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Abstract
This paper studies the effect of SNAP benefits on Food Away From Home (FAFH) expenditure. The study contributes to a sparse amount of literature that examines where SNAP recipients spend their benefits. A causal link has been shown to exist in recent literature between FAFH and obesity which makes this paper timely and relevant. This study makes a theoretical contribution to SNAP-related literature by incorporating household food security status as a determinant of consumption decisions. Empirical estimation is conducted by comparing the consumption patterns of SNAP participants relative to SNAP-eligible non-participants. The results show that SNAP participation significantly decreases FAFH consumption and that this effect is substantially different for households of different food security levels.