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An essay argument on food stamps
United states food stamp program in the united states
An essay argument on food stamps
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As the great nation we claim to be we must help one another especially in times of need, unfortunately this idea is not always shared by everyone, leading to issues such as the Food Stamp Program’s reduction of benefits to those who need them the most. In my paper, I will discuss how the Food Stamp Program was born along with the intentions and effects of its existence. In addition, I will reflect on the nation’s impact as a result to the budget cuts of the program and how this change has affected their ability to purchase food. Lastly, I will discuss the pros and cons of the food stamps program such as the correlations seen on many studies linking obesity to attribute as a result of participation along with the crucial difference food stamp benefits make for the struggling families in America.
According to Elsevier’s Journal of “Health & Place” The current Food Stamp Program began with the federal Food Stamp Act of 1964, although smaller variations of the program have existed since 1933. (Nathaniel L.DeBono n, 2012, p. 747) The program was created in an attempt to end hunger by helping families who were struggling to make hands meat so they will be able to afford groceries and utilize their income for other household expenses such as rent, transportation and clothing. In order to be eligible for the program certain criteria must be meet such as; individual’s household assets of less than $2000, gross household income below 130% of federal poverty line, immigration status, and employment status verification. According to the new guidelines of 2014 a family of four can receive a maximum monthly allotment of $632 food stamps. (USDA United States Department of Agriculture) Technology advancements have made the application process...
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...References
Jonathan D. Shenkin, M. F. (2010). Using the food stamp program and other methods to promote Healthy Diets for low income consumers. American Journal of Public Health , 1562-1564.
Nathaniel L.DeBono n, N.-F. (2012). Does the Food Stamp Program cause obesity? A realist review and a call for place-based research. Health &Place , 747-756.
Nixon, R. (2013, 09 18). Anti-Hunger Advocates Put pressure on Lawmakers Over Food Stamp Bill. The New York Times , pp. 1-3.
Severson, K., & Hu, W. (2013, 11 07). Cut in Food Stamps Forces Hard Choices on Poor. New York Times , pp. 1-4.
Tavernise, S. (2014, 01 06). Study Ties Diabetic Crisis to Dip in Food Budgets. New York Times , pp. 1-2.
USDA United States Department of Agriculture. (n.d.). Retrieved 01 06, 2014, from Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): http://usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome
Food insecurity is one of the major social problems that we have in our world today. The concern about this problem is the increasing number of people that are beginning to experience hunger more often. “While hunger has long been a public health concern in developing countries, it has received varying degrees of attention in the United States, most notable during the 1930s and 1960s” (Poppendieck 1992). In addition to lack of food, there are consequences that follow. People, especially children, who suffer from food deprivation also undergo some health issues such as malnutrition and obesity, which leads to more health care and hospitalizations. “In the early 1980s, most reports of hunger involved families with children, the elderly, the unskilled and unemployed youth, the mentally ill, the homeless and minorities” (Brown 1992; Nestle and Guttmacher 1992). However, a particular ethnic group that is greatly affected by food insecurities are the Hispanic...
With more and more people becoming unemployed and applying for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), it is imperative that we understand the benefits as well as problems this causes. Even while researching this topic and talking to some of my family and friends about it, it surprised me the amount of those who do not understand food stamps. Coming from the SNAP website, “Food stamps offer nutritional assistance to millions of eligible low-income individuals and families and provides economic benefits to communities” (United States). This program helps millions of people per year and gives upwards of $75 billion and rising. With the prices of food increasing due to inflation, beneficiaries are receiving around $400 at most per month. Using the Electronic benefit transfer systems (EBT), beneficiaries can buy goods from a grocery store using a credit-card like transaction, which takes the money off of their card. The benefits are received monthly on a specific date and vary in amounts from person to person. One family may receive $300 per month because they have three kids and need the extra money, while another may receive $100 or less depending on financial status. The application process includes completing and filing an application form, being interviewed, and verifying facts crucial to determining eligibility. In the past, these applications did not require a drug screening to get benefits, but more and more states are adopting this. There are many drawbacks to SNAP as well such as taking money from working people’s paychecks every week and people abusing the system. Talking about a very opinionated subject, we must remove bias and answer whether or not the Food Stamp system should be limited.
The federal Food Stamp Program is an assisted nutrition program that helps millions of eligible, low-income individuals and families (United States Department of Agriculture). This program gives its recipients extra money each month to try to help them have better food security. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is also the largest program in the federal safety net (United States Department of Agriculture). In Ohio’s Appalachian counties, there are 515,300 recipients which is 25.4% of the population (Job and Family Services). The Supplemental Nutrition Program is a good program except for one problem that can be fixed relatively fast and one problem that it will take a little time to solve. The problem that can be fixed right away is that the Supplemental Nutrition Program can be abused by the recipients buying junk food instead of healthy food. The problem that will take some time to fix is that some recipients make unhealthy food choices because they do not have access to a local supermarket. In order to fix these two problems the Food Stamp Program needs to better regulate what can be bought with the Food Stamp card and items in convenient stores need to be better stocked in order to keep accepting Food Stamp cards.
