SNAP Plays a Critical Role in Helping Children

[웃 910]

SNAP Plays a Critical Role in Helping Children

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program) is the nation’s largest child nutrition program, providing benefits to help one in three children in the nation to be able to eat a nutritionally sound diet. As such, SNAP is crucially important to children’s health and well-being.

SNAP is the Nation’s Biggest Child Nutrition Program

• SNAP provides families with an estimated 22 million children with resources to purchase a nutritionally adequate diet. This represents close to 1 in 3 children (29 percent) in the United States. Almost half of all SNAP recipients are children (47 percent), and an additional 26 percent are adults living with children. (See Figure 1.) Forty percent of all SNAP recipients live in households with preschool-age children (ages 4 and below).
• Over 70 percent of SNAP benefits go to households with children. In 2011, SNAP provided an estimated $51 billion in benefits to families with children, over half of which went to families with preschool-age children.
• SNAP families are low-income. A typical family with children that is enrolled in SNAP has income (not including SNAP) at 57 percent of the poverty line. For a family of three, 57 percent of the poverty line corresponds with an annual income of $10,785 in 2012. A typical family with children on SNAP spends close to three-quarters of its income on housing and/or child care costs. Families with children currently receive an average of $420 a month in SNAP benefits, or about $5,000 a year.
• SNAP benefits help working families support their children. Nearly half (48 percent) of children who receive SNAP live in low-wage working families. A typical working household with children receives an average of $400 a month in SNAP benefits, representing about 30 percent of the family’s average income.

SNAP Significantly Reduces Poverty Among Children

• SNAP kept about 2 million children out of poverty in 2010, according to a CBPP analysis using the National Academy of Science measures of poverty, which counts SNAP as income. SNAP lifted 1.3 million children out of deep poverty, or above 50 percent of the poverty line, in 2010 — more than any other benefit program.[1]
• SNAP kept children out of extreme poverty. A recent study by the National Poverty Center estimated the number of households in the United States earning less than $2 per person per day, which the World Bank defines as “extreme poverty,” a classification used in developing nations. The study found that counting SNAP benefits as income reduced the number of extremely poor families with children in 2011 from 1.46 million to 800,000, and reduced the number of children in extreme poverty in 2011 by half — from 2.8 million to 1.4 million. [2] (See Figure 2.)

• Poor children are more likely to get SNAP benefits than any other group – 92 percent of eligible children and 95 percent of eligible preschool-age children received benefits in 2009, compared to 71 percent of non-elderly adults and only 34 percent of elderly adults. Still, an estimated 1.4 million eligible children are missing out on benefits, according to the USDA’s most recent estimates.[3]

Food Insecurity and Poverty Remain High Among Families with Children

• Close to one in six children (16.2 percent) lived in families that faced difficulties affording adequate food (“food insecure”) in 2010. Close to 1 million children lived in families that had to substantially change their eating patterns or reduce food intake as a result of inability to afford an adequate diet.[4] Food insecurity among families with children would be even higher without SNAP benefits.
• Poverty is growing among children. The child poverty rate has continuously risen since 2000, similar to the overall poverty rate. Over one in five children in the United States lived in poverty in 2010 (22 percent), the most recent year for which Census data on income and poverty are available.[5]

Food Insecurity Has Severe Consequences for Children

• Food insecurity is particularly harmful in prenatal life and early childhood, when humans experience rapid growth in their bodies and brains. Studies have shown that inadequate nutrition, even mildly below target nutritional goals, stunts growth and development.[6] Infants and toddlers from food-insecure families are 90 percent more likely to be in fair or poor health, and 30 percent more likely to be hospitalized, than their counterparts in food-secure households.[7]
• Food insecurity is also associated with negative health outcomes in older children, including poorer physical health, decreased school achievement in reading and math, and behavioral and psychological conditions.[8]These conditions affect children’s ability to learn and perform well in school, which has long-range implications for their future well-being and earning potential.

SNAP Has Been Shown to Increase Food Security and Improve Health Outcomes for Children

• Studies have shown that children in families receiving SNAP were less likely to be underweight or at risk of developmental delays than children in households that were eligible for, but not receiving, SNAP.
• When compared to children in families with similar incomes eligible for but not receiving SNAP, children in families receiving SNAP were more likely to be food secure and to be classified as “well” — not overweight or underweight, in good health, developing normally for their age, and having never been hospitalized.<a href="http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3805#_edn9" name="_ednref9" title="" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(0, 52, 102); text-decoration: none; ">[9] Similarly, young children eligible for, but not receiving, SNAP because of barriers to access were more likely to be significantly underweight for their age, living in households that were food and housing insecure, and to experience food insecurity themselves.[10]

http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3805

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

"United States. Almost half of all SNAP recipients are children (47 percent), and an additional 26 percent are adults living with children"

I got that far and stooped reading this BS. So almost half of all SNAP recipients are children. So all these children live in homes with no adults. The next part goes on to say that 26% go to adults that lived with kids. LOL

without even looking it up I can swear on my life that 47% of all SNAP benefits do not go directly to children as this implies. So in this finally crafted Liberal PR piece, 47% of benefits are paid directly to kids with their own SNAP card and the other 26% to Adults that kids have taken in >ROFL.. Ok we are up to 73%. to either adults or kids.. We still got 27% that is not to adults or kids.. Who gets those ?? The Dog ??

"United States. Almost half of all SNAP recipients are children (47 percent), and an additional 26 percent are adults living with children"

and I love this

"Poor children are more likely to get SNAP benefits than any other group –"

I should hope so. Who gets the rest, rich Kids. ROFL

Here is another shocker-"SNAP families are low-income." I find that amazing

Well since it said 47% of SNAP receipts go directly to children and 47% of all snap receipts live in low age working families, would that not mean almost 100% live in low wage earning families.?

I don't know who complied this nonsense but that would not make it 5 mins into a board meeting in front of my CFO at my company.. The numbers don't add up and it's nonsense.

Edited July 28, 2012 by Run Herschel Run

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Given America's obesity problem, especially among the poor, I don't think adequate nutrition has anything to do with it. Maybe if they had to perform some physical activity before they got the free food, we could solve both problems at the same time. Lot's of things need sweeping, digging, and picking up. No need to pay a county employee $100K combined wage and benefit package when you have all that potential labor that should be willing to work for food.