Food Stamp Program 1964

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Policy

Susan Mosteller
SW 2650- Social Welfare Policy
November 15, 2015

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Policy

The social welfare policy I will be discussing in this report is, The Supplemental
Nutrition Program also known as the SNAP program. In this report I will give a description and
reason for the population targeted, discuss the pros and cons of the SNAP policy, the costs to
implement the policy, and my own position and recommendation on the Supplemental Nutrition
Program.
The Supplemental Nutrition Program also known as SNAP first started as the Food
Stamp Program in May of 1939. This beginning program ended in 1943 and was eventually
replaced with the Food Stamp Act of 1964 inevitably being renamed the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program in October of 2008 (Sciences).
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program targets any population that is considered
low income; low income families with children, low income single people, veterans, homeless,
and low income disabled individuals. The Supplemental Nutrition Program also helps families or
individuals who have become temporarily unemployed. Families with children make up the
majority of individuals who utilize the SNAP benefits. That being said, the percentage of the
familys on the SNAP program is about 75 percent.
In 2014 the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program had helped 46 million low
income families and individuals who could not provide enough food for themselves. The
program is a big help to people who need assistance during the downturns of the economy. The
program is a huge support for families who are working yet are not making enough for them and
their children.
When applying for SNAP benefits you do have to be deemed eligible to be provided with
assistance. The eligible rules are set by financial boundary limits according to federal levels. The
federal eligibility is for the most part uniformed across the states. However, some states may
have different rules concerning income and custom tailor the SNAP program to what the state

believes the needs of their citizens are. The criterias that must be met to receive the
Supplemental Nutrition Program are:
1. A person or families gross monthly income eligibility standards must be below 130
percent the national poverty level.
2. As of 2015 household size income limits must not exceed the following to be eligible for
SNAP benefits:
1 person $1,265
2 people $1,705
3 people $2,144
4 people $2,584
5 people $3,024
6 people $3,464
7 people $3,904 (Agrigulture)
In factoring out a person or families monthly income the program does factor in cost of living
expenses, child care, medical costs, and rent/utility expenses making deductions off of the
applicants net income amount.
The positive aspects of the Supplemental Nutrition Program are for the most part obvious.
However, the SNAP program also has many benefits for people and the economy that are not as
obvious. The Supplemental Nutrition Program is one of the most important programs in the
United States that attempts to eliminate hunger. SNAP reduces the chances of people being food
insecure. SNAP currently helps over 40 million Americans avoid hunger every year
(Foundation). Each dollar of SNAP benefits generates an estimated $1.79-$1.84 in economic
activity (Foundation). SNAP benefits help families meet nutritional needs by helping families
with their food cost they can buy more nutritional foods. Eating nutritiously in turn means people
are more likely to be productive and have fewer sick days (Foundation). According to the
USDAs Economic Research Service, each $1 billion of retail generated by SNAP creates $340
million in farm production, $110 million in farm value-added, and 3,300 farm jobs. Every $1
billion of SNAP benefits also creates 8,900-17,900 full-time jobs (Foundation). SNAP benefits

help individuals leaving the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program by supporting
their transition to economic independence and 50% of all new entrants to the SNAP program will
leave the program within 9 months as they become more financially stable (Foundation). One
great thing I feel the SNAP program has started in the past five years is allowing participants the
option to purchase food through local farmers markets. This allows participants to obtain healthy
fresh produce and also boosts the local economy.
Some of the disadvantages of the Supplemental Nutrition Program are the extensive cost to
America to implement the SNAP program. Another concern/con of the program is that people on
SNAP can purchase any kind of food in a grocery store provided its not hot and already
prepared. The problem with this is that many recipients waste their food stamps on chips, candy,
cookies, and junk food with no nutritional value packed full of refined sugars, saturated fats,
additives, and chemicals. Recipients focus on quantity instead of quality with the focus being
solely on how to make it until the next set of food stamps are rationed. Some studies have shown
that the SNAP program has led to increased malnutrition and obesity because of the poor food
choices recipients make (Buzzle).
Another downfall of the Supplemental Nutrition Program is that because it does not let one
buy hot foods that are pre-made the program neglects to take into account the people that are
homeless who do not have access to stoves for cooking the food or refrigerators to store the food.
Some states have now implemented policy allowing many fast-food restaurants to have a
customized SNAP menu that homeless are able to order from using a specially-marked ID card
as a way for the homeless to have access to a hot meal. However, this rule only applies to a
handful of state leaving the homeless that live in states that do not have this rule short on food

