Important point
- Inflation makes food budgeting even more difficult for SNAP participants who are already struggling to buy fresh and nutritious food.
- Programs like SNAP-Ed provide nutrition education and help participants make healthy diet choices on a limited budget.
- Pandemic bailouts for SNAP participants will expire in many states and will put additional financial pressure on people with food insecurity.
Inflation reached its 40-year high in the United States, and grocery store prices rose significantly.
The fruit and vegetable consumer price index rose 2.3% in February, the largest monthly rise since March 2010. Prices at almost every grocery store, from dairy products to fish and shellfish, continue to rise due to rising labor, freight and material costs.
Inflation makes food budgets even more difficult for many of the 42 million Americans participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Glenn Alvin Washington, Sr, a 91-year-old SNAP recipient in Washington, DC, told Berrywell that he needed to reduce the fresh fruit of his smoothies to increase food costs. “They doubled the price,” he said. “I had to put the strawberries and blueberries back in.”
What is SNAP?
Also known as “food stamps,” SNAP is a federal-funded food aid program that helps low-income Americans. Participants must meet certain state eligibility requirements in order to receive benefits with an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card. Benefits can be used for most groceries such as produce, meat, fish and dairy products. However, these benefits do not apply to non-food items such as hot foods and personal hygiene products.
According to USDA, the pandemic bailout for SNAP recipients is nearing its end in the coming months, with some people seeing a decline in profits of more than $ 95 per month.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) states that the program aims to help families buy healthy foods and move to “self-sufficiency,” but research shows that this is SNAP. It is not always possible for participants.
According to a 2021 USDA report, 88% of SNAP participants cite “affordability” as the main barrier to achieving a healthy diet.And a new study published in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition We found a link between participation in SNAP and increased consumption of super-processed foods.
However, other studies suggest that SNAP may actually improve participants’ “current and long-term health outcomes.”
How does SNAP work?
Dr. Lindsey Haynes Maslow, associate professor of agriculture and human sciences at North Carolina State University, MHA said that despite being federally funded, the state determines the amount of SNAP recipients. He told Verywell that he had some influence. program.
SNAP eligibility requirements vary from state to state, but are based on meeting income level, household membership, and job requirements. Undocumented non-citizens are not eligible in any state or territory. Once an applicant qualifies, they will only be certified for a period of time and will need to continue to be recertified in order to continue to receive benefits.
In general, the benefits of SNAP are calculated assuming that participants spend 30% of their income to pay for groceries.
“SNAP covers about $ 1.40 per meal a day,” said Haynes-Maslow, adding that this is enough to “supplement” nutrition.
And SNAP participants like Washington are beginning to feel more financial pressure from rising food prices.
How can SNAP improve the nutritional quality of participants?
In the 1980s, SNAP introduced a nutrition education component as a way to promote a healthy diet for participants. These SNAP-Ed programs are currently offered by local universities and nonprofits in all states and US territories.
Haynes Maslow, Principal Investigator for the SNAP-Ed Program Steps to Health at North Carolina State University, said most of these programs began with direct education. Currently, it is evolving to break down other barriers facing SNAP participants.
“If they do not have access to [healthy] If you can’t afford food or that food, or if it’s culturally inadequate for your family, it doesn’t really matter if they have the knowledge. It’s really important that they have access to it. ”
Steps to Health work with local grocery stores to identify the most popular foods in different communities. From there, her team uses readily available ingredients to create affordable and nutritious recipes. Haynes-Maslow emphasized the importance of ensuring that these recipes are culturally relevant and enjoyable for SNAP-Ed participants.
“No matter what dollars they spend on food, they don’t want to throw it away,” she said. “If they’re trying a new recipe, they can’t afford to throw it in the trash, so they really want the family to eat it.”
Food anxiety and mental health
Seeing food prices rise and the extra benefits of the pandemic begin to disappear can have a negative impact on the mental health of SNAP participants.
Many SNAP participants will also run out of benefits by the end of the month. Studies have shown that food anxiety is associated with severe stress and anxiety in low-income adults.
In addition, some SNAP eligible individuals need to work on the decision to apply for benefits.
“Only about 80% of individuals eligible for SNAP actually apply for it. There is a big stigma of relying on the government to help yourself or your family,” said Haynes-Maslow. “I asked my seniors to specifically tell me that I should be hungry rather than appearing at the Social Welfare Department and applying for food stamps or SNAP, because it’s not the way they were raised.”
Eligible individuals who decide to participate may also find the application process frustrating. Washington worked with DC Hunger Solutions agents to make filing and recertification more manageable, but it wasn’t easy.
“Elderly people and people don’t have to experience this,” he said.
Haynes-Maslow said many SNAP participants told her she wanted to provide her family with a healthy and fresh diet, which results in a lack of resources.
“It’s really a spiritual game of seeing what they can buy, what they have time for, and what they can offer their family,” she says. I did.
What does this mean for you
If you need assistance with your food purchase, please visit the SNAP State Directory to find your state credentials. This directory provides contact information for local SNAP offices in each state. You can call the state hotline for additional information.
