America, the land of the free and the home of the brave. When one thinks of this beautiful country, they think of the great opportunities that it holds and of the great success it has achieved over the years. However, while this nation does have so many great things about it, it’s time that people notice the ugly truth that is living right in their own hometown. The United States has turned its back on the middle class and the lower class of its society. If someone was to drive through the center of their own town, what would they see? No matter how hard they try to look away, they would see homeless people. They would see ordinary people who were living their life and possibly made bad decisions or who had bad things happen to them. Moreover, they would see an image that people have been fighting to keep silent for years…they would see hunger in America. Although many Americans are lucky enough to live with a roof over their heads and a hot meal in front of them to eat every night, the United States has witnessed a surge in food insecurity and poverty levels since 2008 due to several things. Now there have been a few programs that have been implemented to aid in lowering the number of hungry people in this great nation. In fact, as shown in 2008, just over 28.2 million individuals were receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. In addition, only two years later, that number climbed by a whopping 50% to over 40.3 million people. Every year, this number
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) administers food assistance programs that help provide food for low to no income families. It is their goal to increase food security and reduce hunger by increasing access to food, a healthful diet, and nutrition education for low-income Americans (Caswell, 2013, para. 1). Some of the current nutrition assistance programs include “the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)”(Caswell, 2013, para. 1). SNAP will be the primary nutrition assistance program of the paper at hand. No matter how morally good it is to try to help reduce hunger and increase food security within the United States, there are still many questions regarding issues with SNAP. This paper will be discussing why there is such a strong support for the program, how it helps the United States as a whole, problems with the program, and why some people are against SNAP.
Food stamps are an important component of low-income families’ monthly resources, increasing the chances that families are able to meet basic needs (Ratcliffe, McKernan & Finegold, 2008). This form of food relief dates back to the Great Depression when many Americans lost their jobs and did not have money to feed their families. People were starving while farmers produced abundant crop that could not be sold due to a lack of consumers with buying power (Dorsch, 2013). The Federal Surplus Relief Corporation which was a part of the Agricultural Adjustment Act, bought basic farm goods at low prices and distributed the among hunger relief agencies in different states and local communities (Congressional Digest, 2013).
Tom Vilsack once said “The lack of access to proper nutrition is not only fueling obesity, it is leading to food insecurity and hunger among our children”. In recent years an unruly amount of homes were classified as food insecure, which is a government measurement for when all people are not able to access nutritious foods to help maintain a healthy lifestyle. Hunger is a worldwide problem and is also a crisis in the United States of America. Because of this concern the federal government configured a temporary solution for society, called Food Stamps or now known as SNAPS. SNAPS stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Although this program helps to alleviate America’s hunger problems, it also created a new problem in the
As the US national debt nears $20 trillion, government programs are being looked to be cut, one of those being the SNAP program. SNAP is a federal program which offers nutrition assistance to low income families, by use of food-stamps, while also providing economic benefits to communities (“Supplemental”). SNAP is the largest program in domestic hunger safety (“Supplemental”), the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) works with nutrition educators, faith based organizations, and neighborhood organizations to help those eligible for the SNAP program make informed decisions about applying (“Supplemental”). The FNS also works with the retail community and State partners to improve the program’s integrity and administration (“Supplemental”). The SNAP
It was difficult to read that countless millions of federal dollars and many of our country's most successful efforts to halt the spread of childhood hunger and starvation have recently been withdrawn. And as a result, this problem of childhood hunger is not getting better but is actually getting worse. The most recent estimates compiled by the USDA in 1999 indicate that 36.2 million Americans live in food-insecure households, which means that their access to adequate and safe food is limited or uncertain. This too is very disturbing information.
Also many of the impoverished people have SNAP benefits, but they do not have a grocery store near them to use these benefits at. The Social Work and Social Welfare textbook states that, “The average SNAP grant per household was $287, or $4.30 per person per day.” This means that most people really could not fully feed themselves while using SNAP. The researchers that conducted the study in this article interviewed and observed various different kinds of people in a rural county. The people they interviewed were of all different ages, had lived in the county for different amounts of time, and had different incomes. The researcher spent a long period of time volunteering at the rural food pantries to make relationships with the community members and to observe what challenges they are facing. After spending that time volunteering, they got volunteers to be interviewed using open-ended questions so that they could have a more complete understanding of the challenges of this food desert. A major finding in the study was that people with strong social ties in the communities did not have problems feeding themselves and keeping themselves
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, “Forty-nine million Americans live in food insecure households in today 's society”. This is the problem that the current SNAP program isn’t addressing, that funding is not enough to help these forty-nine million Americans struggling to get enough food to feed themselves and their families. We need to provide them the food that they need in order to survive, but we also must devise a plan to give them the healthiest and inexpensive choices that they deserve. For example, why would it make sense that on average a box of strawberries is more expensive than a bag of chips and it holds less nutritional value? For those that are poor in our society and cannot afford healthy eating, they
Poverty is an issue that can affect anyone. One of the biggest struggles for those living in povery is obtaining and affording food. Thankfully the United States has a food assistance program for people who are living in poverty. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formally known as Food Stamps is a monthly budget specifically for food. While it has not eliminated hunger in the United States, it is a step forward and is also a prevention to hunger in poverty stricken families.
