What will be the impact of the election outcome on SNAP and Child Nutrition? The Republican Party, soon to control both houses of Congress, has long called for block-granting of SNAP, and has recently proposed several troubling changes in School Food programs. How can New Yorkers prepare to defend these crucial components of our social safety net?
Presenters and Respondents:
Maggie Dickinson, Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies, Guttman Community College
Liz Accles, Executive Director, Community Food Advocates
Amy Richards, Health Organizer, Make the Road New York
Triada Stampas, Vice President for Research and Public Affairs, Food Bank for New York City
Barbara Turk, Director, Mayor's Office of Food Policy
Claire Uno, Assistant Executive Director, Laurie M. Tisch Center for Food, Education and Policy, Teachers College, Columbia University
Ellen Vollinger, Legal/Food Stamp Director, Food Research and Action Center (FRAC)
Craig Willingham, Deputy Director, CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute
Moderated by Jan Poppendieck, Senior Faculty Fellow, CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute and Professor Emerita, Sociology, Hunter College.
Resources
Watch the full panel:
Summary video from Currents, local news program
Dickinson M. Presentation at Urban Food Policy Forum: Defending SNAP and Child Nutrition after the Election. December 15, 2016.
Open Letter to New York Congressional Delegation
Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) press release responding to the House of Representative Freedom Caucus' first 100 days agenda (recommending the removal of several nutrition policies, including:
- Healthy school foods (Smart Snacks and school meals) and healthy school meals for young children (CACFP)
- Nutrition Facts Panel
- Food safety inspections
- Vending labeling
- The National Organic Program
By Craig Willingham, Deputy Director, CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute
43 million Americans utilize SNAP benefits and about 1.7 Million of them live in New York City. In Fiscal Year 2015, the federal government spent about $75 billion on SNAP. The impact of this program is both large in the number of people it reaches and in its purchasing power. A recent USDA study looked at the foods typically purchased by SNAP households. It found many similarities between the diets of SNAP and non-SNAP recipients but in some categories SNAP recipients spent a higher portion of their food dollars on unhealthy food than did non-SNAP recipients. As we move into the Trump era we as advocates need to be careful about what we take away from studies like this and how we can use them to our advantage.