Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Food Insecurity, Dietary Quality, And Obesity Among Us Adults

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.

SNAP is the foundation of nutrition assistance programs. This program provides over 47 million individuals in nearly 23 million low-income households. The eligibility is not restricted to certain groups of individuals, and because of this, SNAP serves a vast amount of families with children, elderly people, and individuals with disabilities. Others eligible for SNAP include families with adults who work in low-wage jobs, unemployed workers, and those with a fixed income. The SNAP Program assists about 72 percent of people who live in households with children. Nearly 25 percent of households with seniors and individuals with disabilities, are also assisted (Rosenbaum, 2013).

The demographic characteristics of the senior population has been changing over time. The rise in diversity and the geographic placement of seniors can provide an opportunity to examine their use of the social program SNAP. Characteristics of food insecurity such a geography and race correlate with higher rates of food insecurity and as these same characteristics continue to grow in the senior population. Since seniors have the lowest rates of SNAP participation versus other age groups, and their rates of food insecurity continue to grow it is important to examine what characteristics impact the likelihood of SNAP take up among this population.

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.

As of 2013, one sixth of the entire country was enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Through this program, 47 million Americans are given federal financial aid to purchase fresh groceries (Plumer). One of the highly debated provisions of the SNAP program is what participants should be allowed to use their food stamps for. As of right now, food stamps can only be used to purchase food that can be cooked or eaten at home, preventing families from spending the federal aid at restaurants (USDA). Recently, the fast food corporation YUM!, which owns Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut, has lobbied to change this restriction (USA Today). Should people benefitting from the SNAP program have the right to spend their money on

A History of Food Stamps The primary goal of food stamps is to increase food security and reduce national hunger in the United States. Each year, out of the one trillion dollars that the United States Government has to spend on assistance and welfare, food stamps takes up about 70 billion dollars (The History of NAP). The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP or previously known as the “Food Stamp Program) started through the Agriculture Adjustment Act (AAA) and since then has spread around its influence and authority and grown in size (Mary Clare Jalonick Associated). Throughout the past 80 years, the Food Stamp Program has been modified and reformatted, and today it aids more than 44 million Americans (Rude, Emelyn).

With SNAP’s fundamental purpose of feeding poverty level people, it also has other goals, too. They protect families from hunger and hardships, protecting the overall economy, lessening the extent and severity of poverty and hardship, supporting and encouraging work, support healthy eating, and respond quickly to disasters. All in 2017, SNAP has helped households affected by hurricanes, such Hurricane Harvey, Maria, and Irma, in Texas, Louisiana, Florida, and the U.S. Virgin by giving them food to eat when their property has been destroyed (Policy

Food is something precious and is a need to all living beings. Food stamps are given by SNAP formerly called the Food Stamp Program, is the nation's largest nutrition assistance program and a key automatic stabilizer of family well-being during economic downturns. It also provides important nutritional support for low-wage working families, seniors, and people with disabilities living on fixed incomes. Food stamps are beneficial to low income families because it provides food for those cannot afford it.

Food assistance programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), were created with the intention to provide nutritional support to low-income households. Currently, SNAP benefits can be used to buy prepackaged and fresh foods. A proposed bill is in place to limit the types of products that can be bought through SNAP to only food staples. Within Congressional District 21 specifically, the expected legislative changes in SNAP will leave oat farmers better off and venison producers will be worse off.

In regards to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the purpose of the organization could be described as insuring that eligible, low-income individuals and families have access to nutritional and economic benefits. According to the United Stated Department of Agriculture, SNAP is the largest program in the domestic hunger safety net (USDA, 2016). The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) assists state agencies, nutrition educators, neighborhood, and faith-based organizations to ensure that those deemed eligible for nutritional assistance are able to make informed decisions in regards to applying for the program and are able to access benefits. The FNS also works with state partners and the retail community

I can no longer eat eggs by themselves. I can’t eat them scrambled, poached, sunny side up, in an omelet or even on a McGriddle from McDonalds. They were forever ruined for me, because of my childhood. Many days we would have eggs for breakfast and then have egg variations for dinner. They were a very inexpensive and filling food, which were essential qualities for us. My mom has been a single mother of two for all of my life. My brother was two when she had me and although love was abundant in the household, money never was. We ended up moving in with my grandparents to help with the cost of living, but still times were tough. I can remember bits and pieces of our financial hardships throughout the years, like having to go to our local church for school supplies and clothes before school started. However, our biggest financial support came from when we started receiving SNAP. We received SNAP benefits from the time I was seven all the way up until I was in the eighth grade and I can’t imagine where my family would have been without it. In this paper, I will be delving into the history and transformation of the program that would go on to save not only the lives of my family, but the lives of many other families, as well.

Well, SNAP stands for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program which formerly known as food stamps. A lot of people get food stamps because they have low income, don’t have a job and can’t support the kids so the government help with out with food stamp where they get their food from. The SNAP program doesn’t just give out money to whoever applies because if you have a decent paying job you won’t be needing it. There are a lot of programs that our children can get in the school for example, the NSLP which helps children from all over the country to get free lunch but it all depends on parents or guardian income.

Data in 2015 from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports the number of Americans receiving food stamps, or SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) was forty-six (46) million with a price tag of $76.1 billion annually. That number is up from 2010 when

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

SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, has been in existence since May 16, 1939. The original food stamp program allowed consumers to purchase food stamps, essentially giving them $1.50 for every dollar they spent on food. It was meant to get farm surpluses to urban areas where people were undernourished (USDA). SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, is designed to reduce food insecurity, which can be described as reduced food intake, disrupted eating patterns due to lack of money or