WASHINGTON, D.C. — Witnesses testifying March 28 to the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition said the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is doing an outstanding job in providing food security for America’s hungry, who would likely suffer from any program cuts in the upcoming farm bill.

 

Stacy Dean of the Center for Budget Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan think tank, said SNAP benefits are likely too low for adequate nutrition. “SNAP benefits have kept pace with food inflation,” she explained. “But what USDA hasn’t been able to do is reevaluate the Thrifty Food Plan in light of our changing understanding of what makes a healthy diet.”

 

That includes access to fresh produce and shifting away “extreme assumptions of SNAP households getting their protein from milk and dried beans as opposed to chicken and cheese,” she said.

 

SNAP plays a pivotal role during economic downturns, said Russ Sykes of the American Public Human Services Assoc. “SNAP is perhaps the most pivotal and economically responsive program during times of economic hardship,” he said.

 

Some witnesses criticized time limits for SNAP imposed by some states on able-bodied working adults. “Re-imposing time limits seems cruel and misplaced when too little is being done to ensure that these people have access to good-paying job opportunities and available job training slots,” said Josh Protas, vice president of public policy at MAZON – A Jewish Response to Hunger.

 

He said those affected include military veterans and families, ex-offenders and young adults recently aged out of the foster care system. Time limits are “shifting an enormous burden to the charitable sector to step in and help feed these individuals,” agreed Dean. Joe Arthur, director of the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, provided insight from that charitable sector. “’Do no harm’ would be our recommendation to this committee for SNAP,” he said.

 

“I actually am optimistic, if we can hold the line in SNAP and maybe make some improvements, that we can continue to close the meal gap and keep working on actually ending hunger which, as we all know, is related to jobs.”

 

He said his group’s perspective is that households today do “need a little more money to eat healthy.” Jennifer Hatcher, of the Food Merchandising Institute, said food retailers support maintaining SNAP. They support efforts to make payment processing more efficient, allow SNAP recipients to purchase food via online means, and encourage food delivery in rural and underserved areas.