Food insecurity, defined as uncertain access to adequate, nutritious food (US Department of Agriculture. Economic Research Service, 2023), is a public health problem that is associated with an increased risk of adverse health behaviors and outcomes (Sanjeevi and Sachdev, 2021; Fang et al., 2021; Sun et al., 2020). The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated challenges to food accessibility and affordability in the United States (US) (Wolfson and Leung, 2020), with low-income and racial/ethnic minority individuals being disproportionately affected by food insecurity during the pandemic (Kim-Mozeleski et al., 2023; Ohri-Vachaspati et al., 2021). High food price inflation in 2022 could have further increased food insecurity by reducing the food purchasing power of low-income families (Waxman et al., 2022). Of the nutrition assistance programs in the US, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the largest (Sanjeevi, 2021) and serves as a vital safety net that addresses food insecurity in eligible individuals. The program distributes cash-like benefits to improve food purchasing power of low-income families (Keith-Jennings et al., 2019). In 2019, SNAP served about 35.7 million Americans (United States Department of Agriculture, 2023a). During the pandemic, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) granted flexibilities to states' administrative processes, enabling an increase in SNAP participation. About 39.9 and 41.5 million Americans participated in this program in 2020 and 2021, respectively (United States Department of Agriculture, 2023a). Given the vast reach of SNAP, this program can be leveraged to improve food security of Americans, especially during public health crises.

The Families First Coronavirus Act (FFCA) of March 2020 gave USDA the authority to permit states to temporarily adjust certain processes to facilitate easier application and/or continued SNAP participation by families (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2023). Examples of these waivers include extending certification periods and adjusting reporting requirements, waiving interview requirements and adapting telephonic signature requirements (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2023). In addition to administrative flexibilities, the FFCA authorized the USDA to allow states to boost SNAP benefits via emergency allotments (EA) (United States Department of Agriculture, 2023b). The initial allotment of emergency benefits excluded the lowest-income households, but subsequent legislation enabled all participating households to receive emergency benefits starting April 2021. Previous research has shown that a 15% increase in SNAP benefits, enacted in January 2021, reduced instances of food insufficiency during the pandemic (Bryant and Follett, 2022). Enhancement of SNAP benefits via EA also could have reduced the high burden of food insecurity faced by families during the pandemic and inflation crises; however, 17 states transitioned out from providing EA benefits by end of 2022 (United States Department of Agriculture, 2023b). Further, in states that continued EA issuances in 2023, this temporary increase to benefits lasted until spring 2023, ending after the EA issuances in February 2023 (Rosenbaum et al., 2023). Following EA expiration, the average SNAP participant was expected to receive about $90 less in benefits per month (Rosenbaum et al., 2023). The objective of this research is to examine the impact of EA discontinuation on food insufficiency using a quasi-experimental design. Due to heterogeneity in development and persistence of food insecurity by race/ethnicity and income (Kim-Mozeleski et al., 2023), another objective is to investigate the association of EA rollback with food insufficiency across racial/ethnic subgroups and household income categories.