Authored by Megan Elliott via CheatSheet.com,

Politicians may fret about welfare recipients loading up their carts with non-essentials, but more than 44 million people rely on food stamps to feed their families. With the average food stamp recipient receiving $125.79 per month in benefits, let’s take a look at what they’re buying the most, according to research from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The researchers present their data with a couple of caveats. For one, the data analyzed doesn’t include purchases from outlets like farmers markets. In addition, when people use both SNAP benefits and cash or a credit or debit card to make a purchase, it’s impossible to determine which items had been purchased using food stamps and which had been bought with the person’s own money.

Finally, the researchers note the difference in spending on various items was often very small. At first glance, it looks like food stamp households spend far more money on lunch meat (No. 10 out of 100 ranked commodities) than on apples (No. 67). In reality, SNAP recipients spend about half a cent of every food dollar on apples and about 1½ cents of every dollar on lunch meat.

Let’s take a quick look at the 10 items food stamp recipients are most likely to purchase.

10. Lunch meat

Total spending by SNAP households studied: $99.4 million (out of $6.5 billion)

Share of spending: 1.51%

SNAP households spend about 1½ cents of every dollar on lunch meat — roughly the same as non-SNAP households.

9. Frozen handheld foods and snacks

Total spending by SNAP households studied: $101.5 million

Share of spending: 1.54%

Frozen handheld foods and snacks account for 1.54% of total food expenditures for food stamp users, making them the ninth most popular item. Hot Pockets and similar snacks rank 47th for non-SNAP households, who spend 0.68% of their grocery budget on these items.

8. Fresh chicken

Total spending by SNAP households studied: $121.4 million

Share of spending: 1.85%

Food stamp recipients spend slightly more on fresh chicken than non-food stamp users — 1.85% of their grocery budget vs. 1.52%.

7. Cold cereal

Total spending by SNAP households studied: $139.2 million

Share of spending: 2.12%

Cold cereal is the seventh most-purchased item for both groups of households, though those on food stamps devote slightly more of their budget to boxes of Chex and Cheerios (2.12% vs. 1.85% for non-food stamp families).

6. Baked breads

Total spending by SNAP households studied: $163.7 million

Share of spending: 2.49%

People who aren’t on food stamps spend a bit more on baked breads. At 2.78% of the typical family’s grocery spending, it’s the fourth most-purchased item. Among food stamp households, it comes in sixth.

5. Cheese

Total spending by SNAP households studied: $186.4 million

Share of spending: 2.83%

Cheese spending is roughly the same among both groups of shoppers, with people not on food stamps devoting a bit more of their budget (3.01%) to blocks of cheddar and Swiss.

4. Bagged snacks

Total spending by SNAP households studied: $199.3 million

Share of spending: 3.03%

Bagged snack foods come in fourth on the list of items most often purchased by food stamp recipients. Chips and pretzels take fifth place among households not on food stamps.

3. Ground beef

Total spending by SNAP households studied: $201 million

Share of spending: 3.05%

People on food stamps buy more ground beef than other shoppers. It accounts for 3.05% of their total food spending, compared to just under 2% for those not on SNAP.

2. Milk

Total spending by SNAP households studied: $253.7 million

Share of spending: 3.85%

Spending on milk is roughly the same for both groups of grocery shoppers (3.85% vs. 4.03%). Among non-SNAP households, it claims the biggest share of grocery budgets.

1. Soda

Total spending by SNAP households studied: $357.7 million

Share of spending: 5.44%

The top item purchased by food stamp recipients is likely to raise some eyebrows among those who fret about people using benefits to buy junk food. Spending on soda and other sweetened beverages is “slightly higher for SNAP households compared to non-SNAP households (5 cents versus 4 cents per dollar),” the researchers note. Soda is the second most-purchased commodity among people who aren’t on food stamps.