When you consider that the United States is one of the world’s wealthiest counties, it is disheartening to hear that 1 in 6 Americans don’t have enough food to eat. Many of those struggling with hunger are children and many are part of military families.
Do you use food stamps or have you in the past?
In a 2015 report, an estimated $80 million dollars’ worth of food was purchased in military commissaries using the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP). This number doesn’t include military families who use other programs like Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) or who don’t shop at the commissary.
So proposed changes to the SNAP program will have a profound impact on military families.
As part of the 2019 budget request, the Trump administration has proposed a dramatic change to the food stamp program. The proposed change includes a reduction in “cash” benefits by half for anyone receiving $90 or more per month. Instead, SNAP cash benefits will be supplemented with a “Blue Apron-type” box filled with shelf-stable foods like canned fruits and vegetables, peanut butter, cereals, pasta, butter and beans. These boxes, called “America’s Harvest Boxes,” will supposedly save over $129 million dollars over the course of the next 10 years.
The fact that there are military families in need of assistance is an issue for another day, but let’s discuss these food boxes.
It’s an Interesting Idea
There is a part of me that thinks that these boxes could work. I mean, buying in bulk almost always drives down the cost. If the government is using its buying power to get great pricing on products, then I can see the merit. Especially, if that buying power is being used to buy all of the things that are often out of reach, like fresh fruits and vegetables, or gluten-free or organic items.
Except, that these boxes won’t include those items.
Staples like peanut butter, pasta, even canned fruits and vegetables aren’t inherently bad, but the best nutrients and the healthiest of diets, don’t often include many things out of a can.
What about those families who have a child allergic to peanut butter? Or who need gluten-free pasta? Or who need their food to be kosher? What if a family buys from a food bank program or farming cooperative and can actually stretch their SNAP funds further than the box provides?
The argument can be made that beggars can’t be choosers, but the families on SNAP and WIC aren’t exactly beggars. They are often young families or those impacted by loss of employment.
Shouldn’t families be allowed to select the food they know their family will eat?
Should they be forced to eat what the government says they should?
I find this incredibly ironic, considering how adamant this same administration has been in dismantling the school lunch program put in place by the previous administration that was designed to get kids to eat a government mandated balanced meal.
What About Distribution?
If you read through the proposed box system, you’ll notice the distribution of these boxes has been left to the states to figure out. They can “distribute these boxes through existing infrastructure, partnerships, and/or directly to residences through commercial and/or retail delivery services.”
Really?
Current food stamp infrastructure most often includes direct deposit of money to a SNAP food card, which can be used like a debit card to pay for groceries. Kind of hard to “distribute” boxes in that same way. And I find it hard to believe that door-to-door delivery is a) efficient and b) actually going to save money.
Instead, it will likely require recipients to travel to a distribution center. Taking hours away from the work day and potentially adding the cost of transportation to an already tight federal budget.
Better Options
Call me an optimist, but I think if we really wanted to conquer hunger, there are better ways to do it. Some states have started edible food forests to help produce food for needy families. Some cities are seeing a growth in urban farming, cutting down on distribution time and costs, and there are plenty of non-profit farms working to add fresh fruits and vegetables to the diets of our poorest Americans.
I’d much rather see our government working to support these ideas instead of boxing up cans of corn and jars of peanut butter.
For our military families, this is yet another reason why we have to keep our commissaries open. How many more military families will find themselves simply unable to buy the things they need if the savings offered on base are taken away?
I am no expert on this matter but do have my opinions that are based on what I’ve seen during life. To begin with, there is a lot of fraud in the present program and we see it everyday when we shop. At the grocery store, I’ve seen families come through the checkout who are buying junk and processed foods that are not healthy. I’ve also seen subsequent trades (food for cash) being done in the grocery store parking lot. It bothers me that my tax dollars are being used for food that has little nutritional value and that some recipients are trading their benefit for cash. Additionally, I’ve seen “food stamp recipients” wheel their cart full of groceries into the parking lot and then drive off in a $45,000 SUV…. a much nicer car than I can afford.
