SNAP Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: If Involved, Shouldn't the Government's Role in Food Encourage Health?

Federal assistance in the food spectrum has always been troublesome yet necessary.  The Farm Bill covers most of it from SNAP (our federal food stamp program through which low income participants obtain a card used to purchase food) to agricultural subsidies, but I have always wondered why the Farm Bill can not seem to achieve any nutrition goals at all and undermines the health of the American population.  There was debate over a brand new bill versus the continuation of the current one and at the eleventh hour the current one was extended.

My nephew, Jake Kristy, an 8th grader from California,wrote a school project about health care and in his final thought suggested if fruits and vegetables were free and everything else (packaged foods, meats etc.) were highly taxed and expensive, our country would be healthier.  I think he is on to something...but what we see is the opposite.  The government policies make junk food cheaper and make it very tough to be a vegetable grower, especially an organic one.

Susannah inside White Rabbit

Luke outside White Rabbit, a Vero Beach, Fl small organic farm and self serve grocery

SNAP has an N in it.  That N stands for nutrition but, well, even within the varying opinions of that word, it should mean something necessary to survival or at least conducive to survival.  If a family is poor and can not put food on the table are we supposed to think great, cheap Doritos and Coke for everyone, by all means, use my tax dollars.  I see a flaw in this plan when it comes time to decide who foots the medical costs for our population.  That flaw is in my face in large grocery chains and drug store chains.  Drug stores have developed huge grocery sections with everything from canned ravioli to sugar cereals to the gamut of packaged snacks.  So, well, I loved the olden days where food came from markets and grocery stores not these modern times where food is available and eating is encouraged in bookstores, (in my day we would have been told not to drink coffee, it might spill on a book, now it is Starbucks and Barnes and Noble, 'til death do they part), etc.  So drug stores selling more than check-out candy is a little offensive (although I guess the bygone days of an old fashioned soda fountain at the pharmacy represent a different era).  Anyway, I have come to understand that large drug store chains were envious of grocery and large scale everything retailers like Target and Wal-Mart getting so much of the government assisted market share, so they added more and more foods so families can do grocery shopping and spend SNAP money at Rite Aid, Duane Reade and CVS.  But, there is no requirement that a participating market sell fresh food at all and without that crucial requirement even more SNAP money goes to junk food.

What if SNAP could be spent only at farmer's markets?  Then, the poorest members of our society (45 million Americans that use SNAP) would actually eat fruits and vegetables and they would support small local growers instead of agribusiness giants, grocery giants, and well, giant giants that sell everything.  The health care costs in a country where the poorest who want more bang for their buck are encouraged to eat cheap packaged food is huge and burdensome to all.  Politicians talk about wanting to cut back Medicare costs and other medical costs for the uninsured yet getting healthier would automatically and unpolitically cut those costs.  But as long as large companies benefit from the Farm Bill, those costs will rise.

SNAP is just a small part of our agricultural problem.  Subsidies that go to our least healthy foods (soybeans, corn, meat and milk) are a huge challenge and they take away any hope of a level playing field where fresh greens can compete with packaged Fritos.  It is an area where special interests won, Monsanto presides over the GMO fields and huge agribusinesses tied into Monsanto sell commodity crops to huge food factories and the profits are quite, well, huge.  And as long as that Farm Bill money is allowed to go to our very odd and unnatural food chain, well, we will see the corporations continue to reap profits while organic farmers and small, natural and organic packaged food producers struggle to break even.  In as much as there is a huge upswing in farmer's markets and in educated people eating in a more healthy way, it is still a struggle for those who need the help the most, small farmers and low income eaters.

SNAP rules are below as found on the USDA website.  I find them funny, so adamant that you can use food stamps to buy candy and soda and that it would take an act of Congress to change that.  Congress explicitly said it would be unduly burdensome to require that the food be nutritious.  I find it unduly burdensome that our taxes go toward encouraging unhealthy food choices for low income children.

Note:  I am usually all for freedom of choice (see The New York City Soda Debate ) but that is when people are making choices with their own money.

The Rules (from the USDA website)

Eligible Food Items

Households CAN use SNAP benefits to buy:

	Foods for the household to eat, such as:
	--	breads and cereals;
	--	fruits and vegetables;
	--	meats, fish and poultry; and
	--	dairy products.
	Seeds and plants which produce food for the household to eat.

In some areas, restaurants can be authorized to accept SNAP benefits from qualified homeless, elderly, or disabled people in exchange for low-cost meals.

Households CANNOT use SNAP benefits to buy:

	Beer, wine, liquor, cigarettes or tobacco;
	Any nonfood items, such as:
	--	pet foods;
	--	soaps, paper products; and
	--	household supplies.
	Vitamins and medicines.
	Food that will be eaten in the store.
	Hot foods.

Additional Information “Junk Food” & Luxury Items The Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (the Act) defines eligible food as any food or food product for home consumption and also includes seeds and plants which produce food for consumption by SNAP households. The Act precludes the following items from being purchased with SNAP benefits:  alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, hot food and any food sold for on-premises consumption. Nonfood items such as pet foods, soaps, paper products, medicines and vitamins, household supplies, grooming items, and cosmetics, also are ineligible for purchase with SNAP benefits. Soft drinks, candy, cookies, snack crackers, and ice cream are food items and are therefore eligible items Seafood, steak, and bakery cakes are also food items and are therefore eligible items Since the current definition of food is a specific part of the Act, any change to this definition would require action by a member of Congress. Several times in the history of SNAP, Congress had considered placing limits on the types of food that could be purchased with program benefits. However, they concluded that designating foods as luxury or non-nutritious would be administratively costly and burdensome. Further detailed information about the challenges of restricting the use of SNAP benefits can be found here: Report -- Implications of Restricting the use of                Food Stamp Benefits   Energy Drinks When considering the eligibility of energy drinks, and other branded products, the primary determinant is the type of product label chosen by the manufacturer to conform to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines:  Energy drinks that have a nutrition facts label are eligible foods Energy drinks that have a supplement facts label are classified by the FDA as supplements, and are therefore not eligible Live Animals Live animals may not be purchased with SNAP benefits. Pumpkins, Holiday Gift Baskets, and Special Occasion Cakes Pumpkins are edible and eligible for purchase with SNAP benefits. However, inedible gourds and pumpkins that are used solely for ornamental purposes are not eligible items. Gift baskets that contain both food and non-food items, are not eligible for purchase with SNAP benefits if the value of the non-food items exceeds 50 percent of the purchase price. Items such as birthday and other special occasion cakes are eligible for purchase with SNAP benefits as long as the value of non-edible decorations does not exceed 50 percent of the purchase price of the cake. Last modified: 12/19/2012