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Does Food Assistance Drive Spending on Sugary Foods? Evidence from the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer Program

Author

Listed:
  • Georgina Cisneros
  • Brandyn F. Churchill

Abstract

We provide evidence on the extent to which food assistance affects spending on sugary items by studying the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program, which provided funds to families of children who lost access to free and reduced-price school meals due to COVID-19 pandemic school closures. Leveraging state-level variation in the timing of P-EBT disbursements using a stacked difference-in-differences identification strategy with NielsenIQ Consumer Panel data, we find that P-EBT disbursement was associated with a 16-percent increase in weekly spending on sugary items among SNAP-eligible households with school-aged children. Notably, this increase exceeded the percentage increase in overall food spending for this group, suggesting that SNAP-eligible households with school-aged children allocated a disproportionately large share of their P-EBT-driven purchases toward sugary items relative to their pre-period baseline. We do not detect changes among households unlikely to have received P-EBT benefits or in placebo disbursement years.

Suggested Citation

  • Georgina Cisneros & Brandyn F. Churchill, 2026. "Does Food Assistance Drive Spending on Sugary Foods? Evidence from the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer Program," NBER Working Papers 35835, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:35835
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • H53 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Welfare Programs
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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