options. Often times this forces the homeless to sale food stamps at a fraction of the cost for cash
to buy a hot meal.
The cost to implement the Supplemental Nutrition Program varies every year. In 2013 the
SNAP program cost $79 billion dollars to implement and in 2014 the SNAP program cost $74
billion dollars to implement. Even though SNAP spending dropped to $74 billion last year, it
soared from $21 billion dollars in 2000 to $79 billion dollars in 2013 (USDA).
My personal belief is that the Supplemental Nutrition Program is a program that America
could not live without. However, I also believe that the SNAP program is severely flawed and for
many reasons. People in need are being denied, innocent children are still going hungry, food
stamps are not being monitored, fraud is not being caught, and food handouts come without there
having to be any return work or payback.
There are many families who are actually trying their best to make ends meet to feed their
children but are still going hungry and not eligible for the SNAP program. Great the problem is
that on paper these families look like their income exceeds the national set limits. However, what
isnt being taken into account is their income to debt ratio that plays a big factor in the equation.
Unfortunately this leads us to the problem of, Should the government be responsible to feed
hungry children who live in homes with adequate income who cannot feed their children because
of adults poor spending and debt problems? and an even bigger question of, Regardless of the
situation, should any child go hungry? These are serious questions that need to be addressed.
Another problem with the SNAP program is that every day there are thousands of hungry
children who do not have the right to even get food stamps because they are immigrants who are
not allowed to participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Program. In 2013 the U.S. Social
Security Administration estimated that undocumented immigrants paid $13 billion dollars in

payroll taxes alone for benefits they will never see (Center). Immigrants can receive schooling
and emergency medical care but are not allowed welfare or food stamps and because of this
millions of immigrant children face hunger.
How food stamps are monitored and fraud is another major problem concerning the program.
There is not an adequate way to monitor food stamps and because of this many participants will
use their ration of food stamps and trade them for drugs, cigarettes, and cash instead of feeding
their children. I have known people who have sold food stamps and also known people who
have bought food stamps. Some might say, Why would anyone buy someones food stamps?
Unfortunately, I have witnessed that both parties consider the buying and selling of food stamps
a win/win trade. People buy food stamps because the current market value is the dollar price.
Meaning: If someone says they are selling $100 in food stamps, the person who buys them
actually only pays the seller $50 bucks yet gets $100 in food. The seller doesnt really care
because after all, they were free to the seller in the first place and the buyer doesnt care because
they are more interested in saving money on groceries. Food stamps should be used to make sure
your family eats healthy foods and does not starve. Food stamps should not be used to buy drugs,
cigarettes, or whatever else one sees fit. Participants of the SNAP program and those who
purchase food stamps need to stop abusing the benefits before the government decides to take
away any help that people might need in the future. At a minimum, stores who accept food
stamps should require people to show that their I.D. matches the name on the food stamp card
being used to pay for the food. This will not put an end to this problem but it will make it harder
for people to get away with giving their food stamps card to other people to use.
I believe that the food stamp program should have more rules and criteria for some form of
payback to be eligible to participate in the program. A big majority of the population knows how

easy it is to take advantage of and continually use the system while the hard working people
struggle every day and do not have access to the SNAP program. Food stamps are constantly
being abused, wasted and used fraudulently. Many people use SNAP and other government
programs as a career path and feel there is no need to get a job or feel that if they are having a
rough time at work they can just quit their job, get unemployment, housing, medical benefits,
food stamps, and then forget about having to get a job. I have witnessed many people do this and
these people that I have seen do this think they are set forever by doing nothing and living off the
state welfare programs. Sadly the state allows them to do this and get away with it.
If participants were required to drug test, take nutrition and meal planning classes, and
when they are self-sufficient and off the program be required to pay 5% of their paycheck wages
back to the SNAP program for the period of time they were on the program then more people
would be encouraged to use it while in need and then get off the program as soon as they could.
This would also eliminate a lot of fraud that occurs within the SNAP program.
As a whole, the Supplemental Nutrition Program helps far more families, individuals,
disabled, and veterans than those that abuse the program. However, with a few minor
adjustments to the program SNAP benefits would be able to be utilized by far more in need and
Government spending could be cut by millions.

Bibliography
Agrigulture, U.S. Department of. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). 5 October
2015. 2015. <http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/cost-living-adjustment-cola-information>.
Buzzle. Pros and Cons of Food Stamps. 2015. 2015. <http://www.buzzle.com/articles/pros-andcons-of-food-stamps.html>.
Center, Sothern Poverty Law. 10 Myths About Immigration. 2011. 2015.
<http://www.tolerance.org/immigration-myths>.
Foundation, Aetna. Hunger and Poverty Prevention. 2015. 2015.
<http://www.snaptohealth.org/snap/the-real-benefits-of-the-snap-program/>.
Sciences, National Academy of. Supplemental Nutition Assistance Program: Examining the
Evidence to Define Benefit Adequacy. 2013. 2015.
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK206907/>.
USDA. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Participation and Costs. 6 November 2015.
2015. <http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/pd/SNAPsummary.pdf>.