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While the Farm Bill looms over Congress, two bold policy proposals to reform the Supplementary Nutri- tion and Access Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, have continued to receive chatter. The first, as part of President Trump’s budget request, is the now infamous Harvest Box — a pro- posal to convert about half of SNAP benefits (around $35 billion per year) to boxes made of 100 percent domestic shelf-stable foods. The proposal was light on details but did point to the inclusion of canned fruits and vegetables and the absence of any fresh produce.
The proposal was met with immediate pushback from everyone from food banks to retailers, citing reasons from the nutri- tional makeup of the boxes to logistical questions around the delivery of a heavy box of processed food to almost 17 million households monthly. Administrative costs of similar federal feeding programs, such as the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations run upwards of 60 percent, while the Senior Food Box Program runs around 25 percent.
Although the USDA stands by its proposal, funding for the pilot was not included in the recently passed Fiscal Year 2018 omnibus spending bill, and Chairman Mike Conaway (R-TX) of the House Agriculture Committee indicated it will not be included in the Farm Bill this year.
Meanwhile, the Bipartisan Policy Center (The BPC) recently released a series of recommendations for the SNAP program through a report entitled Leading with Nutri- tion: Leveraging Federal Programs for Better Health. The proposal calls for the quality of diet to be a core mission of the program. The SNAP program has been highly effec-
6 / APRIL 2018 / PRODUCE BUSINESS
Produce-Purchase Incentives Key To Success For SNAP Program
BY MOLLIE VAN LIEU, SENIOR DIRECTOR, NUTRITION POLICY, UNITED FRESH PRODUCE ASSOCIATION
tive at reducing food insecurity, but health outcomes for recipients continue to be worse than those not participating in the program.
The recommendation that received the most attention was the call to restrict sugar-sweetened beverages from the list of eligible items for purchase. The report refer- ences a growing body of research showing its contribution to chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. The restric- tion on sugar-sweetened beverages faced immediate pushback from industry leaders and anti-hunger advocates opposing the restriction of choice for recipients.
The BPC report also called for stronger retail stocking standards to provide customers with more fresh options, as well as for the USDA to collect and share store- level data on all products purchased with SNAP funds.
A proposal in the report was particularly favorable for the fresh produce industry and public health, calling for growth of the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentives Grant Program (FINI) in grocery stores where 80 percent of SNAP benefits are redeemed. FINI projects, sometimes better known as Double Up Food Bucks, provide SNAP customers who make fruit and vegetable purchases with vouchers to redeem for free fruits and vegetables upon their next visit.
The BPC report also called on FINI to be strictly maintained as a fruit- and vege- table-only program. Legislators currently are considering adding fluid milk of any fat content to the 2018 Farm Bill. A recent USDA report indicated fluid milk is one of the most popular purchases by those on SNAP, while fruits and vegetables struggle to break the top 40 purchases.
Fruit- and vegetable-incentive programs are the only ones that have been tested at length and are known to help consumers reach the Dietary Guidelines’ call for making half the plate fruits and vegetables. With only one in 10 Americans consuming the recommended servings of fruits and vegeta- bles under the Dietary Guidelines, and with that rate even lower for many low-income Americans, incentivizing fruit and vegetable purchases must remain a key focus for the program.
Broader details on the nutrition title within the Farm Bill drafts have been vague, but with 80 percent of its spending attributed to SNAP, nutrition policy will continue to be at the forefront of the conversation moving forward.
Mollie Van Lieu is the senior director of nutrition policy at United Fresh Produce Association. She has a decade of experience in federal nutrition policy, previously working for the Pew Charitable Trusts, the National PTA and on Capitol Hill.