Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Food Stamps and the Farm Bill

By Michael Crupain, MD, MPH

Check out this extensive article I wrote with Ed Yowell for the Food Systems Network NYC Farm Bill Series about the Supplemental Nutrition Assitance Program (SNAP), the Farm Bill, and how people are looking at Food Stamps in a new way to improve public health.  FARM BILL 1.06

Comments

[Kim Sopczyk]

Wow, I just read your article FARM BILL 1.06 and it was so timely. I recently had an e-mail conversation with Jessica Shahin of USDA SNAP Program regarding the denial of NYC's plan to limit purchasing sugary drinks with SNAP benefits. I was dismayed that it did not get considered.

Besides hosting the PBS cooking show, I work with low resource people in the SNAP-ed program and see first hand the food decisions that are made. I get concerned about the amount of soda that families purchase with SNAP as it takes away money for healthier foods and provides an abundance of empty calories.

The other concern I have is lack of cooking skills. It does not come up often in the debates over policies but I find that people across the board ( or income levels so to speak) are not cooking at home. I feel one of the reasons people do not buy vegetables to meet their dietary needs is that they do not know how to prepare them and have them taste good. It must taste good to compete with soda and convenience foods.

I am fortunate to work in this unique program, called Eat Smart New York. I work directly with individuals and families in their own kitchens. It is an intimate experience but very rewarding and people are learning solid life skills for better nutrition. They are learning to cut up onions, chop vegetables, slice up lean meat and use beans and whole grains. By cooking at home, they are smelling and tasting good food cooking they are saving money too.

I have a passion for getting healthy affordable food to all Americans but I feel very strongly that learning to prepare that food is as important.

I look forward to reading more of your articles on your blog. I certainly got a lot out of this one.

[Michael]

Hi Kim,

Thanks I’m glad you like the new site and learned something.

We are completely on the same page! I was very disappointed in the USDA rejection of the NYC SNAP proposal. I just put up a post about it http://www.TheFoodEnvironment.Com/2011/08/usda-actions-speak-louder-than-words.html.

I also could not agree with you more about cooking. I also believe that people do not eat vegetables because they don’t think they taste good and they don’t know how to cook them. Some good evidence for this comes from the programs that the Bed Stuy Campaign Against Hunger Runs (http://www.thedairyshow.com/the_dairy_show/2011/02/if-you-teach-it-they-will-eat-it.html). I think its great that you work with individuals and families to teach healthy cooking and of course your show is great resource for teaching people these lost skills who you can’t interact with personally (Check Out Kim’s Show Here: http://www.wmht.org/index/tv-1/wmht-weekly-local-programs-10/from-farm-to-table-36.html). Because I believe in this too, I’m starting a new online show with the folks at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future called the Meatless Monday Show, which is going to focus on cooking techniques for vegetables.

You are right that cooking is not talked about enough when discussing policies to improve health. I was recently at a meeting with a state legislator here in Maryland where options to curb childhood obesity were being discussed. There was a lot of talk about PE and nutrition education, but not about cooking. I think that instead of simply teaching kids about nutrients, we should be teaching them where food comes from, how to buy it, and how to cook it.

Michael