Summary: Trends In SNAP Participation

This was a large improvement from 2002, when the SNAP participation rate was at only 54 percent. The participation rate among low-income working families increased from 43 percent in 2002 to 65 percent in 2010. SNAP payment efficiency is at an all-time high. Of all public benefit programs, SNAP has one of the most accurate quality control systems. Although there has been a growth in caseloads, the share of SNAP payments has reached a record low in fiscal year 2011 (Rosenbaum, 2013).

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

The effects of the 1996 welfare reform bill helped declined caseloads on the social and economic well-being of fragile families, single mothers, and children. Although, the welfare reform was documented for making several positive changes such as reducing poverty rates, lowering the out of-wedlock childbearing, and formulated a better family structure, it is undeniable that poverty remained high among single mothers and their children. The reality of the matter was that most welfare recipients experienced serious barriers to maintain a stable employment due to their lack of skills, not having anyone available to take care of their young children when they leave for work as well as not gaining long-time employment with decent pay to help foster the family. As a result, most poor women and children were faced with the instability of economic and social future as welfare eligibility exhausted their efforts of supporting their families.

Medicaid, WIC Programs, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program known as “food stamps”, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and HUD which deals with housing are only a few of the programs that are available for the poor and underemployed today. These government programs cost the taxpayers billions of dollars. State and federal government try every year to reduce programs. In Mississippi, Medicaid has been reduced although children and the disabled are still covered. SNAP commonly known as food stamps have also been reduce and restricted to balance both the state and federal government. At the height of the recession, the last few years, has increased the number of single bread winner families seeking help by applying for government welfare programs. We often hear of people selling their food stamps for things that are not approved. These stories are used by the people who do not think that tax money should be used to support people who do not work. Changing the name of “welfare” to TANF has not slowed the

My mother received SNAP benefits for three months while she was unemployed in 2013, but only received $17 a month for a family of three. The most one can receive in SNAP benefits for a family of three is $497. Now that she has a stable job and can afford groceries without the help of government aid, there is no way she ever spends $497 on food. The people who receive the entire amount allotted for their family size should not receive that much. This is more than enough money for a family of three to eat very well every single day, while there are some people in the lower middle class that cannot afford to have three meals a day. My father, for example, went through a time where he made too much money to receive any type of food stamps from the government, but he could not afford to have three meals a day. When he applied for SNAP benefits, he was denied due to the fact that he made around $1,300 per month, which is not very much because he had to pay for rent, a car payment, car insurance, and the utility bills. It was difficult for him to find enough food to make dinner for two people, if I was there over the weekend. The maximum one can make in monthly gross income for a household of one person is $1,245 to be eligible for SNAP benefits (Saddler, dhs.state.il.us). In Figure 1, there is a chart stating the amount of money a household is expected to receive in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.

SNAP benefits are used to buy food at authorized stores only and are the food that is bought is to be consumed at home. Authorized stores can consist of supermarkets, farmers markets and grocery stores. SNAP benefits are not to be used at restaurants,

Eligibility cuts, are cuts that eliminate eligibility for certain categories of households. States will have to cut an average of 10 million people from the program each year from 2021-2026. States also have the choice by lowering the income by providing less money to the programs every month. To achieve a 29 percent overall the House will have to lower the SNAP income limit to a solid 68 percent of the poverty level. The current federal limit is 130 percent of the poverty level. The benefit cuts are cuts that come across the board, states would have to cut an average of more than $40 person per month in 2021-2026. This would require to set the maximum amount to 77 percent of the cost plan for the Thrifty Food Plan, the Agriculture Department, to estimate the cost of nutritional food. With this being such a change families of four will have a significant cut in their families budget. The benefit cuts will cost a family of four nearly $165 per month or close to $2,000 per year

