Some statistics are hard to believe. But that doesn’t mean they’re not true.
Here’s one that hit me: households receiving food stamps under the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) account for nearly 25 percent of American spending on consumer goods, according to a recent report by Numerator. Numerator SNAP Consumers Deep Dive.pdf
“Some experts have warned that the country is approaching a ‘hunger cliff,’ with the number of Americans going hungry likely to spike this spring. To buy food, other families may have to use money that would otherwise have gone to rent or other bills—and fall behind on those payments,” writes German Lopez in The New York Times. The Morning: Going hungry in America (nytimes.com)
Viewing the matter over the long term, Republicans have regularly aimed at cutting food stamps and other programs that benefit the poor and tying them to work programs, although these efforts have usually been rebuffed.
Currently produce organizations such as the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) have been making strong efforts to enhance benefits for fruit and vegetable purchases under the SNAP program, with some receptivity from the Biden administration. IFPA urges USDA and FDA to update WIC packages – Produce Blue Book
Nevertheless, declines in the real value of food stamp assistance could well work against these efforts. If a household has less SNAP income than it did before, what will it cut? Fresh fruits and vegetables are good for you—much better than high-carbohydrate alternatives, but also more expensive. A family making hard decisions on what kind of food to buy may choose something cheaper but less beneficial.
The Numerator survey, curiously, doesn’t include fresh fruits and vegetables in discussing which categories of food SNAP households are “consolidating.” But it does point out that beer purchases among SNAP households have gone up by 4.6 percent over the last year.
Some statistics are hard to believe. But that doesn’t mean they’re not true.
Here’s one that hit me: households receiving food stamps under the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) account for nearly 25 percent of American spending on consumer goods, according to a recent report by Numerator. Numerator SNAP Consumers Deep Dive.pdf
“Some experts have warned that the country is approaching a ‘hunger cliff,’ with the number of Americans going hungry likely to spike this spring. To buy food, other families may have to use money that would otherwise have gone to rent or other bills—and fall behind on those payments,” writes German Lopez in The New York Times. The Morning: Going hungry in America (nytimes.com)
Viewing the matter over the long term, Republicans have regularly aimed at cutting food stamps and other programs that benefit the poor and tying them to work programs, although these efforts have usually been rebuffed.
Currently produce organizations such as the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) have been making strong efforts to enhance benefits for fruit and vegetable purchases under the SNAP program, with some receptivity from the Biden administration. IFPA urges USDA and FDA to update WIC packages – Produce Blue Book
Nevertheless, declines in the real value of food stamp assistance could well work against these efforts. If a household has less SNAP income than it did before, what will it cut? Fresh fruits and vegetables are good for you—much better than high-carbohydrate alternatives, but also more expensive. A family making hard decisions on what kind of food to buy may choose something cheaper but less beneficial.
The Numerator survey, curiously, doesn’t include fresh fruits and vegetables in discussing which categories of food SNAP households are “consolidating.” But it does point out that beer purchases among SNAP households have gone up by 4.6 percent over the last year.
Richard Smoley, contributing editor for Blue Book Services, Inc., has more than 40 years of experience in magazine writing and editing, and is the former managing editor of California Farmer magazine. A graduate of Harvard and Oxford universities, he has published 12 books.
