A study of schools throughout the city of Chicago has found that detention and suspension rates increase towards the end of each month and sharply decrease at the beginning of the next. The main culprit, they believe, may be the students’ diets. The study links the behavior with spending patterns associated to the national food-stamp program, SNAP. People who receive SNAP benefits tend to bulk buy their food in the beginning of the month leaving some households bare by the end. Lisa Gennetian, managing director of the behavioral economics research think tank Ideas42, thinks it’s time for a change.
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