_paper_From_Checkout_to_Clicks_SNAP_Online_Purchase_Pilot_Program_and_Its_Impact_on_Food_Security.pdf
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