Imagine yourself as a child. You’re told you have to eat the food in front of you because your parents give you no choice. Now imagine being put in the same predicament as an adult, except the government is to blame. This is what is happening to many low-income Americans as the Trump administration considers reforming the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The Trump administration has recently proposed SNAP recipients who receive more than $90 worth of food stamps a month should now receive pre-selected food packages, called “America’s Harvest Box,” in replacement of half of their current benefits. Though it would save money, it is shameful for these people to have their food pre-chosen for them.
There are many issues with this proposal, the biggest being its demeaning nature. This reform implies recipients will no longer be in control of some of the foods they’ll be eating. Food is one of the things many of us resort to for comfort, as well as good taste. What we choose to eat is individualized and our preferences are not one-size-fits-all. Underprivileged people would have this option limited against their will.
We’ve all been taught for years to choose fresh foods over processed and packaged ones. In an article written for Food & Nutrition Magazine, registered dietitian Brittany Chin Jones said she always recommends whole foods, which are nutrient dense, over processed foods that are energy dense. She states whole foods have important nutrients such as fiber, vitamins and minerals, while processed foods typically have higher calories with less nutritional value. If a person wants a house filled with processed food, it’s their choice. The government shouldn’t play a role in it.
Some may argue those who are receiving government assistance for food should not complain about what they receive. Though it is true that SNAP was created solely for assistance, the program as it is now has established that people have the freedom to choose what they want. Taking this freedom from people is degrading and limits their ability to fill their homes with fresh foods. If this plan goes through, many people will have the opportunity to live a healthy lifestyle snatched away from them.
Some argue recipients should work harder if they want a choice so they’re no longer a part of the program. For some people, the opportunity to get a higher paying job and get out of the system is incredibly difficult. Roughly 44 percent of SNAP recipients are under the age of 18, and nearly two-thirds of those young people are living in single-parent households. It’s already hard enough to worry about their financial situations. The last thing they should have to worry about is if their food box for the month will be fulfilling or not.
A lot of these recipients are families that likely contain picky-eating children. If packages are preselected for these homes, chances are a lot of food will go uneaten because of personal preferences. Furthermore, they fail to consider people’s allergies. Though the reformation is being proposed in order to decrease the federal deficit by around $21 billion dollars a year over the next 10 years, it will likely increase the amount of waste, as well as the number of hungry Americans. Chances are, the government won’t be reducing the budget by nearly as much as they wish they could.
Though the reformation is not set in stone, it certainly caused an uproar among Americans, including those who do not take part in SNAP. It may not currently be something being acted on, but the administration’s consideration of something so insensitive is enough. More attention needs to be paid to these programs, and there needs to be a more empathetic approach.
Chantelle Baker is a 21-year-old communication studies senior from Waipahu, Hawaii.
