On Feb. 12, the White House budget director, Mick Mulvaney, explained how the Trump administration wants to change the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) program. Most folks know this as “food stamps.” According to the United States Department of Agriculture, there are currently around 41,658,868 people participating in the SNAP program. SNAP gives a certain amount of money to low-income families in order to save money on food aid, usually on an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card that people can use at grocery stores to purchase food items.
The proposed program is essentially a worse version of Blue Apron, a weekly service in which food is delivered to your home. Instead of fresh ingredients, it would be government-purchased, nonperishable food items such as shelf-stable milk, pasta, canned meat, peanut butter, canned fruits and vegetables. It’s what the Agriculture Department has called “America’s Harvest Box.” This would apply to food stamp recipients who are given more than $90 per month in benefits, which is 81 percent of SNAP households overall, and would make up half of their benefits.
As a low-income student, I have been on, and off, food stamps for most of my life. For my entire life, I have received government benefits, like Medicaid. I am not ashamed of this, and no one ever should feel shame for needing assistance.
While I have been a recipient of government benefits, my family has worked for ours, and I have been working for as long as I was able. My family and I pay our taxes— income, sales, property, etc.— and contribute to programs such as Social Security and Medicare, just like everyone else. And just like everyone else, we are deserving of fresh food.
These changes are a part of the proposed budget for 2019, including substantial cuts to funding for food stamps, or SNAP, adding up to $200 billion over ten years. The budget claims that “Harvest boxes” would contribute $130 million of that savings.
The proposed “harvest box” is an insult to low-income communities. It’s dehumanizing to say that those who are struggling aren’t deserving of even fresh fruits and vegetables. Living in poverty is systemic, and is not the fault of those who are poor. They should not be blamed or shamed for their income status, and they should be treated as fairly as everyone else.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that nearly half of SNAP beneficiaries are children, meaning that one in four children in the U.S. receive food stamps. Are those roughly 42 million children not worthy of fresh, healthy food? Apparently, the Trump administration thinks so.
