Running Head: SNAP PROGRAM USAGE

SNAP Program Usage: A Literature Review

Jazmine Del Castillo
University of Texas at El Paso

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Abstract
In the United States, several programs have existed to help supplement the nutrition of
those who are not able to support themselves. Beginning with President Franklin Delano
Roosevelts term, the Food Stamp Program was implemented to help distribute food to those
who were in need. This literature review will cover several questions and provide the necessary
information and provide pros and cons of the SNAP program.

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SNAP Usage in the United States: Literature Review

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, otherwise known as SNAP, is a
program strictly related to help those who are in need. This program is based off the Food Stamp
program, by providing the means to those who cannot afford to buy food to help sustain a
healthy diet. However, there are those who do not favor this program, within this review several
questions will be looked upon to determine the pros and cons of the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program. The questions that will be addressed are as followed: What are the current
acceptance rates of SNAP? How efficient is the SNAP program currently? What are the effects
of the current SNAP policies on peoples diet choices? And lastly, what is the effect of
governmental control of the food options given to those who use SNAP, and does the
government have the right to dictate what to buy? Each of the questions mentioned above will be
looked upon from different perspectives and will be delivered thoroughly through the remainder
of this literature review.
What are the current acceptance rates of the SNAP program?
The SNAP program, formerly known as the Food stamp program was founded in 1939 by
a man named Henry Wallace, the United States Secretary of Agriculture (Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program, 2014). However, from its foundation the program has been reformed several
times based on different reports and proposals. Several occasions in which the program was
reformed can be noted through Food Stamp Act of 1964 and years later the Food Stamp Act of
1977 (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, 2014) As the United States prospered into
becoming the country that we now know it, technology has changed as well, introducing the
Electronic Benefit Transfer, also known as an EBT card. As these reformations and

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developments took place and changed, so did the way those within the nation viewed the
program.
The information mentioned above is just background information related to the SNAP
program. The first question being addressed will be, what are the current acceptance rates of the
SNAP program? In the Journal of Food Law and Policy, author, Regina Cucurullo states that in
the year of 2011, the SNAP program was being used by over 45 million people (Cucurullo, Vol.8,
2012). As of 2015, the number of those who participate in the program rose to 47 million
(Chriqui, Pomeranz, Vol. 49, No.3). According to Chriqui and Pomernaz, the purposes of the
SNAP program is too alleviate hunger and malnutrition and to allow low-income households
to obtain a more nutritious diet. To be eligible to participate in the SNAP program, several
criteria must be met. To begin, a participant must be meet a gross monthly and net income based
on household size. Several deductions can be made according to different aspects within a
household. The allotments given to a household is multiplied by .3 of the net monthly income
(Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Eligibility,2016). As well as meeting income
eligibility, a participant must also meet work requirements. These requirements lead to who can
and cannot be accepted into the SNAP program. Based on these requirements and the number of
those participating currently in the SNAP program, acceptance rates in the United States is quite
high.
In an article written by Dottie Rosenbaum, SNAP is Effective and Efficient, states that
the SNAP program had a rise in participants between the years of 2007-2011 due to the recession
that the United States was experiencing. It then states that the number of participants registering
for the SNAP program digressed in 2012. Out of those in low income households the SNAP
program effectively reaches about 75 percent of eligible participants as of the year 2010.

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(Rosenbaum, 2013). Rosenbaum also stated that not only was the recession a major cause in the
participation rate of the SNAP program but long term unemployment played a major role as well.
How efficient is the SNAP program currently?
The fact that the SNAP program has a high acceptance rate due to the economic stability
within the United States, and is government funded by tax payer money, there have been some
who have questioned how efficient the program is. According to Rosenbaum, the SNAP program
has been very efficient and effective. She states that the SNAP program provided an additional
$35 billion under the Recovery Act that added to additional SNAP benefits. Stated within her
article, Economists consider SNAP one of the most effective forms of economic stimulus, is an
example that the SNAP program is proving to be quite efficient in the terms of the economy and
tax payer money.
Rosenbaum also writes about the payment error rates. Taxpayers want to know whether
their tax money is being used properly. According to Rosenbaum, SNAP has a very intense
screening process that occurs yearly. Each state gathers a set amount of participants and reviews
their eligibility, if these states error rates come out higher than the national average then they
then receive a penalty. (Rosenbaum, 2013). During the fiscal year of 2011, besides the growing
number of SNAP participants, the error rate was at an all-time low. Only 3 percent of benefits
were not being distributed properly, and more than 98 percent of the benefits were going to
eligible households.
Also being monitored to make the SNAP program as efficient and effective as possible
there has been many steps to counter-act the trafficking of SNAP benefits. Trafficking of SNAP
benefits is the act of selling ones SNAP benefits for cash which is breaking federal law

