How SNAP Helps an Artist and Small Business Owner Keep Creating

Erin is a full-time visual artist in the Twin Cities who is working to expand their small business and is doing so with the help of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). 

SNAP is a federal nutrition program that provides individuals with a monthly financial benefit to purchase groceries. Erin worked in a grocery store for nearly ten years, so they have been familiar with SNAP for a while, but it wasn’t until a couple of years into building their small business that Erin realized that SNAP could be an option for them. When a friend mentioned that SNAP had provided them with some monthly grocery funds, Erin was inspired to apply.

“I was surprised at how much it affected me,” said Erin of receiving SNAP benefits. “As soon as I got that card in the mail, I immediately went to the grocery store and bought nice proteins. I’m vegan, so it's a lot of beans, it's a lot of tofu… It was awesome to just feel like I didn't have to worry about that.”

SNAP helps Erin take care of themselves by allowing them to purchase the foods that work best for their diet. Erin was surprised when they started looking into SNAP and discovered that, unlike WIC—another federal nutrition program—there were very few limits on what foods were eligible to purchase at the grocery store with SNAP dollars. “I remember being really surprised and delighted that there really aren't those kinds of restrictions on SNAP. It's just whether or not a store chooses to take it,” they said. “It would be so stressful to have to plan a meal wondering whether or not this certain product is eligible, so the fact that it's basically all-encompassing is, I think, really important and really cool.”

Erin appreciates that SNAP takes some of the pressure off them mentally and helps their budget. “This money that I now have freed up because of SNAP, it's money that I get to reinvest in my business,” said Erin. “These first few years are the most crucial for any small business and things would be tighter without SNAP. I'd have to make hard choices.”