Abstract
Purpose: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants are important stakeholders in improving program policies, but their voices have not been included in the public discourse.Methods: We assessed the opinions of 202 SNAP participants and 368 food-insufficient nonparticipants on proposed SNAP policies.Results: The majority of SNAP participants and nonparticipants supported increasing federal SNAP spending, policies to broaden the usage of SNAP benefits, and policies to improve the healthfulness of foods purchased with SNAP benefits. However, 60% opposed the America's Harvest Box proposal.Conclusion: The perspectives of SNAP participants on restructuring the program's reach or nutritional impact should be considered.
Highlights
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the nation’s largest safety net protecting low-income individuals from poverty and hunger.[1]
SNAP participants were more likely to live in a household with children and report higher levels of food insecurity
Strategies to increase total SNAP benefits, provide financial incentives for fruits and vegetables, and provide more nutrition education are policies that are generally supported across stakeholder groups,[12] the proposal to remove sugary beverages from the list of foods eligible for purchase with SNAP benefits has generated heated debate between antihunger advocates and public health researchers.[13]
Summary
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the nation’s largest safety net protecting low-income individuals from poverty and hunger.[1]. In early 2018 as part of the 2018 Farm Bill debate, the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) unveiled ‘‘America’s Harvest Box,’’ a proposal that would replace half of SNAP benefits with a box of shelf-stable foods, impacting the majority of SNAP households.[3] To inform the national SNAP discussion, this study assessed the opinions of SNAP participants and food-insufficient nonparticipants on federal SNAP spending, policies to change the program’s eligibility or nutritional impact, and the Harvest Box proposal. SNAP participants were included in the study because of their in-depth experience with the program’s current policies and because they would be the group most impacted by any policy changes. Nonparticipants who report experience of food insufficiency were included in the study because they represent individuals who might have participated in SNAP in the past and individuals who may apply for SNAP in the future
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