The Job loss factor - Food Stamps - NYT

The Job Loss Factor - NYT
Marion Nestle

Marion Nestle, the Paulette Goddard professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health at New York University, is the author of “Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health.” Her comments are excerpted from her blog.

The Food Stamp program, now called Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is one of several food assistance programs run by the U.S.D.A. SNAP is an entitlement program, meaning that anyone who meets income eligibility requirements can get benefits. Even so, only two-thirds of people eligible for the program apply for and get the benefits. Recipients get a credit card to use at grocery stores. The cards were worth an average of $101 per month in 2008 for individuals, and $227 for households.

SNAP participants can use the money to buy foods, seeds and food plants. They cannot use the cards for alcohol, tobacco, pet food, supplements, paper goods, or hot prepared foods.

So what’s going on? Nearly 15 percent of American households, up a couple of percentage points this year, are considered “food insecure,” meaning that they cannot count on a reliable, legally obtained source of food from one day to the next. Surprise! The uptick in SNAP participation exactly parallels the uptick in jobs lost.


What do you have to do to qualify for food stamps? For a family of four, your household must make less than $2,389 per month gross, or $1,838 net and meet certain other requirements. An individual can’t make more than about $1,000 a month. These days, 36 million Americans make less than that or otherwise qualify for food assistance, and their numbers are rising rapidly.

This doesn’t look like an improving economy to me. Or am I missing something?