When I was a child, welfare recipients did not use food stamps to buy groceries. They received “commodities” from USDA representatives which included grains, dairy, protein, etc… foods which had nutritional value and required home preparation. At least children were eating something more than potato chips and candy bars.
The article asks if the government should be allowed to choose where a recipient eats. If you’re receiving assistance from a government agency which uses tax payer dollars, the answer is yes! It is time for change.
The police need to start arresting those people who are selling their food stamps for cash. The delivering of a food box to peoples’ homes will create other issues like Porch Pirates stealing them before the poor family can get them. That is especially true if those poor people are gone and working during the delivery times. The $45,000 SVU you saw might have belonged to a rich employer of the food stamp recipient. He or she may have borrowed it to do grocery shopping in. My mother hired several ladies to look after my grandma after her dementia got bad. One of the ladies used my grandma’s car since my grandmother could not drive due to her dementia. That lady collected food stamps and my grandma’s car had been expensive. I wonder what other shoppers felt when they saw her exit the store and drive off in that expensive car. Probably what you thought.
Your comment can be an exception but rarely does it happen that way… We’re talking about the commissary and subsistence programs. Civilians are not allowed on bases nor to shop in commissaries… So in your response it has nothing to do with the military families. Just saying.
I’m not on food stamps but my big worry is what will happen if Porch Pirates steal a delivered-mailed box from peoples door steps. For those living off post that is a huge worry. My building has a terrible issue with package theft and the boxes of food will be huge target for thieves. If that happens poor families, the elderly and others who rely on food stamps will suffer from hunger. Due to the Porch Pirate issue this idea is a horrible idea.
I know you wouldn’t post the comment I would like to make so I’ll just say, it’s a sad government that can’t find a way to save money without taking food from it’s children. I was nine years old when then President Kennedy started the food stamp program. It was the first time I ever had fresh fruit! Enough said.
I have used the food stamp program in the late 70’s to early 80’s while we were stationed in Hawaii. It helped cover the cost of meat for a month. While at Fort Dix, the WIC program helped while our boys were infants & toddlers. I have never begrudged military families who qualify for the benefits – especially if stationed in a high cost area! After all, the soldiers pay taxes, too!
The edible food forest is a great idea. 3 out of 4 of my family members have food allergies and cannot eat any processed foods. There is always room on a military base for fruit trees in place of decorative bushes. Would that not help save money since we would be eating healthier and spend less time at the doctor? One could volunteer time in the garden to pull weeds in exchange for free food, regardless of income. It is also a great oppourtunity to teach kids where their food comes from. Thankfully our current base has a garden we can rent but I doubt that it is an option everywhere.
Shame on America, if we won’t (not can”t) feed our warriors. Shame on us, and shame on our priorities.
When I was a child, my mom was raising 4 children alone. We received commodities. She had to go pick them up. The cheese tasted better than the grocery store to me and we were grateful for the box. When MY children were small, we qualified for WIC. I might have qualified for other benefits, but I chose not to apply. WIC helped me help my kids. I had to drive down every month to get the checks, but they kept an eye on my daughter’s iron count. Her Army doctor never noticed she was anemic, but WIC did. Sure it may not seem convenient, but if my mom could work three jobs and still manage to get there to get commodities with 4 kids in tow, people can now too. There is a lot of abuse in the food stamp program. I fully agree that half can be given in real food. If a family has a medical reason why they need a substitute, then I think with medical documentation that could be adjusted. (Like dried beans to replace peanut butter)
It seems too me that IF this becomes law, the Commissary System would be able to become the distribution point for Military families.
REALLY
I totally agree with this post, and my husband has 11 years under his belt. I cannot recollect how many times when we were younger and had not much, only to see a 3 ton gorilla buying food for 6 kids on food stamps.