The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

The modern program was established as part of the War on Poverty in the 1960s but has undergone mass changed since then (Edin, 2014). One being that the government gives out electronic debit cards, rather than stamps, for buying food. Since 2008, the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program has become the largest food assistance program in the U.S. It serves greater than 45 million people in the U.S and is a critical safety net program for health and nutrition in the U.S (The History of SNAP, para.

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).

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

Obesity in Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) participants is a problem that needs to be addressed through an effective intervention. The problem is that even though SNAP provides resources to food insecure individuals, the food being provided is not nutritious and is thus contributing to the high rates of obesity in SNAP participants. The most effective way to address this issue is through nutrition education for these participants. At least two intervention programs have worked in the past, with a few improvements that could be made. Looking at two different intervention programs and funding options will help determine the most effective methods for relieving this issue. When the benefits and obstacles of each intervention are understood, the best program can be established, funded, and implemented to best serve the population. Using nutrition education methods to alleviate obesity in SNAP participants through SNAP-Ed and WIC Health are the most effective in terms of the textbook’s theory layout.

Formerly known as the Food Stamp Program (FSP), The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the largest federal nutrition-assistance program and exists to protect low-income Americans from hunger and its associated consequences by increasing access to food. Approximately 44 million people received SNAP benefits this year as of August of 2016.1 Due to the fact that low-income Americans tend to have problems with obesity and poor diet2,3, it would make sense that there would be interest to endorse healthy choices by means of federally nutrition assistance programs.4 However, there is insufficient evidence to require SNAP participants to spend a certain percentage of their benefits on healthy foods because food stamp participation may not contribute to poor diet quality, restrictions may not be effective in changing what food stamp participants purchase, and there is no solid evidence that exists that Food Stamp Program participation directly leads to obesity.

The first major reform to the program came with the Food Stamp Act of 1977. This Act removed categorical eligibility, created 10 categories of excluded income, and standardized the deductions used to calculate net income (United States Department of Agriculture, 2014). Purchase requirements were also dropped that year (Karger & Stoesz, 2014).In the late 1980s, the program began to look like the SNAP program that exists today. The Hunger Prevention Act of 1988 permitted pilot projects to test the use of automated benefit cards to distribute food stamps, which would lead to the development of Electronic Benefit Transfer ( EBT) cards, the sole method of benefit delivery as of 2004 (United States Department of Agriculture, 2014). One of the most recent changes to the program came from the Farm Bill of 2008. This legislation increased funding to the program by over $10 billion dollars over the next 10 years, as well as changed the name of the program to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in order to combat stigma (United States Department of Agriculture, 2014). Other major changes from this bill include the acknowledgement of EBT as the sole form of benefit transfer, issuance of benefit allotments in one monthly lump sum, and simplified reporting (United States Department of Agriculture,

Food stamps or other words known as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP play a critical part in today’s society. More than 46 million American’s rely on food stamps to get through their everyday life. This program kept 4.9 million people out of poverty in 2012 not to mention the over 2 million kids. Food stamps are a voucher from the government for those on low income, exchangeable for food. Many families that have a large number of members, families that only have one single parent responsible for the entire income, or even the disabled which are unable to work rely heavily on this service just to keep food on the table. Furthermore, this is why this

Program was created in 1964 by President Johnson. In order to get rid of the stigma that the

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, is a government program to help its participants buy food. The amount of money issued each month is calculated by income, number of people in household, and other factors. SNAP benefits create a way for people to eat. But it also helps people in more ways than just filling their stomachs. And yet, there are those who do not see the benefits in continuing this program. If you have never experienced having to use government benefits just to survive day to day, that view is your luxury. Food is important to your health, and when you are not getting the proper nutrients, your health suffers.

Millions of Americans struggle with money every day so they have to lean on government support to get by. Important aspects of the Food Stamp Program, or otherwise known as Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the amount of money funded to each family, the time frame recipients have to participate in SNAP and what the program offers within that certain budget. With the budget provided by the government, some families still do not live comfortably. Parents are

The early 1980s saw a decrease in funding for SNAP, even as participation in the program had continued to grow. In the late 1980s and 1990s, funding levels were increased, but there was a drop in the participation among those eligible (King, 1999). During the welfare reform periods of the mid 1990s, SNAP was one of the federal benefit programs that had limited changes compared to other welfare programs who had more drastic modifications as part of welfare reform. Welfare reform did create limited benefits for immigrants and did not allow those who had drug felonies to receive SNAP. Legislation in the late 1990s created the removal of some of restrictions on immigrants and gave benefits to those with disabilities (Hoynes & Schanzenbach, 2015). In the early 2000s food stamps began moving to Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards, which were later mandated by the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (2002 Farm Bill). The reauthorization of SNAP as part of the 2002 Farm Bill and the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Farm Bill) created many of the eligibility criteria today (Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002; Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008; Young, 2008).

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a federally funded program that allows low income individuals/families to purchase healthy foods when their food budget does not allow it. In California SNAP is known as CalFresh. This program is overseen by The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) -Food and Nutrition Services (FNS). Stakeholders of SNAP are farmers/producers, grocers, hunger, poverty and public health advocates, Departments of Health or Social Services (state), SNAP offices (local), and participants with gross income below 130% of poverty.1,2

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is the United States’ largest public assistance safety net. In a country with the wealth and food resources that the US has, no one should be hungry. Yet, in 2015, over 43 million people in the US were living in poverty (“Hunger

We the United States Department of Agriculture have seen that the so called Food Stamps program, also known as SNAP is being abused by irresponsible adults that use the money provided by the government to buy junk food. Not only are the people of the United States buying none-nutritional food, but they are being misinformed on how to use this government help properly. We as the leaders of the United States must put a stop to this growing problem that is filling the American homes of this nation.

The food stamp entitlement program is the largest entitlement program in the United States with nearly 43 million people using it (Pflaum). “The Food Stamp Program is an integral component of the social safety net in the United States” (Gunderson). It allows people living in poverty to lead somewhat normal lives when it comes to food and daily meals. All 43 million people have passed the three required tests to qualify for the program. The three tests being the gross income test, the net income test, and the assets test. All of these tests combined determine if that single person or family can receive the card to purchase food (Gunderson). If a single person passes all three tests, the Colorado state average amount of money given is $15,444.