Essay On Food Stamp Bill

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).

Food Stamp is a government-funded program in the United States. This is a program that helps people buy food for their families; in other words, it is a very important program to families living in poverty. It is the nation’s most important program in the fight against hunger. This program was developed in the 1960’s; it is made to improve the nutrition level and food purchasing power of people with low-income. This program is offered to people who cannot afford to buy groceries for their families, regardless of age, color, sex or religion. Food Stamps can only be used to buy food items not hygiene or household items, and it’s offered only on a monthly basis.

For each of these three recommended actions to be implemented into policy, several things need to occur. For the SNAP policy update and increase in funding recommendation, a general consensus among the United States Department of Agriculture needs to be on board that this is a necessary action. The USDA regulates the SNAP program, so they are the primary agency that would update the policies to further enhance eligible food items and restrict purchasing of unhealthy food. They have the resources of dieticians and medical doctors that understand nutrition, and can differentiate between what healthy and unhealthy food products are. They already have restrictions based on eligible food items, but they do not have any restrictions based on the

It has been reported across media that the number of food stamp recipients has increased tremendously, reaching an all time high of 5 million people (Matt, 2013). The amount forgone is approximately $175 million (Matt, 2013). Of this amount, $75 million has been distributed to individuals who do not meet the eligibility criteria (Matt, 2013). In his research study, Matt (2013) indicated that for every $60 in benefits, Texas doled out close to $6.11 to people or recipients who are not eligible (Matt, 2013). The national average stands at $3.05, which shows that Food Stamp fraud in Texas is alarmingly high (Matt, 2013). This shows clearly that Food Stamp fraud is indeed destroying the economic potential of Texas. The amount used in order to provide benefits to fraudsters is supposed to be used in other areas of economic worth. However, believing that the needy citizens are being assisted, Texas has continued to use its revenues for unwarranted courses of action. Furthermore, the food stamp fraud is costing the tax payers immensely. As such, the cost of benefits provided under this program is met by the tax payers. As such, they must pay some income tax, some of which is channeled into the food stamp course. With an increase in the number of recipients, it means that the tax payers have to forgo more. This, as a result, ensures that those who are economically active continue to suffer at the expense of

In the United States of America, there is enough food in this country that the total amount of agricultural exports is enough to feed everyone twice over (Dorsch, 2013). The problem is that even though there is so much food in this country millions of people require assistance to purchase the food and feed their families. Dating back almost 100 years, the now called Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) has evolved to keep up with the changing needs of the Country. In 1933 SNAP was built into Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA). The AAA was put into law during the great depression. The purpose of the law was to help farmers deal with the excess supply of crops by having the government subsidize the cost. The government would also distribute these crops to relief agencies and local communities (The History of SNAP). In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Food Stamp Act. With this legislation enacted it was now required to purchase stamps. These stamps also had bonus amounts that were determined by income level. In the 90’s and early 2000s major changes were done to SNAP. The electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card was

dollars. Yet, Republicans propose new cuts, by February of this year, to the Food Stamp Program

The federal food stamp program (SNAP), makes up the largest portion of the budget for the US Department of Agriculture.1 In New York alone 15.3% of residents receive benefits from the SNAP program.2 The purpose of SNAP is to provide nutrition to low-income citizens, however SNAP beneficiaries experience higher rates of obesity compared non-reciepiants.3 According to a report published by the USDA, Americans use food stamps to buy more than $600 million worth of “sweetened beverages,” and bought hundreds of millions more of junk food and sugary snacks.4 Lack of regulation and reform to the SNAP program is causing harm to the public.

In the United State, there is a federal nutrition program for low income people to help food budget and buy healthy food. People who have low income in the United States get the food stamps, also known as “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)”. For every month, eligible people who have low income get benefits deposited in to their EBT account. Once they get food stamp, people can purchase food items including seeds and plants to grow food in their house or backyard. It can be used at a grocery store, a supermarket, a farmer 's market, and a shelter that serves meals. However, with all these great benefits, people still eat unhealthy because of too much time consuming, limited money, some food dessert area, and the benefits allow people to eat junk food.

Food stamps have helped a lot of people out and I have no doubt about that in my mind. Many families depend on

Administered by the USDA, the goal of the program is to alleviate hunger and malnutrition for low-income families, adults and seniors. The program is considered one of the largest and most successful solutions in decreasing food insecurity among senior Americans. The USDA pays 100% of all SNAP/Food Stamp benefits to the states that share the administration cost with the federal government. Congress reauthorizes the SNAP program every five years as part of the Farm Bill, the reauthorization determines who is eligible and addresses benefit levels and program accessibility (Fox, Hamilton, & Lin, 2011, p. 30-33). The USDA has implemented a program to create incentive for low-income seniors to purchase more fresh fruits and vegetables using food stamp. The USDA and other state agencies, businesses, nonprofits and the AARP to draw in low-income seniors to eat healthy foods, have supported the program. The program gives increases the number of establishments that accepts food stamp payment by giving dollar for dollar matches for food purchased by eligible seniors. The program labeled as the Seniors Farmers Market Nutrition Program SFMNP also establishes educational programs about good nutrition in area grocery stores and farmer’s markets (USDA, 2015, p.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a government program for low-income individuals and families which allows them to receive nutrition assistance. Previously known as the Federal Food Stamp Program, SNAP was renamed in 2008 to fight stigma of those who participate in the program. The first food stamp program can date back to 1939 and was created by Milo Perkins who was able to see a solution for both farmers who had surpluses of crops and the undernourished population within the town.

House of Representatives member, Phil Roe, introduced a bill to amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008. The Healthy Food Choices Act of 2016 would require the participants of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to use their benefits to purchase items that meet the nutrition requirement proposed by the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children or WIC program (Roe, 2016). According to the United States Department of Agriculture (2016), there were 45,766,672 people participated in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in the 2015 fiscal year. This means that nearly forty-six million people will be affected by the passing of this act and would no longer be able to use SNAP to purchase sugary

The federal government pays 100% of SNAP benefits and the program administration costs are split approximately 50% with the states. No one will argue the social importance of food stamps with the program assisting nearly 5 million a year to feed their families. This morale commitment comes with a price and any deficit reduction strategy will require difficult choices. Program elimination is clearly not an option but state empowerment is a strong avenue to pursue. States have a role in the welfare of their citizens and it is time for that responsibility to be resourced. My recommendation is to require the states to pay 25% of the food stamp costs combined with ensuring able-bodied adults are scrutinized. Implementation of this recommendation will create a debt reduction of $220 billion to the federal

Food stamps are government-issued coupons for low income families. People in America like to take advantage of those coupons and use them for unhealthy food and drinks. In SNAP households, soft drinks are ranked the second highest purchase (Tanner). SNAP is the formerly known program for food stamps. In one study, low income women admitted their babies into a government nutrition assistance program. Researchers confirmed that “The rate of youngsters at risk for obesity fell during the study, from almost 15 percent in 2010 to 12 percent overall in 2014” (Tanner). In that study, the government took control of what food stamps were available, and the obesity rates fell among the families. Additionally, another survey published by SNAP provides a glimpse into the shopping cart of a typical house. As said by a group of Stanford researchers, “Banning sugary drinks for SNAP would be expected to significantly reduce obesity prevalence and type 2 diabetes incidence” (O’Connor). Here, it means, that instead of promoting unhealthy food, the government can give out food stamps that are a healthier alternative for the public . Although this may be true, some people consider that it is society’s responsibility to be healthy. Ryan Schwertfeger, president of the Student Senate concludes, “Those who make healthy choices will have no reason to suffer or worry about those