Teah Jappah
6/23/2014
English Composition
Hunger Is Everyones Problem
I encourage anyone who thinks someone could feed themselves on $31.50 a week to take the
SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) challenge. The SNAP challenge exposes just how
underfunded the program is by challenging all those that don't utilize the service to experience what it's like
to be on the program given its current funded amount. The challenge gives lawmakers the chance of experiencing the effects of the laws they pass especially the cuts that have been implemented throughout the program. By looking at the statistics a conclusion can clearly be made that the program simply needs more money. Funding for the SNAP program was cut by $39 billion within a 10 year time frame last year. Lawmakers are shifting the responsibility and saying its what the taxpayers want, instead of admitting to their own agenda. There are over 47 million Americans that receive assistance from the federal and state run program and their benefits are being cut based on the amount of people in their households. The federal budget for food stamp for fiscal year 14 is $75.7 billion. The stated amount just isn't enough for people to buy nutritional items fit for a day to day diet. By adding funds to the program it would significantly help those who live below the poverty line in affording food that's both nutritional and satisfying.
No one can truly understand how living on $4.50 can be unless you are one of the the 47 million people living on supplemental assistance. For a few people the SNAP challenge gives insight on a program thats otherwise unknown to them. "There are people living on that food stamp allocation and you really can't, for us it was an exercise that ended in a week." These are direct quotes from Representative James McGovern from the documentary A Place at the Table, Rep. McGovern took the challenge because he thought the food stamp benefit was inadequate. There were wealthy participants that accepted the challenge as well such as Panera bread CEO Ron Shaich, he took the challenge and quickly realized that he could not purchase the amount of food he wanted or needed with the amount of money allotted. On his first day of the challenge Mr. Shaich stated that he entered the store with the intention of purchasing the most nutritional items possible within the budget, but found it difficult to do so. Mr. Shaich isn't alone in this debacle, Jamison Doran a writer for The Huffington Post had a very similar experience with the challenge. Ms. Doran found herself hungry often, many times right after she had eaten. She stated "Despite probably eating the same number of calories as I usually do, I found myself always hungry." She reported eating foods filled with sugar and empty calories, everything she could afford was processed and non-organic. Given the $28.70 a week budget she just couldn't afford to cook healthy.
No matter what your social stature in America you should be able to afford foods with adequate nutritional valuea, but with that being said wishful thinking does not put food in the mouths of people action and awareness does. A link can be made between the child hood obesity and the lack of affordability for healthy nutritional foods for many Americans on food stamps. Many families that receive food stamps have a hard time affording fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grain items. One group of people in particular are people that live in food desserts. These Americans live in rural sometimes urban areas where access to a nutrients filled diet are a rarity. A scene in the documentary A Place at the Table, introduces us to Tremonica, an overweight second grader, she was asked if she'd had anything to eat that morning and her answer was no, but when she was asked what she eats at home after school she replies cookies, chips and soda. Tremonica's mother claimed that because the fruits she shops for are so expensive, she opts out and usually gets chips or other processed food for her and her daughter to eat, unless those fruits are on sale. It should be shameful to each and every lawmaker who ignores the people who go hungry on a daily basis in this country.
It was at the end of last year when the House voted 217 to 210 for a decision to cut food stamps by $39 billion. Spearheading the strategy to cut funding is the House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R.Va), In a article by The Washington Post, Mr.Cantor said "Frankly it’s wrong for hard-working middle-class Americans to pay for that" but just in 2013 alone a $901 billion budget was set aside for the military, while many of these spending are necessary a few are not such as $34.4 billion in foreign economic aid. It makes you ask yourself how can so much money be put into killing people yet so little be put into making live better for Americans. In what seemed to me like a way to cope with his decision, Mr. Cantor also said that there are too many people "that choose to abuse the system", which isn't true. SNAP fraud is at an all time low with just 2.77 percent of benefits get distributed to people that don't meet all the requirements.
Even though it remains underfunded SNAP is a good program in the fight to end food insecurities in America. The purpose of SNAP is to help low income families, the old and people with disabilities afford a decent meal, the program does a good job in feeding many Americans but it has to be understood that SNAP is supplemental and no one should plan on living on SNAP forever. SNAP promotes a good work ethic by taking away 24 to 36 cents from his/hers benefit for every dollar that is earned by the individual receiving it. If the government decides to add more funding to SNAP, I think we'd have smarter kids in school, less chances for childhood obesity, and a healthier generation.
