The SNAP participation rate shows how many households in Champaign County receive SNAP benefits, as a percentage of the total number of households in the county. The SNAP participation rate can serve as an indicator of poverty and need in the area, as income-based thresholds establish SNAP eligibility. However, not every household in poverty receives SNAP benefits, as can be determined by comparing the poverty rate between 2005 and 2023 and the percentage of households receiving SNAP benefits between 2005 and 2023.

The number of households and the percentage of households receiving SNAP benefits was higher in 2023 than in 2005, but we cannot establish a trend based on year-to-year changes, as in many years these changes are not statistically significant.

SNAP participation data was sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) 1-Year Estimates, which are released annually.

As with any datasets that are estimates rather than exact counts, it is important to take into account the margins of error (listed in the column beside each figure) when drawing conclusions from the data.

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, instead of providing the standard 1-year data products, the Census Bureau released experimental estimates from the 1-year data in 2020. This includes a limited number of data tables for the nation, states, and the District of Columbia. The Census Bureau states that the 2020 ACS 1-year experimental tables use an experimental estimation methodology and should not be compared with other ACS data. For these reasons, and because data is not available for Champaign County, no data for 2020 is included in this Indicator.

For interested data users, the 2020 ACS 1-Year Experimental data release includes a dataset on Receipt of Food Stamps/SNAP in the Past 12 Months by Presence of Children Under 18 Years for Households.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2023 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S2201; generated by CCRPC staff; using data.census.gov; (17 October 2024).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2022 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S2201; generated by CCRPC staff; using data.census.gov; (26 September 2023).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2021 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S2201; generated by CCRPC staff; using data.census.gov; (5 October 2022).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2019 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S2201; generated by CCRPC staff; using data.census.gov; (8 June 2021).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2018 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S2201; generated by CCRPC staff; using data.census.gov; (8 June 2021).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2017 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S2201; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (13 September 2018).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2016 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S2201; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (14 September 2017).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2015 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S2201; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (19 September 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2014 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S2201; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2013 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S2201; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2012 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S2201; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S2201; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2010 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S2201; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2009 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S2201; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2008 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S2201; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2007 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S2201; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2006 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S2201; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2005 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S2201; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the largest of the domestic nutrition assistance programs administered by the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). SNAP provides millions of Americans with the means to purchase food for a nutritious diet. During fiscal year (FY) 2021, SNAP served an average of 41.6 million people monthly and paid out $108 billion in benefits, including emergency allotments to supplement SNAP benefits during the COVID-19 public health emergency.The characteristics of SNAP participants and households and the size of the SNAP caseload change over time in response to changes in program rules as well as economic and demographic trends. To quantify these changes or estimate the effect of adjustments to program rules on the current SNAP caseload, FNS relies on data from the SNAP Quality Control (QC) Database. This database is an edited version of the raw data file of monthly case reviews that are conducted by State SNAP agencies to assess the accuracy of eligibility determinations and benefit calculations for their SNAP caseloads. These data cover the last three months of FY 2021.

United States CES: IBT: Public Assistance, Suppl Sec Income, Food Stamps data was reported at 460.000 USD in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 519.000 USD for 2016. United States CES: IBT: Public Assistance, Suppl Sec Income, Food Stamps data is updated yearly, averaging 376.500 USD from Dec 1984 (Median) to 2017, with 34 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 568.000 USD in 2015 and a record low of 235.000 USD in 1985. United States CES: IBT: Public Assistance, Suppl Sec Income, Food Stamps data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Bureau of Labor Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.H042: Consumer Expenditure Survey.

The 2020-2021 School Neighborhood Poverty Estimates are based on school locations from the 2020-2021 Common Core of Data (CCD) school file and income data from families with children ages 5 to 17 in the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2017-2021 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year collection. The ACS is a continuous household survey that collects social, demographic, economic, and housing information from the population in the United States each month. The Census Bureau calculates the income-to-poverty ratio (IPR) based on money income reported for families relative to the poverty thresholds, which are determined based on the family size and structure. Noncash benefits (such as food stamps and housing subsidies) are excluded, as are capital gains and losses. The IPR is the percentage of family income that is above or below the federal poverty level. The IPR indicator ranges from 0 to a top-coded value of 999. A family with income at the poverty threshold has an IPR value of 100. The estimates in this file reflect the IPR for the neighborhoods around schools which may be different from the neighborhood conditions of students enrolled in schools.All information contained in this file is in the public _domain. Data users are advised to review NCES program documentation and feature class metadata to understand the limitations and appropriate use of these data.

