America’s Harvest Box, unlike the Blue Apron boxes, will not include meats and vegetables but rather items such as peanut butter, cereal, shelf-stable milk, canned fruits and more. The department estimates that it could supply these goods at roughly half the cost of retail, slashing the cost of SNAP while still feeding the hungry. Tippins is concerned the need for food could grow if the types of food given to families by the government are not what they need.
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His administration is now proposing a food delivery program that would replace about half of food stamp benefits for households who qualify for the boxes.
At the LA mission-they make 700 boxes of food a week for needy families.
Workforce Coordinator Jami Canham says the new program hopes to eliminate the fear of losing benefits.
Several critics we spoke with expressed skepticism that the proposed SNAP changes would pass in Congress. But Burhop says research shows recipients have similar shopping patterns of any other American household.
Another part of the proposed budget would be to cut the Commodity Supplemental Food Program. Right now, the average family gets about $270 in food stamps.
The program could help usher them into a new job, and a new way of life. The decision would be based on nutrition standards used for other programs including the Emergency Food Assistance Program.
Americans who receive food stamps can purchase a wide variety of groceries, with notable exceptions.
“They’re just going to cut my legs off in the process, going to restrict me to a point where it’s not feasible”, Chavez said. More than 93 percent of the money goes to benefits, which enrollees receive on a card, while the rest covers administrative expenses. Many people are questioning the true extent of the savings to the government, especially given that the America’s Harvest Boxes would need to be mailed to recipients. They feared it would upend a much-needed benefit for more than 80% of those in the program.
One of my favorite Youtube pundits is Uncle Hotep, an independent pundit who humorously analyzes the proposal and deems the food package the “Trump Box”.
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Statistics from the U.S. Department of Agriculture show almost 1.5 million Americans have gotten off the food stamp rolls since Mr. Trump took office in January 2017, a 3.5 percent drop in less than a year.
