Through participant observation while grocery shopping, and 37 in-depth interviews with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients, we describe the social meanings of SNAP dollars to low-income Philadelphia residents. We make three contributions to the study of food insecurity and SNAP. First, we confirm the literature showing that SNAP covers less than half of a monthly food budget. Second, we apply the “social meaning of money” theory to show that our respondents did not equate or spend SNAP dollars the same way they spent other forms of money. Spending SNAP dollars allowed for a temporary escape from the stresses of poverty. And third, we describe the cultural capital (habits and shared meanings) that is necessary to feed a family on a limited budget. In the SNAP market, the cultural capital accumulated through poverty is more valuable than the cultural capital obtained through wealth. Thus, we push for a more nuanced understanding of cultural capital among poverty scholars that keeps the focus on the contextual and interactional nature of this concept.

通过在杂货店购物时的参与者观察，以及对补充营养援助计划（SNAP）接受者的37次深入访谈，我们描述了SNAP美元对费城低收入居民的社会意义。我们对粮食不安全和SNAP的研究做出了三点贡献。首先，我们确认文献表明SNAP不足每月食品预算的一半。其次，我们运用“金钱的社会意义”理论来表明，我们的受访者没有像花费其他形式的金钱那样等同于或花费SNAP美元。花费SNAP美元可以暂时摆脱贫困压力。第三，我们描述了在有限的预算下养家糊口所必需的文化资本（习惯和共同含义）。在SNAP市场中，通过贫穷积累的文化资本比通过财富获得的文化资本更有价值。因此，我们力求在贫困学者中对文化资本有更细微的了解，并将重点放在该概念的上下文和交互性质上。