The SNAP program provides government funding for people with low incomes to buy food. It therefore is an indication of how many people in a region rely on government assistance to meet their basic needs. 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 2018-22, 22% of African Americans and 18% of Hispanics in Westchester County participated in the SNAP program, compared to 5% of Asians and 4% of White households. Rates among African American, Hispanic and Asian households increased modestly from 2008-12 (by four, one and two percentage points, respectively), while rates among Whites were essentially flat.

Participation among all groups in Westchester County was below state and national levels. Rates among African American and Hispanic households were higher or the same in Westchester as in both Rockland and Nassau. Rates in Yonkers were higher than the County for all groups: Hispanics (26%), African Americans (25%), and Whites (10%), the Asian population was too small to report reliable data.

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 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, compared to state counts of program participants. 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 estimate.