With $30 you can buy the following: 2 pies of Frozen Freschetta 12” Pizza, 1 box of Kellogg’s cereal of your choice, 3 boxes of Barilla Pasta, 2 jars of Barilla Pasta Sauce, 1 pound of turkey breast cold cuts, 1 package of salad blend, 1 and a ½ crown of broccoli, 5 tomatoes on the vine and 8 slices of store-made angel food cake (“ShopRite of Poughkeepsie Weekly Ad Week of April 20 through April 26”). Can you survive on that for a week? The average single able bodied, unemployed Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipient in New York receives around $30 a week to purchase food (“Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program”). The food stamp program was made national by the Food Stamp Act of 1964 by President Lyndon. B. Johnson (“Food Stamps in the U.S”). Today, over 47.6 million Americans rely on the government to buy groceries (“Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program”). The food stamp program is a staple part of our society. However, there was a time when the program was so unpopular that it shut down for almost two decades. In the recent years, food stamp benefits have been on a trend of expanding not only the amount of recipients, but also the amount each recipient receives in benefits. Why has the food stamp program become so popular and supported over the years? And what is the fate of SNAP? The analysis of trends of the policy changes and public moods shows that the size of the food stamp program has changed with the shift in America’s attitude towards
America land of the free and home of the brave or at least that’s what we’re raised to think. The suppression of civil liberties has lingered amongst us since the birth of this nation. To resolve this problem, the federal government is known to introduce legislation in order to balance equality in society. Since companies are bound to the law of the land, they must comply with all rules and regulations but often, largely successful companies will go above and beyond meeting the standard by listening to public opinion. It is often a choice for companies however, to decide which is the best opinion to follow. As a nation we once were in full swing in support of civil liberties but in light of recent events, (such as the
The Food Stamp Program, recently renamed Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, has been helping serve the citizens of America since 1939. This program focuses on providing food at a discounted price to those who qualify. The past has helped shaped and grow this government program, however, it has also had to adjust and change due to new demands and the changing demographics of the population. SNAP has allowed Americans to provide themselves and their families with nutritious meals at a discounted price. However, if the newly proposed restrictions are implemented there would be fewer options available and limit the recipient’s purchasing power.
America, the land of opportunity. A majestic land where barriers are broken and dreams are made into reality. A land where anything is possible with hard work and determination. One may ask what makes a place this possible. The answer to that question is the people. Americans have a certain way about them that makes them different from any other people on earth. All Americans are heroes in some way, but a select few stand out in history as the most influential. One such individual is Jackie Robinson. Robinson redefined racial stereotypes by becoming the first African American baseball player to play Major League Baseball (The Baseball Hall of Fame). Through his courage, determination, and perseverance, his legacy still continues to this date. One could argue numerous reasons that constitute Jackie Robinson as an American hero, but four stand out among the rest. Those reasons being that he fought for what he believed was right, overcame adversity, conquered many athletic feats, and had a lasting legacy. For these reasons Jackie Robinson truly embodies an American hero.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program has changed many families’ diet plans and poverty issues. By having the United States government assist families across the U.S., poverty and hunger in the U.S. has decreased. Although this is true, it is also true that obesity in certain states has increased alongside an increase in junk-food purchases using food stamps. To compensate for this problem, there should be a new set of restrictions imposes in food-stamps purchases.
A Key problem highlighted is the tendency by development agencies to see developing-country situations in terms of what they believe ‘ought to be’ rather that what they ‘actually are.’ (Hendrickson) We as a people have this idea, an idea that we need to fix people. Looking at our country we see how well we have worked. The people trust and understand that the government and military are there both to help and protect the people who live in the United States (US). Countries that have experienced a dictator ship or are in a power vacuum do not understand this trust. They need help. However, the question of ‘how’ will arise. How can the people trust the government? How can we make this change last? How can we take people from an oppressive society to one of security? Taking a look at the past, we can figure out what will work and what has failed. To reform the security sector we have to look inside and then work our way out in order to establish lasting peace. Both Liberia and Macedonia have displayed the problems and benefits that arise when trying to reform the Security Sector politically and in a post-war society.
The 2015 Statistical Analysis Poverty Level Data report shows in the United States, there was an increase in which families’ are able to provide food per person within their household. After the devastating financial and economic crisis in 2008, families have been in financial detriment for years trying to maintain consistency in providing food, support, and shelter. Not until the government 2015 report, there were clear evidence of a sufficient rise in food surplus in low income families since 2008. According to the governmental statistical report, 14% of households were suffering from food deficiency. In other words, 17.5 million households, approximate one out of every seven homes could not provide nourishment on a regular basis. This estimate is down from the last statistical data recorded in 2011 at 14.9%.