%0 Journal Article
%T Food Instability and Academic Achievement: A Quasi
%A Anna Gassman-Pines
%A Laura Bellows
%J American Educational Research Journal
%@ 1935-1011
%D 2018
%R 10.3102/0002831218761337
%X Although social policies aimed at low-income families are thought to promote childrenĄ¯s educational success, little research has examined how these policies are related to childrenĄ¯s academic achievement. This article focuses on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the United StatesĄ¯ largest food assistance program. Using administrative data on over 148,000 SNAP-receiving public school children, we analyze the recency of SNAP benefit transfer and childrenĄ¯s end-of-grade math and reading achievement test scores. Results indicate differences in studentsĄ¯ math and reading performance based on the recency of SNAP benefit transfer. Although the relationship is stronger for reading than for math, the relationship between studentsĄ¯ test scores and SNAP transfer is roughly curvilinear. Test scores peak in the third week following benefit transfer
%K food stamps
%K SNAP
%K academic achievement
%K poverty
%K low-income children
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.3102/0002831218761337