Federal food benefit programs can lessen the financial burden for those who are food insecure, but many individuals who qualify for these programs are not enrolled, resulting in a gap between need and provided assistance. One of the most important benefit programs is the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides financial benefits to enable individuals and households to purchase food. According to the 2021 American Community Survey, 2,399 households in Southampton, East Hampton, Southold, Riverhead, and Shelter Island reported receiving food stamps/SNAP benefits in the last 12 months, but almost double that number earn below the federal poverty level (FPL), defined as income of $27,750 or less for a family of four (2022). The Food Environment Equity Dashboard seeks to depict the differences between households in poverty versus those enrolled in SNAP. It should be noted that poverty is not a perfect proxy for SNAP eligibility and that while there are significant overlaps between food insecurity and poverty, there are a host of reasons as to why a household in poverty may not qualify for SNAP, including immigration status and lack of documentation. Nonetheless, it is our hope that these observations can inform policy and programs to better target unaddressed populations, who are food insecure and likely qualify for benefits, but don’t receive them.

According to recent research conducted by Feeding America, approximately 221,000 people on Long Island suffer from food insecurity. 70% are from minority backgrounds, and are more likely to face systemic education, language, and employment barriers. [1] On the East End, home to some of Long Island’s most popular summer destinations, some villages reported levels of poverty upwards of 30%. This is a stark and perhaps seldom discussed reality that is sometimes hidden by the East End’s reputation as a vacation area with few material challenges. [2] Furthermore, due to the area’s high cost of living, the Welfare to Work Commission of the Suffolk County Legislature states that the true definition of poverty on Long Island is twice the FPL. To pay for basic needs, one would need over three times (3x) the federal poverty line metric.  [3]

A key policy question is the extent to which East End residents who are eligible for SNAP are not receiving these benefits, and whether these “potentially eligible but unenrolled” individuals are concentrated in specific villages/hamlets and towns. Out of the five towns included on the FEED-East End dashboard, Southampton reported the greatest difference between households earning below the FPL and those enrolled in SNAP.  According to data from the 2021 ACS, over 60% of Southampton households with an income at or below the 1x the federal poverty level did not report enrollment in SNAP or other food benefits. These disparities between high poverty and gaps in SNAP enrollment were also seen at the village/hamlet levels: The census-designated place (CDP) of Springs, reported a household poverty rate of nearly 16.7%, but nearly a quarter of these households were not enrolled in SNAP. In the hamlet and CDP of Northwest Harbor, 19.3% of households are in poverty, but nearly a third remained unregistered for benefits. 

To examine the patterns of potentially SNAP eligible but unenrolled people, we developed this dashboard to visualize household poverty rates at the village/hamlet level and color coded these measures in accordance to the corresponding town. We also depicted the difference between household poverty level and the number of households that received SNAP benefits in the last year, as a proxy for likely food assistance eligibility. The filters on the right side of the dashboard can be used to narrow findings to specific East End towns or show the spatial distribution of hamlets and villages at poverty levels more attuned to the area’s high cost of living. 

[1] Long Island Cares. 2022. “Impact.” Long Island Cares. https://www.licares.org/who-we-are/impact/.

[2] Long Island Community Foundation. 2023. “All For The East End (AFTEE).” The Long Island Community Foundation. https://licf.org/give/aftee-feed-the-need/.

[3] Welfare to Work Commission. 2022. “Still Struggling in Suburbia: The Unmet Challenges of Poverty in Suffolk County.” Suffolk County Legislature. https://www.scnylegislature.us/DocumentCenter/View/87572/122022-Still-Struggling-in-Suburbia-The-Unmet-Challenges-of-Poverty-in-Suffolk-County-PDF.