Louisiana partners with data firm to boost food stamp enrollment, close 'SNAP gap'

Louisiana is gearing up to deploy a new data analytics tool to identify the neighborhoods experiencing the highest levels of hunger but the lowest levels of food stamp enrollments.

The first-of-its-kind partnership between the state's Department of Children and Family Services, or DCFS, and the California-based data firm UrbanFootprint aims to narrow the so-called "SNAP gap": the difference between those eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and those actually enrolled.

The tool will overlay the state's existing SNAP enrollment data against fine-grain, neighborhood-level estimates of the number of households facing food insecurity. The areas with the biggest disparities will become the focus of outreach campaigns and food distribution efforts.

"There's a huge gap between where applications are being fielded and where you have the greatest needs," said Joe DiStefano, the CEO at UrbanFootprint. "The most vulnerable, highest need communities often are focused on the day-to-day challenge of surviving, and aren't aware of the programs out there."

Read more: https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/article_4b81cac0-93d1-11eb-89b5-b7501a713764.html