The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is a federally funded program that aims to provide food to low- and no-income families to improve nutrition and promote self-sufficiency.
The program is individually managed and administered by each state through its Department of Health and Welfare. The program is not intended to be a permanent means of support for families or individuals.
In a statement the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Director Richard Armstrong said, “We are confident that temporary help today will reduce many of the stresses families are facing, so people can concentrate on finding work and becoming self-sufficient again.”
According to the USDA, more than one in seven Americans receives food stamp assistance, nearly half are children. However, it is estimated that one in five Americans is considered to be experiencing “food hardship.”
“The program started growing in 2007,” says Tom Shanahan, Public Information manager for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. “Back then, about 86,000 were enrolled, and there are about 238,000 today. From fall of ’07 into spring of ’12, we’ve tripled enrollment.”
The 170 percent increase in Idaho’s SNAP enrollment over the past four and a half years may be closely related to the rising unemployment rate, which has tripled in the past five years. While the SNAP enrollment rate in Idaho is about 15 percent, the unemployment rate is about 8 percent.
“A lot of this [increase in enrollment] is due to the economy, to the recession,” says Shanahan. “A lot of people may qualify, but do not apply because they can rely on family, friends, and churches to provide support. With the recession, perhaps these supports are not as able to provide and people are turning to government aid.”
When SNAP switched to a debit card format from actual food coupons in the 1990’s, it offered a new level of discreteness for beneficiaries. Formerly, food aid beneficiaries were subject to a social stigma when proceeding through the grocery line, but now using food stamps is just like using a bankcard. For many, there is no longer any hesitation when considering whether or not to apply for the program, perhaps contributing to higher enrollment.
Shanahan describes the effects of high enrollment on the department: “Such large enrollment has put a strain on our staff. We have about 10,000 applicants per month, and we have to recertify as well. It is very time consuming. We have 14,000 recertifications per month. Our main focus is on how to handle the caseload.
“Before 2007, enrollment would go up and down. Many people would have agriculture jobs in the spring and not need food aid, and then they would get on the program during the winter when they were not working—there was an ebb and flow. Enrollment has steadily gone up every month since 2007.”
In 2011, the Recovery Act increased federal spending on entitlement and public benefit programs by $53 billion to amount to $840 billion. However, some current reform proposals suggest a cut in SNAP’s funding by $133.5 billion over the next decade.
Such a cut would cause either a reduction in SNAP recipients or fewer benefits per recipient, even though the national average monthly benefit per family of four is already just $154.
An Idaho resident comments on her SNAP benefits, “They are a lifesaver for me. We get $300 a month for food stamps, and we end up spending about 50 bucks on food outside of that.”
To help regulate SNAP, the federal government established Program Evaluation, a system that assesses how well Idaho is managing the program. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “SNAP has one of the most rigorous quality control systems of any public benefit program.”
Based upon a study conducted by the Food Research and Action Center in which SNAP benefits were included as household income, SNAP lifted just over 16 percent of households in Idaho out of the poverty guideline.
“As far as performance, Idaho has exceeded expectations,” states Shanahan.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, SNAP is not contributing to the nation’s long-term fiscal strain, and it is expecting SNAP enrollment to return to prerecession levels as a share of Gross Domestic Product by 2022.
Shanahan adds, “Hopefully as the economy recovers we’ll see a reverse of this [increase].”
Although SNAP legislation emphasizes improving nutrition among low-income families, junk food such as candy, chips, and soda can still be purchased with benefits. SNAP benefits however, may not be used to purchase alcoholic beverages or tobacco products, as well as other nonfood items.
“People in general think that eating on a budget means getting cheap, discount food—junk food that makes you fat,” says an Idaho SNAP recipient.
Multiple studies report that SNAP participants weigh more and have a higher body mass index than eligible nonparticipants. Some studies suggest that perhaps the small amount of money allotted to families, in addition to a lack of nutritional education, contributes to SNAP recipients buying cheap junk food instead of healthy foods.
According to Shanahan, “There are nutrition education classes that are offered but are not mandatory.”
In some states, programs are in place to reward the use of SNAP benefits on healthful foods by doubling the food stamp value when used on healthy items such as produce. In other states, there is a push to prohibit certain items from being purchased with food stamps—items such as junk foods like chips or soda and extravagant foods like prime rib or lobster.
“Some states are working with the government to make it so only nutritious foods can be purchased with benefits,” says Shanahan. “If there is concern, it’s about the kinds of food that can be purchased with food stamps.”
Instances of Fraud
While about three-quarters of SNAP recipients are genuinely needy households with children and over a quarter are households with seniors or disabled, there are gaps in the program.
Like other social welfare programs, there are a small number of recipients that intend to gain at the expense of the system.
An Idaho resident and SNAP recipient, who will remain anonymous, explains what she’s seen of food stamp fraud: “I know it’s common for people to ‘sell’ their food stamps, and there are a lot of people who abuse the system.
“My friend sells his food stamps in order to pay his rent, but he is avoiding getting a regular job. My other friend is a bum who gets food stamps just because he can, but he’s not trying to support himself at all.”
Exchanging SNAP benefits for cash is referred to as ‘trafficking,’ and in the final quarter of 2011 the United States Department of Agriculture identified over 225 stores that were violating SNAP rules and disqualified over 350 stores for trafficking.
On the whole, the White House’s website reports that SNAP abuse is relatively rare, affecting about one cent on the dollar. However, the public is strongly encouraged to report any incidences of abuse in order to maintain the integrity of this program.
Abuse of SNAP benefits is misuse of taxpayer money and against the law. Knowingly using, transferring, acquiring, changing, or possessing SNAP benefits in any manner not permitted by SNAP is a felony in most states, some with fines up to $250,000 and imprisonment up to 20 years.
