Baton Rouge, LA (7/23/2024) – Roughly 20% of all Louisiana residents received financial assistance to buy food through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Data from the state Department of Children and Family Services and detailed in a report from the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana (PAR) show that 45% of the approximately 867,000 recipients are children.
The number of current recipients is down from its five-year high in January 2021, when 981,751 people were receiving the assistance, the data show. That spike was largely the result of an increase in COVID-19 pandemic-related emergency benefits.
Roughly 1 million Louisianians live below 125% of the poverty level, which is $39,000 for a family of four.
East Baton Rouge Parish has the highest number of SNAP recipients, followed by Orleans, Jefferson and Caddo parishes.
PAR’s report found Louisiana had the most SNAP recipients relative to its total population in 2023 compared with other Southern states.
BY: PIPER HUTCHINSON, Louisiana Illuminator
