What is SNAP?
Photo Credit © Free-Photos on Pixabay.The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is designed to help low-income Americans buy more food for themselves and their families. It’s run by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and remains the country’s largest nutrition assistance program [FN1].
As of December 2019, just over 37 million Americans (about 11% of the total population) were enrolled in SNAP [FN2, FN3].
Program History
The original Food Stamp Program began in 1939. It was born out of the Great Depression as a way to feed the country’s poor and help struggling US farmers sell their extra food. The program provided job stability to famers and made cheap food more available for hungry Americans: win-win. However, as WWII erupted in Europe the American economy picked-up, famers’ surpluses dwindled and in 1943 the USDA cancelled their popular Food Stamp Program. Thankfully, the benefits of this assistance were not quickly forgotten. The Food Stamp Program was reintroduced in the early 1960s as part of Johnson’s “War on Poverty”. Today’s program remains essentially similar to the plan introduced nearly sixty years ago, although Congress has made some changes to funding and rules of administration [FN1]. The 2008 Farm Bill officially renamed the Food Stamp Program, instead calling it the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program [FN4].
Benefits of SNAP
Nutrition assistance is vital to the health and well-being of our nation’s most vulnerable citizens, but also hugely beneficial for the economy and country as a whole. Here are three ways SNAP benefits individuals and communities:
It reduces hunger and malnutrition in both adults and children. Regular, extra grocery money helps combat food insecurity.
It reduces the breadth and depth of poverty in American households [FN1]. By giving recipients the consistent ability to buy nutritious groceries, this social safety net frees-up money for other necessary purchases. In 2015 alone, SNAP kept 8.4 million people (including 3.8 million children) out of poverty.
It’s one of our government’s fastest and most effective forms of economic stimulus. This program helps individual families stay on their feet, pushes more money into the consumer economy and creates thousands of jobs each year [FN5].
Eligibility for SNAP
SNAP is an income-based benefit program. Assistance is available to households whose gross income (all money coming in, before deductions) falls at or below 130% of the poverty line and whose net income (income minus deductions) falls at or below the poverty line. Elderly Americans only need to meet the net income requirements [FN6].
SNAP is generally available to:
Individuals who earn less than $1354 per month,
Couples who earn less than $1832 per month, or
A family of four who earns less than $2790 per month.
The program also has work restrictions. Adults must be working, studying or actively job hunting, and will not qualify if they turn down job offers or quit voluntarily. Able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWD) can only claim three months of SNAP benefits if they’re not working or volunteering for at least 20 hours per week and/or enrolled in a work program [FN7].
The Application Process
SNAP applications are submitted directly to your state office, not the federal government. This is because each state has slightly different eligibility requirements (especially related to deductions) and SNAP benefits are ultimately managed by state agencies.
► To access your state’s specific webpage and/or apply for SNAP, please click here: https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/state-directory.
Most applications will take about thirty days to process. However, if you’re in desperate need of food and nutrition assistance, you may receive SNAP benefits in as little as seven days [FN6].
Enrolling in SNAP also makes it easier for you and your children to receive other government benefits. For example: students whose families qualify for SNAP automatically receive free school meals through the School Breakfast Program and National School Lunch Program [FN8].
How to Use SNAP Benefits
SNAP benefits can be redeemed for food that your family needs to stay healthy. This includes fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy products, bread, cereal, snack foods and seeds (to grow food at home!). SNAP benefits CANNOT be used for hot/ready-to-eat foods, alcohol, dietary supplements, household products, pet food or any other non-food item [FN9].
Benefits are distributed via Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT). The money is loaded onto a card – similar to a debit card – which can then be used at any SNAP-authorized retailer. Most grocery stores & “big box” stores like Target or Walmart, plus some corner stores & farmers markets, accept EBT [FN10].
As of December 2019, the average SNAP household received $121.32 per month [FN2].
SNAP in the Time of COVID-19
Access to SNAP-authorized retailers and limited food selection were already problems before COVID-19, but these challenges have only been exacerbated by the emergence of a global pandemic. With “shelter in place” orders and concerns about using public transportation, many SNAP recipients are having more trouble than ever redeeming benefits. Only six out of fifty states allow SNAP recipients to pay for groceries online, which means home grocery delivery – a service many of us have come to rely on in times of social distancing – is not possible for this at-risk population [FN11].
These barriers are especially worrisome given that an increasing number of families will come to rely on SNAP and other social assistance programs as the economy waivers and unemployment skyrockets. Thankfully, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020 provides states with additional funding for SNAP and temporarily eliminates the three-month benefit limit for ABAWBs – both of which should expand access to much-needed nutrition assistance [FN12].
Do you use SNAP, or are you interested in applying? Has COVID-19 affected your ability to purchase groceries? Share your thoughts and questions with us in the comments section below!
Resources
1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK206907/
2. https://www.fns.usda.gov/data/february-performance-report-december-2019-data
3. https://www.census.gov/popclock/
4. https://www.snaptohealth.org/snap/the-history-of-snap/
5. https://www.snaptohealth.org/snap/the-real-benefits-of-the-snap-program/
6. https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/recipient/eligibility
7. https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/work-requirements
8. https://www.benefits.gov/benefit/366
9. https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/eligible-food-items
10. https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/retailer-locator
11. https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/online-purchasing-pilot
12. https://www.fns.usda.gov/disaster/pandemic/covid-19