1. Family Health and Nutrition Policy
Thursday May 7, 2015
Harrison Hall
John Hawkins, Lee Hollis, Jenni Martin, Paige Melton, Nomsa Mzozoyana, Anna Swanson

3. Agenda
1. Identify and Define the Problem
2. History of Problem and Policy
3. Overview of Current Policies
a. SNAP
b. WIC
c. School Lunch Program
4. Methodology
5. Major Findings and Alternatives
6. Our Recommendations

4. Hunger Paradox
Nobel Prize winning economist Amartya Sen:
"starvation is the characteristic of some people not having enough food
to eat. It is not the characteristic of there being not enough food to eat.
While the latter can be the cause of the former, it is but one of many
possible causes” (p 1)

5. What is Food Security?
“Food security” and “food insecurity” focus on economic and other access-
related issues and purchasing power.
Hunger physiological condition
Food security is built upon three principles:
1. Food availability: sufficient and consistent food available
2. Food access: having the resources to obtain food
3. Food use: appropriate knowledge of basic nutrition

6. Varying Degrees of Food Insecurity
High food security—Households had no problems, or anxiety about, consistently accessing
adequate food.
Marginal food security—Households had problems at times, or anxiety about, accessing adequate
food, but the quality, variety, and quantity of their food intake were not substantially reduced.
Low food security—Households reduced the quality, variety, and desirability of their diets, but the
quantity of food intake and normal eating patterns were not substantially disrupted.
Very low food security—At times during the year, eating patterns of one or more household
members were disrupted and food intake reduced because the household lacked money and other
resources for food.

7. Food Insecurity on the Rise

8. What is the problem?
One in every seven
Americans are food
insecure

9. Why is this a public problem?
● Market Imperfections
o Highly inefficient for a private company to step in and address the
problem
o High transaction costs
o Lack of potential profits because most often serving lower income
families
● Externalities
o Occur when either the costs or benefits that affect one party who
did not choose to acquire the cost or benefit, causing one party to
be better or worse off

10. History of the Problem and Policies
The Food Stamp Program of 1939
● Concern for the poor and growing food surpluses
● Orange and blue stamps

11. History of the Problem and Policies cont.
Pilot Food Stamp Program of 1961
● Executive Order 10914 - January 1961
● “Call for expanded food distribution to needy families”
● Retained purchase requirement
● Removed surplus focus

12. History of the Problem and Policies cont.
Food Stamp Act of 1964
● Permanent social program
● Strengthen agricultural economy
● Improve nutrition in low-income households
● Congressional control

13. History of the Problem and Policies cont.
National School Lunch Act and Child Nutrition
Act of 1966
● First with a focus on children
1972 WIC Pilot Program
● Growing concern for pregnant women and infants

14. History of the Problem and Policies cont.
Public Law 94-105 (1975)
● Made WIC a permanent program
● Mentions breastfeeding
● Extends the age to 5

15. History of the Problem and Policies cont.
1971 Amendments to the Food Stamp Act
● Work requirements
● Household definitions
● Disaster procedures
● Eligibility tests
● Able Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs)

16. History of the Problem and Policies cont.
Conservative Attacks
● Ronald Reagan’s “young buck”
● 1970’s committee members see “food as a spur for
people to work”

17. History of the Problem and Policies cont.
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act of 1996
● Clinton
● Increased use of EBT
● Controversial
● Most ABAWD and lawful immigrants lost benefits

18. History of the Problem and Policies cont.
Food Conservation and Energy Act of 2008
● Renamed to SNAP

19. History of the Problem and Policies cont.
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009 (ARRA)
● States suspend time limits for benefits placed on
ABAWD
● Increased benefit levels

20. Current Policies
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
Special Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants,
and Children (WIC)
School Lunch Program

21. Who is in charge?
US Department of Agriculture
Food and Nutrition Service (FNS)
is umbrella organization
● Administers domestic food assistance
programs authorized in the farm bill as
well as WIC and Child Nutrition Programs
Secretary of
Agriculture
Deputy Secretary
Under Secretary for
Food Nutrition, &
Consumer Service
○ Food and Nutrition
Service
○ Center for Nutrition
Policy and
Promotion

22. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program (SNAP)
The primary food assistance program of the Farm Bill;
close to 79% of the 2014 Farm Bill spending was towards
SNAP
National nutrition safety net
Provides benefits that supplement low-income recipients
giving food purchasing power through Electronic Benefit
Transfer (EBT) cards.

23. SNAP EBT Cards
● All 50 states in 2004
● Fraud prevention
● Efficient

24. SNAP Funding
Funding
● 100% federally funded
● Administered by the states
● State and federal governments share administrative
expenses
● FY 2015 cost $73.7 billion

25. SNAP Description
SNAP participation adjusts to the economy
● Grows when economy is weak
● Lessens when economy is strong
Lifts millions out of poverty
Provides fiscal boost to local economies
● $1 in benefits generates $1.80 in economic activity
● $1 billion = 18,000 full-time jobs, 3,000 farm jobs

26. SNAP follows poverty and economic cycles
United States Department of Agriculture. (2012). Building A Health America: A Profile of the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program.

