Large numbers of Louisiana residents rely on the state’s food stamp program to help cover grocery costs.
Nearly one in five people in Louisiana, about 867,000 low-income residents on average each month, received financial food aid across the last year through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, according to the latest data available from the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services.
About 45% of those recipients were children, the data shows.
The amount of SNAP benefits available to a recipient is based on household size and monthly income. Louisiana’s average payment per household was $372.99 a month since July 2023, the state data shows, an average of more than $159 million in federal aid handed out monthly.
Louisiana provides the benefits to eligible households electronically through a debit-style card called the Louisiana Purchase Card.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture increased emergency SNAP benefits in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. This raised the number of Louisiana residents receiving food aid through the program to a five-year high in January 2021 of 981,751 people, followed by a decline in 2022. The numbers have continued to fluctuate since the sharp drop.
In Louisiana, the Department of Children and Family Services data shows 1 million people live below 125% of the poverty level, which is $39,000 for a family of four. Of those residents, about 76% are receiving SNAP benefits.
The parishes with the lowest percentages of residents participating in the food stamp program are Cameron (4.7%), East Feliciana (8.3%) and West Feliciana (10.7%). Those with the highest percentages of residents receiving SNAP benefits are East Carroll (33.7%), Madison (30.5%) and St. Landry (28.7%).
East Baton Rouge Parish had the highest number of residents in Louisiana receiving SNAP aid in 2024, followed closely by Orleans Parish. In the parishes with the highest number of program recipients, nearly half the beneficiaries were under 18 years old.
Children are getting additional help with food this summer. After initially refusing to participate in a federally funded summer feeding program for children, lawmakers pushed the Department of Children and Family Services to reverse course, and the state rolled out the program in June.
SUN Bucks, also known as the Summer Electronic Benefits (EBT) Program, provided a single payment of $120 per child for low-income families. More information is online at sunbucks.la.gov.
Compared to other Southern states, Louisiana had the most SNAP recipients relative to its total population in 2023.
Emergency allotments temporarily put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic ended nationwide in February 2023. These allotments had allowed households to receive an additional $95 in SNAP benefits or a maximum benefit for their household size.
For more information on SNAP and other services available through the Department of Children and Family Services, visit www.dcfs.la.gov or call 1-888-LAHELP-U (1-888-524-3578).
A special thanks to Covalent Logic for underwriting support of this Snapshot.
PAR Snapshots provide information on trending topics in Louisiana. Unlike PAR commentaries, snapshots do not offer recommendations.
PAR is a private, nonprofit, non-partisan public policy research organization focused on pointing the way toward a more efficient, effective, transparent and accountable Louisiana government. PAR was founded in 1950 and is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization supported by foundation and corporate grants and individual donations. More about PAR at www.parlouisiana.org