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

Snap helps families bring in food for the family to eat. Most recipients of SNAP are either a child or senior citizen. Food stamp spending is only a tiny part of the overall government spending (Just Harvest). Only two percent was spent in 2012, but nineteen percent of the U.S budget is spent on defense. Food stamp (SNAP) program is highly efficient in terms of taxpayers: it reaches the majority of people who need it and has been shown to unlike our overseas engagements, the food stamps program is highly efficient in terms of bang for the tax-payers’ bucks: it reaches the majority of people who need it and has been shown to take 4.7 million people out of poverty which reduces child poverty by three percent (Just Harvest). Each dollar that is spent on food stamps benefits will double that in economic activity. The majority of Americans have supported the food stamp program and believe that cutting it is the wrong way to go. They believe it would be the wrong way to try to decrease government spending. But a way to reduce government spending is to drug test/screen applicants to guarantee that the money will be spent on food and not sold for drugs etc. They should also look deeper into who they are giving assistant to (Just

According to WTVA News, the Department of Human Services located in Jackson Mississippi has decided to change SNAP benefits. You now have to get a job or be in training for a job to be eligible for SNAP (Jackson 1). The change applies to SNAP recipients 18-49 that are able to work. Over 67,000 Mississippians fall into this category. The Department of Human Services believe some of the MS residents will be able to file new papers saying they have a job or be in some type of training (Jackson 1). This will affect many residents, but it will mostly affect young people who have moved out on their own and are really trying to find a job. In all though, the change will be for the better. People will not just be able to live off the government and

Rather than adhering to a strict set of stereotypical rules regarding eligibility, caseworkers should be give more flexibility and latitude to determine eligibility based on each individual’s unique circumstances, such as student status or unemployment situation. Additionally, individuals in the SNAP program should be given more access to programs and resource that could help them escape whatever situation that caused them to require SNAP to begin with, such as the TRA, a benefit extended to those collecting unemployment benefits. In a CATO Policy Analysis article by Michael Tanner he points out that “according to the USDA nearly 18 million American households remain food insecure” and the food stamp program needs reform. (Snap Failure; The Food Stamp Program Needs Reform, 2013, pg. 1) Currently, the law only allows students to receive SNAP if they have a minimum of a 6 hour school load plus work 20 hours and get paid for work. (Points of Eligibility, 2010, Chapter 5 Section 501). These requirements are more than the standard requirements of a SNAP applicant and these requirements need reformed to be more reasonable for more people to get off of the government treadmill. The regular standards for a one person non-child SNAP applicant only has to work 20 hours a week and employment can be on a paid or unpaid basis. The regular standards for a SNAP applicant do not include any school requirement. (Points of Eligibility,

the unemployed mother who is receiving food stamps and monthly social security unemployment benefits as a serious problem to the welfare system. The program which

The SNAP program is based on the gross income a family makes and does not take into account the expenses that the family has such as school loans, car payments, and even household items such as diapers. Due to this system, many people who are working and making an effort to improve their lives are unable to make progress because this type of

Skepticism of people’s true need ties into the support of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formally known as Food Stamps. By the 1990’s conservatives and some liberals argued that the Johnson-era reforms had created a culture of dependency on government aid. In 1996 Congress overhauled the welfare system by imposing work requirements and putting time limits on cash payments to the needy. This act caused the SNAP rolls to drop, but the economic crisis that began in 2007 pushed the national unemployment rate above 9 percent. With unemployment at an all-time high this forced millions of families to seek government aid. In response to this new need the SNAP program was expanded as part of the stimulus package in 2009. This expansion was intended to be a temporary fix with cuts to the program to being in 2013. The thought

Kimberly Gaskin a single mother of four, works 40,000 dollars annually, she lives in a rental apartment. She pays the car note, insurance along with other debts. Nevertheless, she was finding it hard to provide food for the kids so she decided to apply for The Supplemental Nutritional Program(SNAP), formerly known as food stamps. This is a federal program that provides benefits you can use to buy food to supplement your grocery budget. However, she was declined the privilege of obtaining it because she was told her income is above the poverty line and is not qualified for such program. Every year hundreds of people are granted SNAP under false pretenses, they lie and fabricate documents to be eligible; while honest hard working people who really need the help are being denied. This is an everyday problem in society. There are different techniques that can be taken to change the process of being qualified for SNAP to help people escape generational poverty, these include; doing random drug tests, programs should be offered to help better themselves and the assistance should be granted for a certain about of time for able-bodied people.