The SNAP program provides government funding for low-income people to buy food. It therefore indicates how many people in a region cannot support themselves at a basic level. Differences among racial and ethnic groups may reflect the economic health of these groups, as well as potential disparities in access to economic opportunity.

In 2017-21, 38% of black or African Americans and 34% of Hispanic or Latinos in our region reported participating in the SNAP program, in comparison to 9% of whites and 14% of Asians. While white participation rates were on par with state and national levels, Hispanic or Latino and black or African American participation rates were higher than state and national levels. Hispanic or Latino participation at the regional level decreased by 7 percentage points from 2012-16 to 2017-21, a greater decrease than Hispanic or Latino participation at the national and state level over the same time frame.

Within our region, Monroe County had a participation rate of 39% for blacks or African Americans and 36% for Hispanic or Latinos, compared to a rate of 9% for whites and a 15% for Asian residents. This is largely driven by the City of Rochester, which had a rate of 44% for black or African Americans and 47% for Hispanic or Latinos, a rate of 21% for whites and a rate of 24% for Asians.

Historic and current policies and systems, from racist housing policies to employment discrimination to education systems that fail to equitably serve all populations, have prevented people of color from fully participating in our economy, locking them out of economic opportunity. This has increased the need for some groups to access programs to support basic needs such as SNAP.

The Census Bureau asks people to identify their race (white, African American, etc.) separate from their ethnicity (Hispanic or non-Hispanic). So the totals for these categories cannot be added together, as people show up in both a racial and ethnic group.

The multiyear figures are from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS). Studies have found that ACS estimates of enrollment in public benefit programs tend to underestimate the true rate. The estimates reported above should be considered a lower bound of the true estimate. The bureau combined five years of responses to the survey to provide estimates for smaller geographic areas and increase the precision of its estimates. However, because the information came from a survey, the samples responding to the survey were not always large enough to produce reliable results, especially in small geographic areas. CGR has noted on data tables the estimates with relatively large margins of error. Estimates with three asterisks have the largest margins, plus or minus 50% or more of the estimate. Two asterisks mean plus or minus 35%-50%, and one asterisk means plus or minus 20%-35%. For all estimates, the confidence level is 90%, meaning there is 90% probability the true value (if the whole population were surveyed) would be within the margin of error (or confidence interval). The survey provides data on characteristics of the population that used to be collected only during the decennial census.

Studies have found that national survey estimates (including the ACS) of enrollment in public benefit programs tend to underestimate the true rate due to underreporting by participants, when compared with state-level administrative data. Underreporting can occur for a variety of reasons, including the social stigma of program participation and participants' confusion about the source of the services they receive. For these reasons, the estimates reported above should be considered a lower bound of the true figure.

Data for this indicator are expected to be released in December.