The Fight for Food Stamps

It’s really no surprise that an outcome of the Recession is an increase in Food Stamp enrollment. It's difficult to find a job, and for many wages are falling.

It’s really no surprise that an outcome of the Recession is an increase in Food Stamp enrollment. It's difficult to find a job, and for many wages are falling. According to the Wall Street Journal, enrollment in SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), as the modern-day food-stamp benefit is known, has soared 70% since 2008 to a record 47.8 million as of December 2012. Recently the House GOP voted to ax $40 billion from the federal food stamp program over the next decade, leaving about 3.8 million people to go hungry. A widely thought conservative view is that food stamps are becoming a crutch. For example, Rep. Paul Ryan claim the safety-net program has become “a hammock that lulls able-bodied people to lives of dependency and complacency.”, or that food stamps are used for alcohol, cigarettes or by drug addicts... But let's take into consideration some other facts, According to Feeding America “76 percent of SNAP households included a child, an elderly person or a disabled person. These vulnerable households receive 83 percent of all SNAP benefits.” According to the USDA, “Over 30 percent of SNAP households had earnings in 2011 and 41 percent of all SNAP participants lived in a household with earnings.” One more thing, people don’t get very much food stamp money: four percent get only $16 a month. The average household gets $281 a month. The average individual gets about $133 a month. So it doesn't make much sense that able bodied people are giving up work and opting for a life of dependency. Furthermore, according to USDA, households may use food stamps to buy foods, such as breads and cereals; fruits and vegetables; meats, fish and poultry; and dairy products. Also they can buy seeds and plants which produce food 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 may not use food stamps to buy beer, wine, liquor, cigarettes or tobacco; pet foods; soaps, paper products; household supplies; vitamins and medicines; food that will be eaten in the store; hot foods. While the House GOP believe they are just trying to rein in an out-of-control program, it would be good for us, and retailers, to remember that many people on food stamps are simply people struggling to feed their families nutritious foods. Perhaps this is a time for supermarkets to build up it's appeal to food stamp recipients. Offer promotions and deals for fresh foods, and even invest in food stamp nutritionists who could offer up a weekly suggestion/tip on how to make your food stamps go farther and feed your family on healthier foods. These suggestions could be made available on the store’s website or in circulars, so customers can maintain privacy. While the government continues to argue, perhaps supermarkets could take the lead and appeal and help SNAP recipients to use food stamps the best way they can.