United States CES: West: IBT: Public Assistance, Suppl Sec Income, Food Stamps data was reported at 470.000 USD in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 580.000 USD for 2016. United States CES: West: IBT: Public Assistance, Suppl Sec Income, Food Stamps data is updated yearly, averaging 438.000 USD from Dec 1984 (Median) to 2017, with 34 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 726.000 USD in 1995 and a record low of 185.000 USD in 1985. United States CES: West: IBT: Public Assistance, Suppl Sec Income, Food Stamps data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Bureau of Labor Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.H046: Consumer Expenditure Survey: By Region.

VITAL SIGNS INDICATOR
Poverty (EQ5)

FULL MEASURE NAME
The share of the population living in households that earn less than 200 percent of the federal poverty limit

LAST UPDATED
January 2023

DESCRIPTION
Poverty refers to the share of the population living in households that earn less than 200 percent of the federal poverty limit, which varies based on the number of individuals in a given household. It reflects the number of individuals who are economically struggling due to low household income levels.

DATA SOURCE
U.S Census Bureau: Decennial Census - http://www.nhgis.org
1980-2000

U.S. Census Bureau: American Community Survey - https://data.census.gov/
2007-2021
Form C17002

CONTACT INFORMATION
vitalsigns.info@mtc.ca.gov

METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator)
The U.S. Census Bureau defines a national poverty level (or household income) that varies by household size, number of children in a household, and age of householder. The national poverty level does not vary geographically even though cost of living is different across the United States. For the Bay Area, where cost of living is high and incomes are correspondingly high, an appropriate poverty level is 200% of poverty or twice the national poverty level, consistent with what was used for past equity work at MTC and ABAG. For comparison, however, both the national and 200% poverty levels are presented.

For Vital Signs, the poverty rate is defined as the number of people (including children) living below twice the poverty level divided by the number of people for whom poverty status is determined. The household income definitions for poverty change each year to reflect inflation. The official poverty definition uses money income before taxes and does not include capital gains or non-cash benefits (such as public housing, Medicaid and food stamps).

For the national poverty level definitions by year, see: US Census Bureau Poverty Thresholds - https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/historical-poverty-thresholds.html.

For an explanation on how the Census Bureau measures poverty, see: How the Census Bureau Measures Poverty - https://www.census.gov/topics/income-poverty/poverty/guidance/poverty-measures.html.

American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year data is used for larger geographies – Bay counties and most metropolitan area counties – while smaller geographies rely upon 5-year rolling average data due to their smaller sample sizes. Note that 2020 data uses the 5-year estimates because the ACS did not collect 1-year data for 2020.

To be consistent across metropolitan areas, the poverty definition for non-Bay Area metros is twice the national poverty level. Data were not adjusted for varying income and cost of living levels across the metropolitan areas.

List of SNAP Centers that offer temporary financial assistance, food stamps and Medicaid to eligible individuals.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) program that helps low-income families and individuals buy healthy food. In Michigan, SNAP benefits are available through the Food Assistance Program (FAP), which is administered by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and through MI Bridges. Participants in the program receive SNAP funds on an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card known as the "Michigan Bridge card", which works like a debit card. SNAP funds can be used to purchase nutritious fruit, vegetables, meat, dairy, bread and other products from participating retailers. Many different types of retailers accept the MI Bridges card, including grocery stores, convenience stores, farmers' markets, and more. Please see the MDHHS Food Assistance webpage or log into MI Bridges to learn about eligibility and to apply for the program.This SNAP Retailer dataset includes records from the USDA SNAP Retailer Location dataset that have geographical latitude and longitude coordinates located within the City of Detroit Boundary. A few retailers located outside of Detroit may be included in this dataset if the latitude and longitudinal coordinates provided in the USDA dataset fall within the City of Detroit Boundary. The data is updated every 2 weeks. Each record in the dataset contains data about a retail location, including the retailer's name, address, and whether they participate in the SNAP Healthy Incentive program. Retailer Type definitions are available from the USDA SNAP Store Type Definitions webpage and include convenience stores, farmers and markets, grocery stores, specialty stores, super stores, supermarkets, and restaurant meals programs. Information about the federal program and data is available from the USDA/FNS at the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) website and the SNAP Retailer Data webpage.

