A bag of oranges ? though healthy ? put a recent shopper in a quandary.
At $4, the price was too steep.
?But when I told him about the Double Up program,? he not only bought the oranges but soon came back to buy $4 worth of potatoes, said Regena Lance, owner of the Mildred Store.
The Double Up Food Bucks program allows people with SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits to buy twice as much fresh fruits and vegetables. Every $1 spent earns another $1 to go toward the fresh produce.
The Mildred Store, G & W Foods in Iola and the Marmaton Market all participate in the program. It?s also available at local farmers? markets.
Double Up Food Bucks is just one way government programs and policies can address hunger and poverty, according to Joey Hentzler, director of advocacy for Kansas Appleseed. Hentzler led a discussion Thursday at a forum on food policy, attended by a group of about 27. Most of those who participated are leaders of local organizations that address food and poverty, including Humanity House, Hope Unlimited, and the Allen County GROW Council.
SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, was a focus of the meeting. The program is administered by the USDA as part of the Farm Bill. Though Congress recently approved a new Farm Bill that included very few changes to the food stamp program, the USDA plans to make rule changes that would undermine the program and the intention of Congress, Hentzler said.
Those changes include declaring legal immigrants ?a burden of the state? if they utilize public assistance programs, potentially subjecting them to deportation. Hentzler fears families would risk hunger rather than jeopardize their immigration status, even though only those who are in the country legally qualify for food stamps.
?There?s so much fear already for those folks, and this just adds to it,? Hentzler said.
Another change would reduce the grace period for those who are unemployed and fail to meet work requirements during times of economic recession. Under the current law, those who receive food stamps must work at least 80 hours each month. If they become unemployed, they have three months to meet the work requirement but could apply for more time. The rule change would not allow more time after the three-month limit, potentially affecting 755,000 Americans, Hentzler said.
?When people are participating in the program, they?re getting the nutrition they need. It improves their health. It increases the likelihood they?re going to be able to get to work and maintain a job,? Hentzler said.
?Studies are clear that SNAP benefits are good for the individual?s household, but also for the community.?
He pointed to studies that show every federally funded dollar of SNAP generates $1.79 in economic activity. In Kansas, the average benefit per person is $114 per month.
?For farmers? markets and grocery stores, the more people who are receiving those benefits, the more demand there is for their products,? Hentzler said.
To qualify for SNAP, a family?s income cannot exceed 130 percent of the federal poverty level. For a one-person family, that?s $1,012 each month. For a three-person family, it?s $1,732.
