Poverty, Income and Social Protection by Richard Hoefer James Midgley

Author:Richard Hoefer, James Midgley [Richard Hoefer, James Midgley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780415527675
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 2012-11-21T00:00:00+00:00

SNAP benefits can be used to purchase basic household foods such as bread, fruit and vegetables, meat, fish and poultry, and dairy products as well as seeds and plants to grow household foods. SNAP cannot be used to purchase alcohol, cigarettes or tobacco, nonfood items such as pet food, soap or paper products, vitamins and medicine, hot foods or food that would be eaten in the store (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2011a).

In 2008, the average SNAP monthly payout was approximately $101 per person and $227 per household and served 28.4 million people each month, totaling $34.6 billion for the year (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2011b). In 2010, the total cost of the SNAP program was $68 billion (Geewax, 2011). The benefit amount is adjusted annually to reflect changes in the cost of food (Trenkamp & Wiseman, 2007). In February of 2009, 32.6 million individuals were served by SNAP, the highest amount on record, and in 2011 nearly 46 million individuals, or 15% of the total population, relied on SNAP benefits (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2011b). Between the years 2000 and 2008, Americans receiving food assistance increased from 17 million to 28 million (Docksai, 2010). Between 2007 and 2011, reliance on food stamps and the SNAP program has increased 70% (Geewax, 2011). The dramatic spike is a direct result of the deterioration of the national economy along with rapid job loss and home foreclosures (Geewax, 2011). A slowly recovering economy, a cost of living increase of 3.6% and a global increase in food prices have all contributed to a continued dependence on SNAP and will likely remain the case in the foreseeable future (Geewax, 2011). Ongoing unemployment and low wages will carry on the need for food stamps; in 2011, 40% of SNAP recipient households had at least one family member earning wages outside of the home (Geewax, 2011).

Since states directly manage SNAP in relation to households, usage rates vary from one state to the next. In May 2011, Wyoming had the fewest total number of participants, at not quite 37,000 for the month. Texas had the largest number of participants, at nearly 4 million people (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2011b). The state of Alabama also had a high rate of SNAP participation with nearly one third of residents needing government assistance to purchase food (Geewax, 2011).

The primary goal of SNAP is to provide financial assistance to low-income families to allow for food purchases and the secondary function is to provide nutrition education. This voluntary portion of the program allows for individual states to recommend an education plan to the federal government and, if approved, the state and federal government will equally split the costs of implementation (Jensen & Wilde, 2010). The federal contribution increased from less than $1 million in 1992 to over $270 million in 2007. These funds were aimed toward promoting specific health and nutrition related behaviors, such as physical activity and training about healthy food choices (Jensen & Wilde, 2010). Education programs that were offered in school

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