Food insecurity can be “broadly defined as limited access to adequate food” (Nguyen, Shuval, Bertmann, & Yaroch, 2015). While you might think that low-income people who don't know where their next meal will come from are thin or underweight, many who face food insecurity instead struggle with obesity. This paradox may be the result of the same programs implemented to combat food insecurity in low-income families. SNAP stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, a federal assistance program that gives families money for food based on income and need. According to a study conducted by the USDA, “SNAP participants were more likely to be obese than income-eligible, higher-income nonparticipants,” with SNAP participants being 40% more likely to be obese ( 2015). The problem is that, although SNAP provides resources to food-insecure individuals, the food provided is not nutritious and thus contributes to the high rates of obesity among SNAP participants. Healthcare costs and mortality increase as more individuals become obese. Preventing these problems from occurring by implementing nutrition education will increase the overall health of SNAP participants and reduce healthcare costs. In order to determine the prevalence of households experiencing food insecurity, “The Food Security Supplement is administered to approximately 45,000 households annually as part of the monthly, nationally representative Current Population Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau . The supplement has been conducted annually since 1995.” (Health Indicators Warehouse, 2013). The survey was developed by the USDA in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and asks participants questions about their confidence... half of paper ......education programs work to assist these families. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program has been very beneficial to many families who don't know where their next meal will come from, by providing them with the resources to purchase food. Many of these food insecure families, however, face high rates of obesity leading to a host of other health problems. Research has shown that increasing nutrition education through programs that teach people to read labels and balance their diets works and can reduce obesity rates. Low-income and minority families, the populations most affected by food insecurity and obesity, are particularly in need of nutrition education. By extending nutrition education to families most at risk for obesity, a public health initiative could reduce obesity levels among SNAP participants.