Food Stamps
The Food Stamp Program was created in 1964 to help low-income families buy food. This is a great program that helps people that are financially struggling, put food on the table. Over the years though, there have been many debates over the fact that there are people out there taking advantage of this benefit and if the program really is doing all it can to stop this.
Created during the Great Depression, the food stamp program picked up around the 1960’s and since has risen. Though all can apply, not all are eligible for food stamps. Legal immigrants and children under the age of sixteen are all qualified to receive food stamps under certain conditions. There are many stipulations when it comes to income as to who is able to receive this help for example a food stamp participant may not have over $2000 worth of resources in his/her home each month (ssa.gov 1). The only exception to this term is if there is a person sixty years of age or older in the house, then income stipulation will rise to $3000 a month because of Social Security checks that will be coming in. Though many are dependent of food stamps, the actual value per person is surprisingly one dollar a day. Since 1996 many cuts have been put in place but then undone. Two-thirds of these cuts still remain in effect to this day, and still just as inflation so does food stamps spending (Rosenbaum 3). According to the Huffington Post, “In 2010, the total cost of food stamp redemption in the U.S rose 29 percent from the previous year, totaling around sixty-four billion” (Bradford 2).
The food stamp program helps out millions of people struggling and it benefits others too. At the beginning of this program, users had a choice of foods they could buy. The program was later changed to limit amounts and products that were able to be purchased (Guthrie 1). By doing so, the government was attempting to promote healthier living. The USDA has since made an even bigger effort to educate its users in
Created during the Great Depression, the food stamp program picked up around the 1960’s and since has risen. Though all can apply, not all are eligible for food stamps. Legal immigrants and children under the age of sixteen are all qualified to receive food stamps under certain conditions. There are many stipulations when it comes to income as to who is able to receive this help for example a food stamp participant may not have over $2000 worth of resources in his/her home each month (ssa.gov 1). The only exception to this term is if there is a person sixty years of age or older in the house, then income stipulation will rise to $3000 a month because of Social Security checks that will be coming in. Though many are dependent of food stamps, the actual value per person is surprisingly one dollar a day. Since 1996 many cuts have been put in place but then undone. Two-thirds of these cuts still remain in effect to this day, and still just as inflation so does food stamps spending (Rosenbaum 3). According to the Huffington Post, “In 2010, the total cost of food stamp redemption in the U.S rose 29 percent from the previous year, totaling around sixty-four billion” (Bradford 2).
The food stamp program helps out millions of people struggling and it benefits others too. At the beginning of this program, users had a choice of foods they could buy. The program was later changed to limit amounts and products that were able to be purchased (Guthrie 1). By doing so, the government was attempting to promote healthier living. The USDA has since made an even bigger effort to educate its users in