This report examines patterns of SNAP benefit redemption in Fiscal Year 2017 and compares those patterns with findings from two similar studies conducted for Fiscal Years 2003 and 2009.

The SNAP E&T pilot projects give Congress, USDA, and states the opportunity to test innovative strategies and approaches that connect low-income households to good paying jobs and thereby reduce their reliance on public assistance.

Section 4022 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 authorized and funded the SNAP E&T pilots, which enabled the USDA Food and Nutrition Service and states to expand SNAP E&T programs and test innovative strategies to connect SNAP participants with good-paying jobs, thereby increasing their incomes and reducing the need for nutrition assistance benefits. This is the fifth annual report to Congress.