The Food, Conservation, And Energy Act Essay

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).

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).

In order to fix the issue of food deserts, the government has started some initiatives to fix the problem. One of the recently created initiatives is the Healthy Food Financing Initiative. The U.S. Departments of Treasury, Agriculture and Health and Human Services partnered with the Obama administration to create this initiative. It is used to provide aid to communities in lower income areas to develop and equip grocery stores, small retailers, corner stores, and farmers markets selling healthy food choices (Let’s Move). The government will use the census to tract and analyze how to split the $35 million budget (US Department of Health and Human Services). The hope of the initiative is to work towards eliminating food deserts within a seven-year span. Other initiatives like

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

Did you know that 17% of Americans in rural areas live below the poverty line, and out of those 17%, 15 million of those individuals are children? (Hunger In America 2014). The month of September was Hunger Action month and many individuals helped raise awareness by taking the Food Stamp (SNAP) Challenge. This challenge consists of an individual living on the SNAP balance of a $6-7 per day budget for food. Many individuals came to the realization that this is a difficult budget, and does not meet the nutritional needs for a family.

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.

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.

The initial program for nutritional support from the government was established in 1964; the program was altered in 1977, and remains the largest federal nutrition program for low-income households (USDA). Census reports from the Department of Agriculture reveal that we more than 47 million low income families rely on the SNAP benefits monthly within the Unites States. However, more than 50% of the recipients are children and elderly residences; about 8% actually receive cash welfare. Approximately 30% of SNAP recipients have earnings, or reside in a household with earnings. Nonetheless, government spending at its highest; money allocated for programs that have little or no monetary return, such as the SNAP program are deemed useless, wasteful, and detrimental to our ever growing capitalist economy. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse

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

As I drive by 2520 Irving Blvd Street, I distinctly recall what it felt like to walk out of the Department of Workforce Services building after I figured out that my family qualified for food stamps. There wasn’t a rainbow that day, after sharp flowing sprinkles fell from the sky. The parking lot was vacant for the most part. As our family walked to our old, beat up car my mother had shed a tear of relief. For some people that don’t know what food stamps (S.N.A.P.) are, it is benefits from the government usually based on total gross income. The total amount of money the state will provide depends on several criteria. Before you judge, which I odds are you’ve already done, given that I just told you that my family was impermanently on public assistance. First off, my mom tried to do everything right. She stayed up late on Wednesday nights clipping coupons. She baked her own bread. She steered away from credit card debt. She drove a 10-year-old car. She even tried to get her GED except her French is stronger than her English and she couldn’t comprehend much. Amongst the United States is handling an ongoing issue about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (S.N.A.P.), which is nearly dropping 47 million Americans whom don’t qualify for food stamps. Overall would increasing hardship and food insecurities for families that severely need it. While some people milk the system and don’t benefit our country trying to abuse it we will talk about how great the amount of cuts

Consumers have become increasingly detached from their food as America’s food system grows larger and continues to ruin the environment. The main problem is that most consumers do not know how their consumption habits affect the ecosystem around them. Nor do they know about how their food was produced. Information about how and where the food is being produced and wasted is essential, so people can shop responsibly. Short of legislation, Americans make choices at the grocery store. It is essential for all Americans to cast in a vote with their dollars to change the way that food is produced in the United States resulting in more sustainable food being more accessible in the aisles of the grocery store for all Americans.

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

Food insecurity is an issue faced by millions of Americans every day, and the biggest group affected by this are working families with children. Food insecurity is so big that the United States government have now recognized it and provided a definition for it. The United States government has defined food insecurity as a household level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food (USDA.gov). Food banks and anti-hunger advocates agree that some of the causes of food insecurity are stagnant wages, increase in housing costs, unemployment, and inflation of the cost of food. These factors and unemployment have cause food banks to see a change in the groups of people needing assistance. Doug O’Brien,

The United States is one of the most developed countries in the world, but we face a drastic problem. Everyone doesn’t have access to healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, and other fresh products. Fresh fruits and vegetables are overpriced, and prepackaged food is cheaper. The only store in your small town is a gas station, and there is no gigantic supermarket within thirty miles. We have tens of thousands of fast food restaurants. Many Americans live paycheck to paycheck and rely on cheap prepackaged food and fast food. Relying on cheap high fat food and not having any other options for food is known as being food insecure. Food insecurity can lead to negative health effects such as obesity In Lisa Miller’s essay “Divided We Eat,” the renowned author states that “17 percent of Americans are food insecure” (Miller 190). That means around fifty million Americans are food insecure. obesity is a huge problem in our country and food insecurity, and fast food and junk food are the cause of it. One way to fix food insecurity is to have more government welfare programs.