The 's Policy Analysis Model

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).

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.

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

The Agricultural Adjustment Act was a law passed by the government of the United States in May 1933, in the midst of the Great Depression. This act was created by the president at the time,

The AAA aimed to restore purchasing power of American Farmers and balance the supply of crops by paying famers in return for a promise not to plant certain crops (US History17). Although the AAA was declared to be unconstitutional by Congress in 1936, it was modified and remained the basis for farming acts. In addition, AAA and similar acts made income generated by 50% higher than it was in 1932 (Rasmussen18). The last program that provided attempted to provide immediate relief to farmers during the Depression was the Resettlement Administration, created in 1935. However, unlike the FCA and AAA, the RA did not provide relief to struggling farmers. Aiming to relocate rural families to communities operated by the federal government, the RA was met with much opposition as it threatened to appropriate land. Only 95 camps were built and only 75,000 farmers benefited from the clean water and amenities that they provided (Legends of America13). The program was eventually taken in by the FSA, which worked to improve the lives of sharecroppers, and completely dissolved during World War I. The programs enacted to provide relief to farmers during the Depression, although not all successful, as a whole allowed millions of farmers to stay on their farms and continue making money during a historic

This system was created in order to fix the agricultural decline. During the Great Depression, there were many food surpluses which caused everything to be cheap. Due to the cheaper prices, millions of farmers were left without any money. In order to fix this issue, the AAA tried to raise the prices of crops by stopping crops from being grown in surplus. Farmers also received money to destroy their own farms, crops, and animals. Despite this disturbing scene, the ruined products and animals were used to help out the country in numerous different ways. For example, products made from butter, cheese, animals, or flower, were given to unemployed families. In 1936, the AAA was affirmed unconstitutional because it put congressional power above local economic

While the SNAP program has been successful in reducing food insecurity, some wonder whether SNAP is as nutritionally beneficial. Here we have assembled relevant information on the role of SNAP in the nutrition of Americans, and areas where there is room for improvement.

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

President Roosevelt and his New Deal tried to ease the pains of the farmers. The Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) was formed to help out the farmers in their time of need. It paid farmers not to farm parts of their land to get prices back up. The Supreme Court ruled the AAA unconstitutional in 1936. Congress responded by passing the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act of 1936, which paid farmers to plant "soil-conserving" crops such as soybeans, or they could leave their land fallow. The AAA helped to lift the burden put on many farmers during the dirty 1930's, but the almost every farmer suffered greatly due to the drought, their farming, and dust

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).

The Agricultural Adjustment Act in Great Depression Era in 1933 was a the United States federal law, part of the New Deal, which reduced agricultural production by paying farmers subsidies not to plant on part of their land and to kill off excess livestock. Its purpose was to reduce crop surplus in order to effectively raise the value of crops. This act represented a transformation about government’s role playing in the country. Before the period, the government only taxed import or export; it didn’t touch economy. But the AAA showed that government started to have power to change its economy.

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.

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