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Cash in the pockets of struggling families can help ensure they do not go hungry. Right now, about one in seven Oregonians is food insecure.[1] Analysis of guaranteed income pilots and direct cash transfer programs reveals added cash is an effective means of ensuring families are able to put food on the table.
What is a Guaranteed Income? It’s cash for families who need it most. The cash is:
- Unconditional: There are no hoops families must jump through in order to qualify.
- Unrestricted: Families can spend the money however they need.
- Regular: Payments happen regularly to help families with rent, groceries, and other frequent expenses.
What the research shows:
When given extra cash, families spend it on food
In 2021, Congress temporarily expanded the federal Child Tax Credit by sending families monthly checks as the country recovered from the pandemic.
Families receiving monthly Child Tax Credit (CTC) payments in 2021 were 1.4 times more likely to be able to afford balanced meals. For Black and Latino families, the impact was even more pronounced.[2] Following the first payments of the expanded CTC, the share of families reporting sometimes or often not having enough to eat dropped by 24 percent.[3]
Analysis of guaranteed income pilots reveal similar trends. For example, data from the first year of the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED) shows that recipients’ largest expenditure each month was food, making up at least a third of tracked expenses.[4]
Cash improves nutrition outcomes for families
Added cash in household budgets not only helps families put food on the table, but it also improves nutritional outcomes. Research into pilot programs finds guaranteed income recipients are more likely to be able to prepare meals at home,[5] and families are more likely to have enough so everyone can eat.[6] Indeed, improved nutrition from having additional cash in household budgets is well-documented. Research on the impacts of the Income Maintenance Experiments of the 1960’s and 70’s found persistent positive improvement to nutrition in communities.[7]
A guaranteed income would reduce hunger in Oregon
Hunger is a function of people lacking the resources needed to regularly put food on the table. Research shows that when given unconditional cash, families spend it on the essentials like food. A guaranteed income would help ensure that no Oregon family goes hungry.
Endnotes
[1] Feeding America, Food Insecurity among the Overall Population in Oregon.
[2] Leah Hamilton, et al., The impacts of the 2021 expanded child tax credit on family employment, nutrition, and financial well-being: Findings from the Social Policy Institute’s Child Tax Credit Panel Survey (Wave 2).
[3] Daniel J. Perez-Lopez, Household Pulse Survey Collected Responses Just Before and Just After the Arrival of the First CTC Checks.
[4] Stacia West et al., Preliminary Analysis: SEED’s First Year.
[5] Springboard to Opportunities, The Invaluable Benefits of Investing in Black Women.
[6] Springboard to Opportunities, The Magnolia Mother’s Trust: 2020 Evaluation Report.
[7] Katharine L. Bradbury, Lessons from the Income Maintenance Experiments.
