Newly gathered data reveals insightful trends in the usage and uptake of the USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Online Purchasing Pilot (OPP). The new program, rapidly expanded to most US states over the past year, enables approved retailers to accept online SNAP purchases. It exhibits immense potential for encouraging COVID-19 social distancing, while also offering opportunities to transform access to fresh, nutritious, affordable food amongst individuals with limited mobility, time, or grocery store access. The recent COVID-19 Economic Relief Bill passed in December 2020 capitalizes on this potential, allotting $5 million to support SNAP online purchasing. As more resources and attention are allocated to this program, data analysis on usage will be necessary for informing program improvements that will best meet the needs of SNAP participants and reduce access barriers. Due to lack of publicly available data, however, implementation has been largely unanalyzed. This report summarizes insights gathered from a multi-month SNAP online purchasing data collection and analysis process. While preliminary, initial trends provide insight that can help crucially inform future SNAP online purchasing policy action that advances the equitable and accessible expansion of this program. 

This research was conducted by unBox researchers Isabelle Foster, Angelina Polselli, Charlie Hoffs, Charly de Nocker, and Christopher LeBoa, and advisors Dr. Eric Rimm, Dr. Eric J. Brandt, and Dr. Pasquale Rummo.