Making food and nutrition security a SNAP: recommendations for the 2023 Farm Bill

Making food and nutrition security a SNAP: recommendations for the 2023 Farm Bill

Collection:
Health Policy and Services Research
Contributor(s):
Bipartisan Policy Center, issuing body.
Publication:
Washington, DC : Bipartisan Policy Center, January 2023
Language(s):
English
Format:
Text
Subject(s):
Food Assistance -- legislation & jurisprudence
Food Assistance -- organization & administration
Food Insecurity
Poverty
Social Determinants of Health
United States
United States. Department of Agriculture
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (U.S.)
Genre(s):
Technical Report
Abstract:
The 2023 Farm Bill gives Congress an opportunity to improve food and nutrition security through federal nutrition assistance programs by expanding access, reducing costs through improved efficiencies and program integrity, and promoting workforce participation. The legislation also is an opportunity to increase the intake of foods recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) and to enhance benefits to ensure eligible households can access, afford, and have sufficient knowledge to purchase and prepare a nutritious, balanced diet. The major federal nutrition assistance programs authorized in the farm bill are: (1) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly the food stamp program (2) The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) (3) Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) (4) Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) (5) Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) (6) Seniors Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) (7) Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) (8) Community Food Projects. The Bipartisan Policy Center’s Food and Nutrition Security Task Force (FNSTF) makes five key policy recommendations and more than 25 subrecommendations for strengthening SNAP and other federal nutrition assistance programs authorized in the farm bill. In addition to the diverse expertise of the FNSTF, the recommendations were informed by a stakeholder roundtable, focus groups with former and current SNAP participants, and a nationally representative poll on perspectives on SNAP and potential policy changes. The September 2022 poll, which surveyed 2,210 U.S. adults, including 483 SNAP participants, found support for increased SNAP benefit levels; access to the program for additional population groups such as college students; opportunities for online grocery purchasing; and pilot programs aimed at incentivizing the purchase of healthful foods. A bipartisan majority of U.S. adults (67%) and a majority of SNAP participants (58%) said that states should be able to operate pilot programs to improve the nutrition of SNAP participants, either freely or with USDA approval. Additionally, more than two-thirds of adults across political parties and more than three-quarters of SNAP participants supported providing additional benefits to SNAP participants for the purchase of fruits and vegetables or a range of healthful foods such as fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds, legumes, and whole grains. A majority of U.S. adults and SNAP participants also favored providing these additional benefits even when conditioned on not purchasing or with reduced benefits for purchase of sugar-sweetened beverages.
Copyright:
The National Library of Medicine believes this item to be in the public domain. (More information)
Extent:
1 online resource (1 PDF file (109 pages)) : illustrations
Illustrations:
Illustrations
NLM Unique ID:
9918645388006676 (See catalog record)
Permanent Link:
http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918645388006676