Proposed SNAP Changes

[milford]

White House wants to deliver food to the poor, Blue Apron-style | fox8.com

I'm on food stamps and have diabetes. According to this news, i'll be throwing the juice, canned fruit, grains, pasta, and cereal in the garbage. How is this supposed to help me? And with the current trend of packages being stolen from porches, what happens when a delivery gets stolen? What happens if it never arrives? Are they going to replace it?

 

[Janet H]

Moderator hat on: This is an important topic but Discuss Cooking has a no politics rule. So... proceed carefully here. Discuss the current program, possible program changes, discuss the legislative process, impacts change might have, costs, etc BUT please keep direct political statements out of this, this includes statements like :

Obama care
Cheeto
Wall building
Russia
Commentary regarding a politicians veracity or morality or that of another DC member.

Stay on topic please - it's an important one.

 

[GotGarlic]

Milford, this is just a proposal at this point and there is some pretty significant opposition. I think it's unlikely the lobbyists who will write the ultimate legislation will let this happen

Also, as they start discussing this, they will quickly find that it's going to be a logistical nightmare to account for people's different dietary restrictions and needs.

But the proposal drew swift opposition from many fronts – including the $840 billion supermarket industry, where food stamps drive 7.5 percent of sales, according to Customer Growth Partners. The firm estimated that Walmart alone reaps more than one-fifth of all food stamp sales.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/13/whi...vering-food-boxes-instead-of-food-stamps.html

 

[milford]

If it was just a proposal, it should never have been printed. News should be fact. Not fantasy. I saw that article and I almost cried. I need low carb, low sodium food to control my diabetes. Canned meat???? Do you know how much sodium is in a can of Spam? And I didn't read anywhere about tailoring each carton to 16 million individuals on food stamps. Nor did it mention a decent variety each month. The nightmare is endless.

 

[GotGarlic]

That's how the process works. The White House proposes a budget for next year and then Congress debates it, makes changes and passes legislation. Then the president can either sign it or veto and they work on it some more.

So the proposal is news. It identifies the president's priorities. People can then decide whether or not they agree and vote accordingly.

 

[Janet H]

That's how the process works. The White House proposes a budget for next year and then Congress debates it, makes changes and passes legislation. Then the president can either sign it or veto and they work on it some more.

So the proposal is news. It identifies the president's priorities.

A nice thing about this process (proposal, debate, vote) is that it gives regular folks the opportunity to contact their elected representatives and let them know what you think. Input is important as often the direct impact of legislation may not be fully understood by the folks doing the voting.

Here's a link to help you get find who your representatives are so you can let them know what you think. https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

 

[jennyema]

If it was just a proposal, it should never have been printed. News should be fact. Not fantasy. I saw that article and I almost cried. I need low carb, low sodium food to control my diabetes. Canned meat???? Do you know how much sodium is in a can of Spam? And I didn't read anywhere about tailoring each carton to 16 million individuals on food stamps. Nor did it mention a decent variety each month. The nightmare is endless.

The link you posted clearly stated that it was just a proposal

“WASHINGTON — Think of it as Blue Apron for food stamp recipients.

That’s how Budget Director Mick Mulvaney described the Trump administration’s proposal to replace nearly half of poor Americans’ monthly cash benefits with a box of food. It would affect households that receive at least $90 a month in food stamps, or roughly 38 million people.”



P.s. I hope you would not actually throw away perfectly good food ....

 

[CWS4322]

Having worked for a local company that delivered meal kits, what a logistic nightmare. And costly re delivery, etc. Bad idea, IMO.

 

[CharlieD]

i sure hope it doesn't happen. {moderator edit} i doubt they are going to ask now.

 

[Steve Kroll]

Having worked for a local company that delivered meal kits, what a logistic nightmare. And costly re delivery, etc. Bad idea, IMO.

I agree. Just thinking about the astronomical costs involved in hiring the workers, building facilities to stage the food items, deliver them, etc. I can't imagine why anyone would think this is a good idea.

 

[Cheryl J]

^ Agreed. And don't you just love the weak attempt at trying to make it sound appealing by referring to a box of canned food and dried beans as "Blue Apron-style"?

 

[GotGarlic]

I agree. Just thinking about the astronomical costs involved in hiring the workers, building facilities to stage the food items, deliver them, etc. I can't imagine why anyone would think this is a good idea.

I'm guessing they have ideas for which companies this would be outsourced to.

 

[milford]

P.s. I hope you would not actually throw away perfectly good food ....

If I can't use it, why should I keep it? I can't sell it to make up for the food I lost. I don't know if I can give it away, since its food stamps.

 

[Cheryl J]

If I can't use it, why should I keep it? I can't sell it to make up for the food I lost. I don't know if I can give it away, since its food stamps.

No one would know where it came from but you. You'd be able to give it away to someone if you wanted to - a friend, church, food bank....

 

[Steve Kroll]

I'm guessing they have ideas for which companies this would be outsourced to.

I'm not aware of any details having been shared with the public. Unless you're aware of something the rest of us aren't, then yes, you are guessing.

 

[GotGarlic]

I'm not aware of any details having been shared with the public. Unless you're aware of something the rest of us aren't, then yes, you are guessing.

Well yeah. That's what I said

 

[Aunt Bea]

In my opinion the program would result in tremendous waste.

It sounds like a step backwards to the days when the government provided surplus food to people in need.

If a new system is needed then I think that they should look at allowing SNAP recipients to order groceries online for home delivery.

I also think that some consideration should be given to allowing people to use SNAP benefits to purchase items in restaurants. For many single people living in urban areas it would be cheaper and possibly healthier if they were allowed to get meals from local fast food franchises than it is for them to find quality food in corner stores.

I would like to see more programming that teaches people how to budget, shop, and prepare healthy meals on a tight budget, sort of a government sponsored food network.

 

[GotGarlic]

I would like to see more programming that teaches people how to budget, shop, and prepare healthy meals on a tight budget, sort of a government sponsored food network.

As part of the Master Food Volunteer program, last year I attended a training on working with WIC recipients, in grocery stores, on how to shop and prepare foods permitted under the program. They were to be provided with recipes and a voucher for groceries for attending the training. Unfortunately, funding was discontinued.

 

[caseydog]

Milford, I don't see this idea getting anywhere. I don't see either political party embracing this proposal as a reasonable alternative to the status quo.

The idea behind the proposal was that somehow SNAP was being widely used to commit fraud, and this package program would fix that. But, SNAP actually works pretty well as it is. Based on CBO data, fraud is not a significant issue, so the new proposal is a solution in search of a problem.

I wouldn't get to worried about it.

CD

 

[jennyema]

Milford, I don't see this idea getting anywhere. I don't see either political party embracing this proposal as a reasonable alternative to the status quo.

The idea behind the proposal was that somehow SNAP was being widely used to commit fraud, and this package program would fix that. But, SNAP actually works pretty well as it is. Based on CBO data, fraud is not a significant issue, so the new proposal is a solution in search of a problem.

I wouldn't get to worried about it.

CD

I think its also perhaps an attempt to address the food desert issue ....