U.S. Department of Agriculture. (2013, September ). Household food security in the united states in 2012. Retrieved from http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/err-economic-research-report/err155/report-summary.aspx
As noted by Wolfe, Frongillo, & Valois, (2003) hardships such as functional impairments, chronic health problems and money are major causes of food insecurity among the elderly. The US Department of Agriculture 's Continuing Survey of Food provided data on dietary intakes and behaviors were obtained from the elderly. There data showed that that lower-income elderly consume significantly fewer calories than higher-income elderly, fewer servings of major Food Guide Pyramid food groups, and most nutrients. Additionally, 6% of elderly households report some degree of food insecurity. Interventions have been established to reduce rates of food insecurity among the elderly. This paper will highlight several interventions that have played a significant role in strengthening access to nutrition among the elderly. More importantly, how interventions have been created at the individual, interpersonal, community and societal
Blue stamps could be used to buy commodity foods, listed in excess supply, and dry beans, flour, corn meal, eggs and fresh vegetables ("The History of SNAP"). The program lasted 4 years, ending in 1943, due to World War II and an economic boom decreasing the number of people living in poverty. The program started again, in 1961, as a pilot program in several states at the behest of President John F. Kennedy. It was not until 1964, with the passage of The Food Stamp Act by President Johnson, that the Food Stamp Program became a national program again ("The History of SNAP"). Feeding the poor was not the only goal of the program, as the program was also used to make “more effective use of agricultural production” and to “strengthen the agricultural economy” ("The History of SNAP"). Thirteen years later, in 1977, major revisions were made the Food Stamp Program. Some of the revisions were “the elimination of the requirement that participants purchase the stamps; the establishment of uniform national standards of eligibility; the expansion of the program to minority communities; more federal support for the implementation of the program at the state level; and restricted access to benefits for students enrolled
In the year 2015, around 40 million U.S. citizens were food insecure (Randall para. 3). Food insecurity can be defined in paragraph 3 by “[having] difficulty at some time during the year providing enough food for all their members due to a lack of resources. This 12.7% of American citizens also contains another group - children. Aged 10-17, 6.8 million adolescents struggle with a food insecurity. There have been several years of cuts to the social programs designed to help these people, along with the Great Recession continuing to leave an impact on the U.S. economy (para. 6). Under the Obama administration, $8.6 billion was cut from the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as Food Stamps. From 1993-2001 under the Clinton administration, former President Bill Clinton’s administration “gutted the welfare system” (para. 15). Because of these budget cuts, the families who rely on food assistance from the government have been allotted less throughout the years. From a sociological perspective, the concepts of sociological imagination, class stratification, and social location are in effect when it comes to child hunger in the United States. Being hungry is an issue larger than any one individual can control.
...s around food stamps participants, give marked down produce for participants and limit certain brands of food to be invested in with their benefits.
Food insecurity does not discriminate; it reaches many segments of society (Whitney, DeBruyne, Pinna, & Rolfes, 2007). Even through closely related to poverty, not all that have food insecurities are in poverty. Often it is the working poor that are hit the hardest. The working poor are a group that despite having a job, there income is too low to meet their need or that of their family. Most of the working poor (56%) live in families with children, so that the poverty of these workers affects many others as well (Problems Facing the Working Poor, Kim 1999). Many lower to middle class families will temporarily struggle with food insecurity at various times during the year. For these families government assistance may not immediately available. Appling for Supplemental Nutrition Assistanc...
Morin, Rich. "The politics and demographics of food stamp recipients." Pew Research Center RSS. Pew Research Center, 12 July 2013. Web. 11 May 2014.
Food insecurity is an issue faced by millions of Americans every day, and the biggest group affected by this is working families with children. Food insecurity is so big that the United States government has now recognized it and provided a definition for it. The United States government has defined food insecurity as “a household level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food” (USDA.gov). Food banks and anti-hunger advocates agree that some of the causes of food insecurity are stagnant wages, increase in housing costs, unemployment, and inflation of the cost of food. These factors have caused food banks to see a change in the groups of people needing assistance. Doug O’Brien, director of public policy and research at Chicago-based Second Harvest says “’we’ve seen a real shift in who we serve. A decade ago, it was almost always homeless, single men and chronic substance abusers. Now we have children and working families at soup kitchens’” (Koch). These families that are feeling the effects of food insecurity will not be only ones affected by it, but all of America. Studies have shown that there is a link between food security, performance in the classroom, and obesity. If this issue is not faced head on, America will have a generation of children not fully prepared for the workforce and high health insurance rates due to obesity health issues.
When thinking of poverty, numerous people first think of third world countries like Africa. What people may not know is the amount of people living in the United States in poverty, specifically children. There are over sixteen million children living in poverty; the poverty line is considered to be below $23,550 a year for a family of four. To put this number into perspective, the amount of children living in poverty today is twenty-two percent of all children in the United States (“Child Poverty”). With such a large number of people in the country in fiscally unstable environments, it can easily be seen that they also are susceptible to other problems compared to those who are financially established; one major concern being obesity.
The obesity epidemic and our nation’s health as a whole have many factors that include socioeconomic status in particular. Socioeconomic Status and Childhood Obesity will always shape our nations vision and mission with what we do with healthcare. Healthcare in America is in a major reconstruction faze, and is in much need of it, obesity and socioeconomic status are going to be the major contributors to this reconstruction.
According to the American Psychological Association, “In 2010, the poverty threshold, or poverty line, was 22,314 dollars for a family of four” (2). People living in poverty may be forced to depend on public assistance programs such as food stamps, or more formally known as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP. On the exterior, this program seems to benefit hungry families, but in all actually it is actually facilitating their obesity. The formerly mentioned family of four would be qualified to receive a maximum of 688 dollars a month in food stamps (North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services). That equates to just over 170 dollars a week or 40 dollars per family member. A paltry amount such as this forces families to make difficult decisions regarding the amount and type of food they provide their family.
Obesity cannot be fixed without first fixing hunger and poverty. To be healthy it takes healthy foods (including fruits, vegetables, and low fat products) and burning more calories than digesting. Healthy foods can cost a lot of money and push low-income families to eat unhealthier processed foods. Obesity and hunger are connected it can each be connected to poverty. While obesity seems to be the result of too much food and hunger the lack of food, the common issue of poverty must be addressed in order to ease the obesity crisis in the United States.