The Effects of Lump-Sum Food Benefits during the COVID-19 Pandemic on Spending, Hardship, and Health

Lauren L. Bauer, Krista Ruffini and Diane Schanzenbach

No 33199, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: This paper examines how providing families with lump-sum in-kind assistance during the pandemic affected food hardship, economic well-being, and maternal health. We study the introduction of a new program, P-EBT, that provided grocery vouchers worth approximately $300 per student during spring and summer 2020. Using cross-state variation in program timing, we find that families spent $18-42 per student per week in the 6 weeks after benefit receipt. Household food insufficiency and children’s food insecurity among low-income families declined by 27-49% in the month following receipt, and maternal mental health improved by 0.9 standard deviation.

JEL-codes: H51 H53 I18 I38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-11
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Published as Lauren Bauer & Krista Ruffini & Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, 2024. "The effects of lump-sum food benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic on spending, hardship, and health," Journal of Public Economics, vol 240.

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