Nutrition Assistance Program Essay

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Recommended: Policy analysis of the SNAP program

A History of Review of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a means-tested, in-kind government food assistance program, aimed at addressing hunger and poverty issues amongst the disadvantaged members of the United States. SNAP has evolved from the 1964 Food Stamps Act. SNAP is the largest government nutrition assistance program in the United States of America, with 45.4 million individuals receiving some level of food assistance as of January 2016 (“SNAP- Frequently Asked Questions”). Although SNAP is administered by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the benefits are delivered by individual states (Dorsch, 2013). As with all assistance programs, SNAP …show more content…

(Dorsch, 2013) In 1933, the Agricultural Adjustment Act was passed (Dorsch, 2013). Part of this Act included the Farm Bill, under which surplus crops were bought at discount from farmers and given to relief agencies in each state, to be distributed to the needy. (Dorsch, 2013) This Act helped both the needy and farmers, by providing more accessible food and by stabilizing prices on crops. (Dorsch, 2013) Providing a way for the disadvantaged to purchase food more cheaply helped the farmers survive, too. 1939 saw the establishment of the first actual food stamp program (Food Stamp Timeline, 2013). Orange stamps, purchased in amounts equaling average food expenses, could be traded in for blue stamps that were only to be used on food that was deemed by the Agriculture Department as spare supply (Food Stamp Timeline, 2013). In 1943, this food stamp program was discontinued as both excess crops and widespread unemployment decreased at the end of the Great Depression (Food Stamp Timeline, …show more content…

Johnson asked Congress to make the food stamp program a permanent fixture in federally funded welfare (Food Stamp Timeline, 2013). This lead to the passage of the Food Stamp Act, under which the federal government funded the benefits and the states oversaw the eligibility, administration, and distribution of the benefits (Food Stamp Timeline, 2013). However, the food stamp program was not operational in all 50 states until 1974, at which time nearly 14 million households were enrolled (Food Stamp Timeline, 2013). The Food Stamp Act of 1977 revised many aspects of the program, including establishing national income and poverty guidelines, an expansion into minority communities, and restrictions for students and undocumented immigrants (Food Stamp Timeline,

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