Weekend food for thought: The USDA’s unrelenting opposition to SNAP

The USDA is engaged in a concerted effort to reduce enrollment in SNAP, even though people who qualify are entitled to benefits.

Assigning food stamps (SNAP) to the USDA was a mistake from the get go, but once SNAP was part of the Farm Bill it seemed to make sense.  SNAP takes up most of the USDA’s budget, the blue in this figure.

Even so, I’m stunned by the tone and relentlessness of USDA’s dealings with SNAP beneficiaries—as if they were all lazy, nonworking parasites cheating taxpayers, despite all the evidence to the contrary.  Most SNAP recipients who can work, do work.  They just don’t get paid enough to survive .

Here are some recent USDA statements and directives.

• SNAP recipients will need to reapply for benefits.
• Lawfully resident immigrants are no longer entitled to SMAP benefits, effective immediately.
• States are not permitted to issue exceptions to work requirements

And then we have USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins’ announcement on X:

On the brighter side, the Food Research & Action Center has organized nearly 1500 National, State, and Community-based Organizations to sign a letter to Congress to protect SNAP benefits.