Sources:
6/23/2014
English Composition
Hunger Is Everyones Problem
I encourage anyone who thinks someone could feed themselves on $31.50 a week to take the
SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) challenge. The SNAP challenge exposes just how
underfunded the program is by challenging all those that don't utilize the service to experience what it's like
to be on the program given its current funded amount. The challenge gives lawmakers the chance of experiencing the effects of the laws they pass especially the cuts that have been implemented throughout the program. By looking at the statistics a conclusion can clearly be made that the program simply needs more money. Funding for the SNAP program was cut by $39 billion within a 10 year time frame last year. Lawmakers are shifting the responsibility and saying its what the taxpayers want, instead of admitting to their own agenda. There are over 47 million Americans that receive assistance from the federal and state run program and their benefits are being cut based on the amount of people in their households. The federal budget for food stamp for fiscal year 14 is $75.7 billion. The stated amount just isn't enough for people to buy nutritional items fit for a day to day diet. By adding funds to the program it would significantly help those who live below the poverty line in affording food that's both nutritional and satisfying.
No one can truly understand how living on $4.50 can be unless you are one of the the 47 million people living on supplemental assistance. For a few people the SNAP challenge gives insight on a program thats otherwise unknown to them. "There are people living on that food stamp allocation and you really can't, for us it was an exercise that ended in a week." These are direct quotes from Representative James McGovern from the documentary A Place at the Table, Rep. McGovern took the challenge because he thought the food stamp benefit was inadequate. There were wealthy participants that accepted the challenge as well such as Panera bread CEO Ron Shaich, he took the challenge and quickly realized that he could not purchase the amount of food he wanted or needed with the amount of money allotted. On his first day of the challenge Mr. Shaich stated that he entered the store with the intention of purchasing the most nutritional items possible within the budget, but found it difficult to do so. Mr. Shaich isn't alone in this debacle, Jamison Doran a writer for The Huffington Post had a very similar experience with the challenge. Ms. Doran found herself hungry often, many times right after she had eaten. She stated "Despite probably eating the same number of calories as I usually do, I found myself always hungry." She reported eating foods filled with sugar and empty calories, everything she could afford was processed and non-organic. Given the $28.70 a week budget she just couldn't afford to cook healthy.
No matter what your social stature in America you should be able to afford foods with adequate nutritional valuea, but with that being said wishful thinking does not put food in the mouths of people action and awareness does. A link can be made between the child hood obesity and the lack of affordability for healthy nutritional foods for many Americans on food stamps. Many families that receive food stamps have a hard time affording fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grain items. One group of people in particular are people that live in food desserts. These Americans live in rural sometimes urban areas where access to a nutrients filled diet are a rarity. A scene in the documentary A Place at the Table, introduces us to Tremonica, an overweight second grader, she was asked if she'd had anything to eat that morning and her answer was no, but when she was asked what she eats at home after school she replies cookies, chips and soda. Tremonica's mother claimed that because the fruits she shops for are so expensive, she opts out and usually gets chips or other processed food for her and her daughter to eat, unless those fruits are on sale. It should be shameful to each and every lawmaker who ignores the people who go hungry on a daily basis in this country.
It was at the end of last year when the House voted 217 to 210 for a decision to cut food stamps by $39 billion. Spearheading the strategy to cut funding is the House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R.Va), In a article by The Washington Post, Mr.Cantor said "Frankly it’s wrong for hard-working middle-class Americans to pay for that" but just in 2013 alone a $901 billion budget was set aside for the military, while many of these spending are necessary a few are not such as $34.4 billion in foreign economic aid. It makes you ask yourself how can so much money be put into killing people yet so little be put into making live better for Americans. In what seemed to me like a way to cope with his decision, Mr. Cantor also said that there are too many people "that choose to abuse the system", which isn't true. SNAP fraud is at an all time low with just 2.77 percent of benefits get distributed to people that don't meet all the requirements.
Even though it remains underfunded SNAP is a good program in the fight to end food insecurities in America. The purpose of SNAP is to help low income families, the old and people with disabilities afford a decent meal, the program does a good job in feeding many Americans but it has to be understood that SNAP is supplemental and no one should plan on living on SNAP forever. SNAP promotes a good work ethic by taking away 24 to 36 cents from his/hers benefit for every dollar that is earned by the individual receiving it. If the government decides to add more funding to SNAP, I think we'd have smarter kids in school, less chances for childhood obesity, and a healthier generation.
Sources:
- www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=2226
- feedingamerica.org/get-involved/hunger-action-month/snap-challenge.aspx
- www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/09/19/house-approves-gop-plan-to-slash-food-stamp-funding/
- www.usfederalbudget.us
- www.huffingtonpost.com/jamison-doran/the-snap-challenge-a-true_b_4260842.html
- www.offthechartsblog.org/setting-the-record-straight-on-snap-part-3-waiving-the-fraud-waste-and-abuse-flag/
- "A Place at the Table" documentary