Food stamps are a big part of the welfare system. The new name for the Federal Food Stamp program is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program aka SNAP. There were about 33,489,975 people receiving food stamps in the 2009 Fiscal Year.
Who is eligible to receive food stamps through SNAP? Everyone who lives together and purchases and prepares meals together is grouped together as one household according to the Food and Nutrition Service website.
There are restrictions to those eligible for food stamps.
· The household must not gross more than $2000 dollars a month.
· Those receiving SSI and TANF benefits do not count the money received as income.
· They cannot have more than $2000 in resources such as savings accounts, and values of cars.
There are work requirements for those applying for food stamps. Those between the ages of 18 and 50 anddo not have any dependent children can get SNAP benefits only for 3 months in a 36-month period if they do not work or participate in a workfare or employment and training program other than job search says the Food and Nutrition Service website.
There are problems with the food stamp program. According to an article by Rebecca Moore, some problems with food stamps are: fraud, misconceptions, difficult paperwork, employer involvement, and ineligibility.
Fraud problems: there are two primary forms of fraud; submitting false information on applications and trafficking (buying and selling food stamp benefits for money or unauthorized items). Getting rid of the paper food stamps will stop the trafficking of the food stamps. Fraud from submitting false info will always be a problem.
Misconceptions: people believe that food stamps are for the uneducated and the poor but in reality it is there to help those who are working that need a little more help putting food on the table. Many people will not apply because they feel ashamed. We need better information out so people do not feel ashamed to ask for help when they need it.
Difficult paperwork: The process of filing forms needs to be shortened as well as the number of pages in an application. The SNAP Program needs the renewing process to be simpler by making the applicant update information rather than fill out a whole new form. Ineligibility is also a problem those who have a car worth over $4800 are not eligible even if the car is paid off or they are making payments. A car counts as an asset and without a car the person may not be able to get to work so selling it would give them temporary money but a loss of transportation. This rule needs to be modified.
Employer involvement: many people do not want their employer or other employees to know that they are receiving food stamp benefits. The employer must fill out a job verification form. Since these people are working we should create a form that just says income verification and not say what it is for so that those in need will not feel ashamed when they ask for verification.
We need to change the program so that everyone is comfortable and able to receive these benefits if they need them.
Works Cited:
Food and Nutrition Service Website: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
Moore, Rebecca. Problems with Food Stamps. Sept. 11, 2009.
http://www.ehow.com/about_5374987_problems-food-stamps.html
Wow, it is interesting that they change the name of food stamp. I think that it is true that they should come up with a different procedure for people who are on food stamp to feel more comfortable. Because there are people out there who do not enjoy people knowing that they are under the program.But really, I think that no one should feel ashamed that they are getting help from the government.
ReplyDeleteI think that you should mention how the welfare department had become more stricter. Because from my understanding, minor can not apply for it anymore. But I can be wrong, but you should look into that. It will be a great post for others to know about.