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(Rosenbaum, 2013). Many retailers have been cut out from providing for the program for not
properly following federal laws. Rosenbaum mentions that the year 2012, about 342 retail
convictions were addressed due to retail fraud. However now that the EBT card, (Electronic
Benefits Transfer), a sort of debit card, has now been distributed SNAP benefit trafficking has
been reduced as well. The many precautions that are in place to maximize the effectiveness of
the SNAP program all relate to how efficient the program is overall.
What are the effects of the current SNAP policies on peoples diet choices?
Because the SNAP program is used for people in low income households to gain the
proper necessities to purchase foods that will supplement their diet, there are certain regulations
and food options that must be met. The question at hand is, do these policies and food options
have an effect on SNAP participants diet choices? According to the program food that can be
purchased include food or food products for home consumption. (Cucurullo, Vol.8, 2012)
According to Cucurullo these options can range from, steak, energy drinks, potato chips and ice
cream. What is not included in what can be purchased using the SNAP benefits include alcohol,
tobacco, or hot foods such as a rotisserie chicken. Because these options can vary from energy
drinks to fruit and vegetables there are related repercussions. In a journal article, Dietary
Quality of Americans by Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Participation Status, the
authors state that according to research, income eligible non SNAP participants have a higher
quality diet then current participating SNAP members. The diet of SNAP participants and their
health has become an issue of public concern. This concern has mainly to so with the chronic
health risk related to diet that is prevalent among Americans, particularly in low income
households. (Andreyeva, Schwartz, Tripp, Vol.49, No.4) Not only are there concerns about
chronic health risk related to diet, but food options that are a part of the SNAP program have

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been known to cause dental issues that can be found in the journal, A Pilot Study: Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Food Choices and Pediatric Advanced Dental Care
(ADC) written by the following, Emelda Hernandez, Mary Jacks, Carol Ngyuen, Melanie
Taverna, and Adele Uribe. They state that poverty status and access to energy-dense, low nutrient
foods went hand in hand between practicing healthful eating and primary tooth decay in children.
(Hernandez, Jacks, Ngyuen, Taverna, Vol.68, No.2) They also write that in between the years of
1977-2006 the milk in take greatly digressed whereas the intake of sugary drinks such as soda
increased. This shift in drinks produced an increase in dental issues. These related health risk that
seem to have become prevalent, caused the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) set
up a program called SNAP-Ed. This program is available to those who are participating in the
SNAP program and it provides nutrition education. As of the fiscal year 2015 about $407 million
went into the SNAP-Ed to provide states with grants for nutrition education and obesity
prevention programs. (Andreyeva, Schwartz, Tripp, Vol.49, No.4) According to Pomeranz and
Chriqui, children who use SNAP benefits are less likely to consume nut, seeds, and legumes
considered to those income eligible non-participants. They are also more likely to consume
higher amounts of sugary drinks, processed meat, and high fat dairy products considered to the
amount that income eligible non-participants consume. The SNAP program allows its
participants easy access to food that are low in nutritional value and high in sugar and fats. This
easy access, as stated above, has clear effects on the diet choices that each participant makes.
Knowing that the SNAP policies do have effects on the participants diet choices, and seeing that
the results are not favorable, regarding the health risk that are related to these products, the
question is does the government have the right to dictate what to buy?

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Does the government have the right to dictate what to buy?

In a survey performed by Jazmine Del Castillo, a question was asked, Does the
government have the right to regulate what you buy with food stamps? The results showed that
about 80% of those who took the survey agreed that the government should regulate what was
bought with SNAP benefits.

Does the governement have the right to regulate what you buy using food Stamps?

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%
Yes

60%

70%

80%

90% 100%

No

(Del Castillo, Survey, 2016)

According to the magazine article titled, Let them Eat Junk Food, author Tom Philpott has a
different view about the same question. He writes, dictating what you can buy with food
stamps is the kind of thing that only sounds good to people who don't actually have to survive on
a poverty income. He clearly has an opposite opinion then the majority of those from the survey
mentioned. His reasoning behind this is also seen within the article, he says that limiting more
purchases from an already limited selection is too much to be put into the hands of someone.

