Urban-Rural Disparities in Perceived Benefits and Challenges for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Participation

Purpose: This research investigates the perceived benefits and challenges of participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) among households with young children across urban and rural Nebraska, aiming to address the limited exploration of disparities in its reach. Design: Cross-Sectional (SNAP-Ed Needs and Assets Assessment). Setting: Households across Nebraska. Participants: Low-income families with at least 1 child aged 6 or younger (n = 1040). Measures: Perceived benefits and challenges to SNAP participation across urban-rural populations, controlling for race, income, and education. Analysis: Chi-square tests and logistic regression with Benjamini-Hochberg correction. Results: Overall, financial need was perceived as the top reported benefit, while time and efforts for recertification were the top challenge. Rural residents perceived financial need (P < 001) and ability to have enough healthy food (P < 05) as major drivers for SNAP enrollment, whereas urban residents perceived previous SNAP-Ed participation (P < 001) and positive peer influence (P < 01) as benefits. Rural respondents perceived greater challenges in SNAP application requiring more time and effort (P < 001), while urban respondents had significantly higher concerns about native language accessibility (P < 001), poor customer service (P < 05), and unwillingness to depend on government agencies (P < 05). Conclusion: Geographically and culturally tailored SNAP-Ed interventions and streamlined application processes are required to address the urban-rural disparities.