Quick Stats is the National Agricultural Statistics Service's (NASS) online, self-service tool to access complete results from the 1997, 2002, 2007, and 2012 Censuses of Agriculture as well as the best source of NASS survey published estimates. The census collects data on all commodities produced on U.S. farms and ranches, as well as detailed information on expenses, income, and operator characteristics. The surveys that NASS conducts collect information on virtually every facet of U.S. agricultural production.

This dataset contains information about Bio Energy Statistics, Fuel Prices for 1981-2021.

Data from U.S. Department of Agriculture

Notes:

Annual Price Avg Price for the Marketing Year Sep Aug Quarterly data represent values according to Marketing Year Sep Aug Q1 Sep Nov, Q2 Dec Feb, Q3 Mar May, Q4 Jun Aug

The 2016-2017 School Neighborhood Poverty Estimates are based on school locations from the 2016-2017 Common Core of Data (CCD) school file and income data from families with children ages 5 to 17 in the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2013-2017 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year collection. The ACS is a continuous household survey that collects social, demographic, economic, and housing information from the population in the United States each month. The Census Bureau calculates the income-to-poverty ratio (IPR) based on money income reported for families relative to the poverty thresholds, which are determined based on the family size and structure. Noncash benefits (such as food stamps and housing subsidies) are excluded, as are capital gains and losses. The IPR is the percentage of family income that is above or below the federal poverty level. The IPR indicator ranges from 0 to a top-coded value of 999. A family with income at the poverty threshold has an IPR value of 100. The estimates in this file reflect the IPR for the neighborhoods around schools which may be different from the neighborhood conditions of students enrolled in schools.All information contained in this file is in the public domain. Data users are advised to review NCES program documentation and feature class metadata to understand the limitations and appropriate use of these data.

This file contains data on race, ethnicity, and gender of U.S. farm and ranch operators collected by the 2007 Census of Agriculture.

The 2015-2016 School Neighborhood Poverty Estimates are based on school locations from the 2015-2016 Common Core of Data (CCD) school file and income data from families with children ages 5 to 17 in the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2012-2016 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year collection. The ACS is a continuous household survey that collects social, demographic, economic, and housing information from the population in the United States each month. The Census Bureau calculates the income-to-poverty ratio (IPR) based on money income reported for families relative to the poverty thresholds, which are determined based on the family size and structure. Noncash benefits (such as food stamps and housing subsidies) are excluded, as are capital gains and losses. The IPR is the percentage of family income that is above or below the federal poverty level. The IPR indicator ranges from 0 to a top-coded value of 999. A family with income at the poverty threshold has an IPR value of 100. The estimates in this file reflect the IPR for the neighborhoods around schools which may be different from the neighborhood conditions of students enrolled in schools. All information contained in this file is in the public domain. Data users are advised to review NCES program documentation and feature class metadata to understand the limitations and appropriate use of these data.

Dataset

This dataset was created by Subhajit Sahu

Released under Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Contents

The 2017-2018 School Neighborhood Poverty Estimates are based on school locations from the 2017-2018 Common Core of Data (CCD) school file and income data from families with children ages 5 to 17 in the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2014-2018 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year collection. The ACS is a continuous household survey that collects social, demographic, economic, and housing information from the population in the United States each month. The Census Bureau calculates the income-to-poverty ratio (IPR) based on money income reported for families relative to the poverty thresholds, which are determined based on the family size and structure. Noncash benefits (such as food stamps and housing subsidies) are excluded, as are capital gains and losses. The IPR is the percentage of family income that is above or below the federal poverty level. The IPR indicator ranges from 0 to a top-coded value of 999. A family with income at the poverty threshold has an IPR value of 100. The estimates in this file reflect the IPR for the neighborhoods around schools which may be different from the neighborhood conditions of students enrolled in schools.All information contained in this file is in the public domain. Data users are advised to review NCES program documentation and feature class metadata to understand the limitations and appropriate use of these data.

