Description:

A Power BI dashboard using public data on the US Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). See references on the dashboard for specific sources. In general, the data was a mix of US Census, US Department of Agriculture, and local agency data. This dashboard project creates very interesting data insights from county and state level data to help portray service areas and trends over time. Disaggregated data on households provides context on the population served and where. There is also a simple return on investment chart for consideration.

Background:

SNAP is a nutrition assistance program helping to provide monthly allowances to families or individuals to spend on food. The purpose is providing improved levels of nutrition for those who meet eligibility requirements. An official law was signed by Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 to require states to strategize, develop, and implement a food stamps program.¹ SNAP, which has become the successor to food assistance programming, has seen numerous research and quality of life analyses about health outcomes, health cost savings, and long term returns on investment. As quoted by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “it is therefore plausible that policies that expand program eligibility and raise SNAP benefits would improve health and reduce health care costs while policies that limit eligibility and cut benefits would harm health and raise health care costs.”² There are some interesting charts provided by their researchers. Please take a look at the research via my reference list!

Dashboard Info:

The navigation menu is on the bottom, and there are filterable options that affect the chart’s data. The dashboard views are navigable via the buttons on the bottom. However, please view the help menus by hovering them in the lower right-hand corners. Each page will have unique info that will tell you explanations for what is shown. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out via our contact page. I have future update notes in the help menus as well!

Interactivity:

1). Disaggregation is done at the household level and specific county population metrics. I’d love to include more disaggregation for race/ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender identity, or disability status. I would need to see if this data exists and if it will meet the requirements for being publicly disclosable. Privacy and safety are important.

2). For many charts, you can use “CTRL + mouse click” to highlight numerous bars or figures to help with specific analysis or specific breakdowns. Many of the charts are interactive. The “SNAP Stats” page doesn’t have a year filter bar readily available for use, however, all years are selected by default for all charts. Additionally, this current demo only uses county data for MN.

3). Unique tool tips will pop-up over specific charts and provide relevant information. The references page can be navigated to by the home page via the ⓘ

Revision History:

V1.0 – Initial release with full interaction and small datasets for example use cases
V1.1 – Added titles to pages, fixed filter slicers, and updated mobile view – Current: 1.31.26

References:

[1] US. Department of Agriculture. A Short History of SNAP. Food and Nutrition Service. Updated August 29, 2025. https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/history#1964

[2] Carlson S, Llobrera J. SNAP Is Linked With Improved Health Outcomes and Lower Health Care Costs. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Published December 14, 2022.