Few Alaska households just above the poverty line got SNAP in 2024, United Way report says

Fewer than one in five Alaska households that earn more than the poverty line but not enough to cover basic costs got SNAP food assistance in 2024, according to a United Way report that United Way of Anchorage and Alaska Children's Trust will walk through in a webinar Nov. 19.

Among households below the poverty line, 48% got SNAP, the report says. For households just above it, the share was 18%.

The report calls that second group ALICE, short for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. By its measure, 101,379 Alaska households, or 37.4%, couldn't cover basic costs in 2024: 8.8% below the federal poverty line and 28.6% above it. Alaska's rate was below the national rate of 41%.

"Because ALICE households earn just above the outdated Federal Poverty Level, they are often disqualified from critical public assistance programs like SNAP or Medicaid," the report says.

Alaska's federal poverty level for a family of four was $39,000 in 2024. The report's bare-minimum budget for two adults with an infant and a preschooler was $98,364, covering housing, child care, food, transportation, health care and technology.

The measure is the report's own, and it sets a much higher bar than the federal poverty line. By that measure, hardship was highest in the Kusilvak Census Area, where 73% of households fell short, and among single mothers, at 69%.

The webinar runs from 1 to 2 pm and will cover the data and how people can use it in their work. The national United For ALICE project also has an online tool showing what basics cost in each Alaska community.