Improving Knowledge About the Number and Characteristics of Servicemembers Receiving SNAP Benefits

The Presidential Charter for the 13th Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation (QRMC) directed it to estimate the number of servicemembers who qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). In a previous study, the Director of the 13th QRMC asked CNA to address this question by determining eligibility requirements for SNAP and to use aggregated Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) data to estimate the number of potentially eligible servicemembers who could qualify for this program by paygrade, family status, and Military Housing Area (MHA).

After that report was published, the QRMC learned that DMDC matches data from participating state public assistance agencies with Department of Defense (DOD) military pay and personnel data using a Public Assistance Reporting Information System (PARIS) matching program. The data include information on servicemembers who receive SNAP and other federal benefits. The Director of the 13th QRMC asked CNA to use the PARIS data to provide more precise estimates of the number of servicemembers who receive SNAP benefits and to analyze how estimates from aggregated data can be extrapolated for states that do not provide these data to DMDC. Specifically, our task was to address the following questions:

• Based on PARIS data, how many active component (AC) servicemembers qualify for SNAP, by service, paygrade, and state?
• How well does the number of servicemembers’ household members recorded in PARIS match their military dependents according to DMDC AC manpower data?
• Using PARIS and manpower data, what are the characteristics of servicemembers who qualify for SNAP, including paygrade, service, state of receipt, and number of dependents?
• How can the PARIS data help to inform future estimates of SNAP participation that are based on aggregated data?