August 29, 2024

This August marks the 60th anniversary of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). A lot has happened in six decades. Here are six key things to celebrate about SNAP.

1. A Lifeline for Millions of People in America

SNAP is the first line of defense against hunger, helping over 40 million people put food on the table each month. Originally piloted in 1961 as the Food Stamp Program, the program became permanent in 1964, setting the foundation for the program we know today. In these early years, the benefits formula was tied to a plan called the Economy Food Plan (EFP). Yet, despite being a program to help people put food on the table, the EFP formula resulted in inadequate benefits.

In 1971, FRAC filed a class action lawsuit against the USDA. The court’s decision was strong, as FRAC’s founding Executive Director, Ron Pollack explains

The court…stated that, under the newly amended law, the program was intended “to shift from supplementing the diets of low-income households to guaranteeing those households the opportunity for an adequate diet (emphasis in original text). It further indicated that a new set of benefits “can be sustained only if the Secretary can show that such a system will deliver coupons to substantially all recipients sufficient to allow them to purchase a nutritionally adequate diet.

USDA scrapped the EFP and created a new formula called the Thrifty Food Plan. Yet, despite strong language from the court, the Thrifty Food Plan did no better than the EFP, continued to provide inadequate benefits, and was cemented into legislation in 1977. Finally, after 45 years, the Thrifty Food Plan was updated to reflect current nutritional guidance and what food and beverage options are on the market today instead of from decades ago.

While reducing hunger and malnutrition was top of mind, a stigma remained present around receiving welfare. The ‘food stamps’ term carried this stigma, as did the process of using them at checkout. As a result, in 2008, the name changed to “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program”.

2. Positive Economic Impact

As much as we love to see SNAP helping households put food on the table, we cannot ignore that it also benefits the economy. SNAP benefits are spent by participants within three weeks of receipt on food, which supports local grocery stores, farmers, and the broader food supply chain. During economic downturns, SNAP acts as an economic stabilizer when the economy needs it most, with research showing that every dollar spent on SNAP generates about $1.54 in economic activity. Overall, the government’s spending on SNAP is an investment in its own people and communities. Through this investment, SNAP participants experience improved health outcomes and less visits to emergency rooms, which reduces medical costs and improves performance at school and work. That not only creates a better today, but also a stronger tomorrow.

3. An Evolution of the Program

SNAP has evolved in many ways since its humble origins in 1964. Sometimes, those efforts have been bipartisan, like adjusting the Thrifty Food Plan so that benefits are updated according to the latest nutrition guidance costs; and other times, they have been due to litigation led by the Food Research & Action Center and others. In 2024, the program also expanded eligibility to include citizens from Compact of Free Association  nations — which include the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and Palau.

4. Technological Innovations

The way SNAP benefits are delivered has evolved over the years. The program moved from paper Food Stamps to Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards in the 1990s, streamlining the process and reducing stigma at grocery checkout.

Today, EBT cards function much like debit cards, allowing participants to purchase eligible food items with autonomy, ease, and dignity. The ongoing push for technological innovation in SNAP aims to make the program even more accessible, efficient, and secure, in the digital age. The next technological innovation is already taking form with the move from EBT cards to chip cards and with pilots currently in place for states to test out mobile payments.

5. Support During Disasters

In 1973, within a decade of launch, Congress amended the program to provide disaster benefits.  This program, known as Disaster SNAP (D-SNAP), was previously available for those who resided or worked in the impacted area. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, many people were evacuees and living all over the country. So, the Food and Nutrition Service expanded the program to include evacuees which permitted other states to immediately help those people. D-SNAP has helped millions of people receive emergency benefits and/or replace lost food during disasters. The USDA Food and Nutrition Service continues to grow in this space by testing out virtual methods of pre-registering D-SNAP applicants online, interviewing over the phone, and utilizing overnight shipping to ensure households receive D-SNAP benefits within 72 hours. SNAP also answered the call with emergency allotments — providing maximum benefits to all SNAP participants during the COVID-19 global pandemic crisis. Access FRAC’s disaster response resources: www.frac.org/disaster.

6. Future Outlook

While the country has taken steps forward, it also has taken steps backward. In 1996 when former President Clinton sought to “end welfare as we have come to know it,” he signed into law a Food Stamps program that excluded immigrants and those individuals with drug felonies on their records. While immigrants faced a five-year bar, people with drug felonies faced a lifetime ban. Both exclusions were not based on math, science, or any other logical reasoning, which is why today some states have budgeted to include some immigrant groups and nearly half the states have modified or fully repealed the drug felony ban. Looking ahead, there’s bipartisan support to fully repeal the drug felony ban in the next Farm Bill.

Progress not only includes all the wins over the years that have added good things to SNAP, but progress also includes all of the negative policies that anti-hunger advocates have pushed back against.

There have been multiple efforts to cut benefits, increase work requirements, change the public charge rule, etc. However, a growing community of national, state, and local groups and advocates focused on protecting and strengthening SNAP has banded together to beat these efforts.

This has sent out a resounding clarion call: SNAP advocates do not go gently into any good night. That’s because we know SNAP could be so much more by increasing the benefit amount for all eligible households, expanding eligibility to include immigrants, allowing hot foods to be purchased with SNAP benefits, and simplifying requirements for college students.

SNAP’s 60th anniversary is a time to celebrate the program’s achievements, and a timely opportunity for a new Farm Bill that can continue to improve and serve those in need. Because, after all — you can’t lead America if you can’t feed America.