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Some states have already done its part to limit more of its selection and banning some of
the non-nutritional foods that were previously available to purchase using the SNAP benefits.
The journal article by Pomeranz and Chriqui gives several examples in which the governments
from several states ratify the foods that are allowed to be purchased using SNAP benefits. To
begin with, the following states had their bill reformed in the year of 2013-2014 and describe
what food items have now been removed from being purchased. Illinois had carbonated soft
drinks, snack cakes, candies, and gum to name a few items removed from the list. West Virginia
had soft drinks, cookies, crackers and ice cream removed. They also wrote that Indiana would
have had required the limitations set in the WIC program to determine the nutritional value of the
foods that could be bought using SNAP. (Chriqui, Pomeranz, Vol. 49 No.3) They continue to
state that states differentiate their food items and take on the role of defining what foods belong
in each category.
As well as defining what can and cannot be purchased using benefits, states have also
tried to establish incentives to help SNAP participants in purchasing foods that would be
nutritionally valuable and supplement their diet better. Philpott describes a case in which a single
mother is shopping or groceries using her SNAP benefits, he then proceeds to describe a reasons
why any participant would go for lower nutritional value foods, that are cheaper to purchase. For
example, a $5 pound of ground beef to make hamburgers would be good, but buns, condiments
and sides are all still needed to be purchased. Whereas individual pizzas are a dollar each and so
is a pack of Ramen. In the case of this single mother getting the latter options she would be able
to get more for her money. But these options are not nutritionally sound. In this example by
Philpott, it brings to light some reasons why those who are on SNAP benefits choose to get
unhealthy food, it might be better for them financially. Some incentives have been put out to the

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public to increase the likeliness of purchasing healthier food item, which have worked, however
incentives like these are expensive to run. According to Andreyeva, Schwartz, and Tripp, one
incentive program called Double Bucks, this program in particular provides a match to SNAP
benefits if vegetables or fruit are purchased in Farmers markets. Another incentive program that
they write about had a rise of about 26% of SNAP participants when 30% of subsidy was
targeted by buying fruits and vegetables. These incentives however, are still ways in which the
government controls what the SNAP participants buy using their benefits. These incentives are
used to persuade SNAP users to but more fruits and vegetables that will not only benefit their
health, but will provide the fundamental nutrition to supplement their diets, the whole point of
the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Conclusion
The purpose of this Literature Review was to answer the four overarching questions. By
conducting the following research and providing information from different perspectives, the
reader can intake the proper information and develop their own opinion on the questions
previously asked. The first question, what are the acceptance rates of the SNAP program proves
to show that SNAP acceptance rates are high due to the economic stability of the United States at
this time, however it also states that these acceptance rates will begin to decrease as the economy
gets better. The second question, is the SNAP program efficient, can say there is varying
opinions. One might say it is very efficient and much is being done to continually make the
program efficient and effective, and the proper tools are being used to ensure this effectiveness.
The third question, do the current SNAP policies have an effect on people diet choices, can be
seen that there is and effective and quite possibly not a good one. But there are ways that the
government is trying to help to give SNAP participants the proper nutrition and supplements that

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are needed. This government intrusion goes right on into the last question, Does the government
have the right to dictate what you buy? This literature review goes over all the possibilities and
describes the pros and cons of each question.

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References

Food and Nutrition Service. (2014). Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
USDA. Retrieved from http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/short-history-snap

Cucurullo. (2012). The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and
Children (WIC) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): Comparing
Policies and Suggesting Changes. Journal of Food Law and Policy. Vol.8. Retrieved from
http://0-web.a.ebscohost.com.lib.utep.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=edce5f4c5862-40fb-9a48-e13391c0cb82%40sessionmgr4010&vid=5&hid=4206

Chriqui, Pomeranz. (2015). The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Am J Prev Med
Vol. 49. No. 3 Retrieved from http://0web.a.ebscohost.com.lib.utep.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=15&sid=edce5f4c-5862-40fb-9a48e13391c0cb82%40sessionmgr4010&hid=4206&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZ
T1zaXRl#AN=108786851&db=a9h
Food and Nutrition Service. (2016). Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
Eligibility. USDA. Retrieved from http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/eligibility
Rosenbaum. (2013) SNAP is Effective and Efficient. Retrieved from
http://www.cbpp.org/research/snap-is-effective-and-efficient

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Andreyeva, Schwartz, Tripp. (2015). Dietary Quality of Americans by Supplemental Nutrition

Assistance Program Participation Status. Am J Prev Med. Vol 49. No.4 Retrieved from
http://0-web.a.ebscohost.com.lib.utep.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=15&sid=edce5f4c5862-40fb-9a48e13391c0cb82%40sessionmgr4010&hid=4206&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZ
T1zaXRl#AN=108786851&db=a9h
Hernandez, E. Jacks, M. Nguyen, C. Taverna, M. Uribe, A. (2016). A
Pilot Study: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
Food Choices and Pediatric Advanced Dental Care (ADC). Texas
Public Health Journal. Vol 68, No. 2. Retrieved from http://0web.a.ebscohost.com.lib.utep.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=6c0e5a86-59a8-4f61-ad5917083c8c1d67%40sessionmgr4008&vid=1&hid=4206

Phipott. (2014). Let Them Eat Junk Food. Mother Jones Vol.39. No. 2.
Retrieved from http://0-web.a.ebscohost.com.lib.utep.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?
sid=edce5f4c-5862-40fb-9a48-e13391c0cb82%40sessionmgr4010&vid=21&hid=4206

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