The 2018-2019 School Neighborhood Poverty Estimates are based on school locations from the 2018-2019 Common Core of Data (CCD) school file and income data from families with children ages 5 to 17 in the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2015-2019 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year collection. The ACS is a continuous household survey that collects social, demographic, economic, and housing information from the population in the United States each month. The Census Bureau calculates the income-to-poverty ratio (IPR) based on money income reported for families relative to the poverty thresholds, which are determined based on the family size and structure. Noncash benefits (such as food stamps and housing subsidies) are excluded, as are capital gains and losses. The IPR is the percentage of family income that is above or below the federal poverty level. The IPR indicator ranges from 0 to a top-coded value of 999. A family with income at the poverty threshold has an IPR value of 100. The estimates in this file reflect the IPR for the neighborhoods around schools which may be different from the neighborhood conditions of students enrolled in schools.All information contained in this file is in the public domain. Data users are advised to review NCES program documentation and feature class metadata to understand the limitations and appropriate use of these data.

VITAL SIGNS INDICATOR Poverty (EQ5)

FULL MEASURE NAME The share of the population living in households that earn less than 200 percent of the federal poverty limit

LAST UPDATED December 2018

DESCRIPTION Poverty refers to the share of the population living in households that earn less than 200 percent of the federal poverty limit, which varies based on the number of individuals in a given household. It reflects the number of individuals who are economically struggling due to low household income levels.

DATA SOURCE U.S Census Bureau: Decennial Census http://www.nhgis.org (1980-1990) http://factfinder2.census.gov (2000)

U.S. Census Bureau: American Community Survey Form C17002 (2006-2017) http://api.census.gov

METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator) The U.S. Census Bureau defines a national poverty level (or household income) that varies by household size, number of children in a household, and age of householder. The national poverty level does not vary geographically even though cost of living is different across the United States. For the Bay Area, where cost of living is high and incomes are correspondingly high, an appropriate poverty level is 200% of poverty or twice the national poverty level, consistent with what was used for past equity work at MTC and ABAG. For comparison, however, both the national and 200% poverty levels are presented.

For Vital Signs, the poverty rate is defined as the number of people (including children) living below twice the poverty level divided by the number of people for whom poverty status is determined. Poverty rates do not include unrelated individuals below 15 years old or people who live in the following: institutionalized group quarters, college dormitories, military barracks, and situations without conventional housing. The household income definitions for poverty change each year to reflect inflation. The official poverty definition uses money income before taxes and does not include capital gains or noncash benefits (such as public housing, Medicaid, and food stamps). For the national poverty level definitions by year, see: https://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/data/threshld/index.html For an explanation on how the Census Bureau measures poverty, see: https://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/about/overview/measure.html

For the American Community Survey datasets, 1-year data was used for region, county, and metro areas whereas 5-year rolling average data was used for city and census tract.

To be consistent across metropolitan areas, the poverty definition for non-Bay Area metros is twice the national poverty level. Data were not adjusted for varying income and cost of living levels across the metropolitan areas.

Population of individuals and households receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Cash Assistance (CA), or Medicaid Benefits (MA) as shown on the Borough Consultation Report.

The purpose of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) is to obtain information about the amount and distribution of illness, its effects in terms of disability and chronic impairments, and the kinds of health services people receive. The 1991 Family Resources Supplement includes variables from the core Person File (see NATIONAL HEALTH INTERVIEW SURVEY, 1991 (ICPSR 6049)), including sex, age, race, marital status, veteran status, education, industry and occupation codes, and limits on activity. Variables unique to this supplement cover information about individuals' health benefits (Medicare, Medicaid, private hospital insurance, and employer- or union-based coverage), amount of coverage and income received from employment, number of hours worked per week, benefits (Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Railroad Retirement, disability), public assistance (food stamps, Aid to Families with Dependent Children, length of time on welfare), and income from savings or some other type of bank account. Questions were also asked about the income of family members who are in the armed forces and living at home. (Source: downloaded from ICPSR 7/13/10)

Please Note: This dataset is part of the historical CISER Data Archive Collection and is also available at ICPSR at https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR06510.v1. We highly recommend using the ICPSR version as they may make this dataset available in multiple data formats in the future.

List of Benefits Access Centers that offer temporary financial assistance, food stamps and Medicaid to eligible individuals