27. SNAP Eligibility
Eligibility:
● Gross income test
● Net income test
● (FY2015) liquid assets under $2,250 (assets under
$3,250 if elderly or disabled household members).
● Amount of Resources, deductions, employment
requirements considered too.

28. SNAP Money Allotments

29. Demographics of SNAP Participants
United States Department of Agriculture. (2012). Building A Health America: A Profile of the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program.
48% of SNAP
recipients are
children

30. SNAP Participation
In FY2014, SNAP had an average monthly
participation of approximately 46.5 million
individuals in 22.7 million households.

31. Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women,
Infants, and Children (WIC)
● Provides grants to states for food and education for
low-income mothers
● Pregnant women, breastfeeding women,
postpartum women, infants, and children up to age
5
● Encourages healthy decisions and practices
● FY 2015 cost $6,623,000 million

32. WIC Food Package
Must adhere to current food list:
● Juice, milk, breakfast cereals, cheese,
eggs, fruits, vegetables, whole wheat
bread, canned fish, canned and dried
beans, and peanut butter

33. WIC Distribution
Some states have transitioned to EBT cards, most still use
paper vouchers
● By 2020, all States are to distribute WIC benefits via
EBT cards

34. WIC Eligibility
Pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women, infants,
and children up to age five with a household income at or
below 185% of federal poverty guidelines.
Applicants must be individually determined to be at
“nutritional risk" by a health professional and must meet
state residency requirements.

35. WIC Participation
In FY2014, an average monthly total of approximately 8.3
million individuals (down from 8.7 million in FY2013)
participated in WIC. This includes an average monthly total
of 4.3 million (52%) children, 2.0 million (24%) infants,
and 2.0 million (24%) women.

36. School Lunch Programs
National School Lunch Program (NSLP)
● Established under the National School Lunch Act (NSLA) signed by
President Harry Truman in 1946
● One of the larger U.S. food and nutrition assistance program both
in numbers of children served (30 million in 2006) and federal
dollars spent (8 billion in 2006)
● Provides low-cost or free lunch meals to qualified students through
providing subsidies to schools

37. Methodology
Legislation History
Government Reports
Journals
Periodicals
Interest Groups

38. Major Findings
SNAP and WIC work well in alleviating
food insecurity

39. Major Findings re: SNAP
● SNAP participation reduces food insecurity
● 16.2% decrease in food insecurity among
needy households (Radcliffe, McKernan, &
Zhang, 2011)
● Census Bureau: Lifted 3.9 million people out
of poverty
o Including 1.7 million children

40. Major Findings re: SNAP
● SNAP is not contributing to the nation’s
long-term fiscal problems
● SNAP eligibility changes have not played a
role in SNAP growth
● Payment error rates at all-time lows

41. Major Findings re: WIC
● WIC participation associated with improved birth
outcomes (Bitler and Currie, 2005)
● Among mothers on Medicaid, each dollar spent on WIC
saved the state at least $1.77 to $3.13 in health care costs
(1993)

42. Policy Alternatives: Shift the Focus
Policy focus should be on the quality of food
not just quantity

43. Viable Policy Alternatives: Federal
Bi-Weekly SNAP Payments

44. Viable Policy Alternatives: City and State Initiative
Examples
Reducing Transportation Barriers
Austin, Texas
o Austin Capital Metro Transit “grocery bus line”

45. Viable Policy Alternatives: City and State Initiative
Examples
Ban Certain Foods and Beverages Outright
● Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's attempted ban on large-size sugary beverages
● Fat Tax

46. Viable Policy Alternatives: Non-governmental
Examples
Farm-to-School Initiatives
● Farmers and Schools work together
Community Gardening
● Vacant lots
● positive spillover
Farmers’ Markets
● Huge influx and attitudinal shift.
o Increased dramatically; from 1,755 in 1990 to 7,175 since
2009

47. Recommendation 1:
EBT at Farmers Markets
$9 million to equip all
farmers markets with
wireless EBT point-of-sale
equipment
● less than .0001% of the
2014 SNAP budget

48. EBT at Farmers Markets cont.
Political Feasibility
● Different stakeholders benefit
● Viewed favorably by all
● Economically feasible

49. Recommendation 2: Requiring SNAP and WIC
Vendors to Carry Healthier Foods
The healthier the environment, the easier the healthy choice.
USDA does not require qualifying WIC and SNAP vendors to carry items that
meet standard nutrient criteria, or items specifically designated to be healthy
within the staple categories.
Chocolate Milk Soy Milk
White Bread Whole Wheat Bread

50. Current SNAP Vendor Eligibility
(A) Offer for sale, on a continuous basis, at least three varieties of qualifying
foods in each of the four staple food groups, with perishable foods in at least
two of the categories:
OR
(B) More than one-half (50%) of the total dollar amount of all retail sales (food,
nonfood, gas and services) sold in the store must be from the sale of eligible
staple foods.

51. Requiring SNAP and WIC Vendors to Carry
Healthier Foods
Political Feasibility
Economic Feasibility

52. In closing…..
“It is worth noting that the US has the most
extensive anti-hunger and government
supported nutrition and feeding programs in
the world—which is certainly not a bad legacy
for our country.”
- Dan Glickman, Chairman of the Food Research and Action Center

53. Family Health and Nutrition Policy
Questions?