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Food Assistance Programmes and Food Insecurity in the United States

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  • Craig Gundersen

Abstract

A central goal of the US Department of Agriculture is to reduce food insecurity among the US population. This is pursued both by agricultural policies that focus on food supply and, arguably of greater importance, through food and nutrition programmes. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is the largest in terms of the number of participants and annual expenditure. SNAP is particularly well‐suited to alleviating food insecurity insofar as it is designed to target those most in need, is flexible enough to address geographical variations in food insecurity, has the ability to expand in times of increased need, such as economic downturns, and gives recipients the dignity and autonomy to make their own food choices. Due to its size – about US$ 70 billion in expenditures per year – the programme has generated proposals to impose direct and indirect restrictions on recipients in order to reduce expenditure. These proposals include removing the ability of states to set higher income thresholds for eligibility, imposing work requirements, and curtailing the food choices of recipients. In contrast, other proposals would build on the perceived successes of SNAP both to expand the number of recipients and to increase benefit levels. Le Ministère de l'agriculture des États‐Unis a pour objectif central de réduire l'insécurité alimentaire au sein de la population américaine. Cette action est poursuivie à la fois par des politiques agricoles axées sur l'approvisionnement alimentaire et par le biais de programmes d'alimentation et de nutrition qui ont sans doute une importance plus grande. Le programme d'aide complémentaire à la nutrition (SNAP), anciennement connu sous le nom de programme de coupons alimentaires, est le plus important en termes de nombre de participants et de dépenses annuelles. Le SNAP est particulièrement bien adapté à la réduction de l'insécurité alimentaire dans la mesure où il est conçu pour cibler les plus démunis, il est suffisamment flexible pour faire face aux variations géographiques de l'insécurité alimentaire, il a la capacité de répondre à l'accroissement ponctuel des besoins, par exemple, en période de ralentissement économique, et il accorde aux destinataires la dignité et l'autonomie pour faire leurs propres choix alimentaires. En raison de sa taille – environ 70 milliards de dollars de dépenses par an – le programme a été l'objet de propositions visant à réduire les dépenses en imposant des restrictions directes et indirectes aux destinataires. Ces propositions prévoient notamment de supprimer la possibilité pour les États d’établir des seuils de revenu plus élevés pour l'accès au programme, d'imposer des exigences en matière de travail et de limiter les choix alimentaires des bénéficiaires. En revanche, d'autres propositions s'appuieraient sur les succès perçus du SNAP, à la fois pour augmenter le nombre de bénéficiaires et pour augmenter le niveau des aides. Ein zentrales Ziel des US‐Landwirtschaftsministeriums ist es, die Nahrungsmittel‐unsicherheit der US‐Bevölkerung zu verringern. Dies geschieht sowohl durch eine Agrarpolitik, die sich auf die Nahrungsmittelversorgung konzentriert, als auch – was wohl von größerer Bedeutung ist – durch Lebensmittel‐ und Ernährungsprogramme. Das Zusätzliche Programm zur Unterstützung der Lebensmittelversorgung (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP), früher auch bekannt als Lebensmittelmarkenprogramm (Food Stamp Program), ist hinsichtlich der Teilneh‐merzahl und der jährlichen Ausgaben das größte Programm. SNAP eignet sich besonders gut zur Linderung der Nahrungsmittelunsicherheit, da es auf die Bedürftigsten ausgerichtet ist. Es ist flexibel genug, um auf geografische Unterschiede in der Nahrungsmittelunsicherheit zu reagieren, es kann in Zeiten des erhöhten Bedarfs, z. B. bei Wirtschaftsabschwüngen, expandieren und es gibt den Empfängern die Würde und Autonomie, ihre eigene Lebensmittelwahl zu treffen. Aufgrund seiner Größe – etwa 70 Milliarden Dollar Ausgaben pro Jahr – hat das Programm Vorschläge unterbreitet, die darauf abzielen, den Empfängern direkte und indirekte Beschränkungen aufzuerlegen, um so die Ausgaben zu senken. Diese Vorschläge beinhalten die Aufhebung der Möglichkeit für die Bundesstaaten, höhere Einkommensschwellen für die Anspruchsberechtigung festzulegen, Arbeitsanforderungen aufzuerlegen und die Lebensmittelauswahl für die Empfänger einzuschränken. Im Gegensatz dazu würden andere Vorschläge auf den erkennbaren Erfolgen des SNAP aufbauen, und zwar mit dem Ziel, sowohl die Zahl der Empfänger zu vergrößern als auch das Versorgungsniveau zu erhöhen.

Suggested Citation

  • Craig Gundersen, 2019. "Food Assistance Programmes and Food Insecurity in the United States," EuroChoices, The Agricultural Economics Society, vol. 18(1), pages 56-61, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:eurcho:v:18:y:2019:i:1:p:56-61
    DOI: 10.1111/1746-692X.12215
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Craig Gundersen & James P Ziliak, 2018. "Food Insecurity Research in the United States: Where We Have Been and Where We Need to Go," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 40(1), pages 119-135.
    2. Craig Gundersen & Brent Kreider & John V. Pepper, 2017. "Partial Identification Methods for Evaluating Food Assistance Programs: A Case Study of the Causal Impact of SNAP on Food Insecurity," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 99(4), pages 875-893.
    3. Coleman-Jensen, Alisha & Rabbitt, Matthew P. & Gregory, Christian A. & Singh, Anita, 2017. "Household Food Security in the United States in 2016," Economic Research Report 291968, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    4. Peter Ganong & Jeffrey B. Liebman, 2018. "The Decline, Rebound, and Further Rise in SNAP Enrollment: Disentangling Business Cycle Fluctuations and Policy Changes," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 10(4), pages 153-176, November.
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    1. Craig Gundersen, 2019. "The Right to Food in the United States: The Role of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 101(5), pages 1328-1336, October.

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