新冠疫情期间一次性食品福利对支出、生活困境与健康的影响

中文摘要

• 2020年夏季，P-EBT福利通常以一次性食品杂货券形式发放，平均每名儿童311美元。• 在发放后的6周内，家庭每周为每名学生支出18–42美元的P-EBT福利。• 家庭使用P-EBT福利的速度慢于使用SNAP福利的速度。• P-EBT发放使低收入家庭的食物困境减少了40%。• 发放后，低收入母亲的心理健康状况有所改善。本文考察了疫情期间向家庭提供一次性实物援助如何影响食物困境、经济福祉和母亲健康。我们研究了一项新计划P-EBT的推出，该计划于2020年春夏期间向每名学生提供价值约300美元的食品杂货券。利用各州项目实施时间的差异，我们发现，在领取福利后的6周内，家庭每周为每名学生支出18–42美元。低收入家庭的家庭食物不足和儿童食物不安全状况在领取后的一个月内下降了27%–49%，母亲的心理健康状况改善了0.9个标准差。

Abstract

• P-EBT benefits typically were paid as a one-time lump sum grocery voucher averaging $311 per child in summer 2020. • Families spent $18–42 of P-EBT per student per week for 6 weeks after payment. • Families spent P-EBT more slowly than they spend SNAP benefits. • P-EBT payments reduced low-income families’ food hardship by 40%. • Low-income mothers’ mental health improved after disbursement. 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.