Supplemental Nutrition Programs Essay Example

Supplemental nutrition programs are food programs from the federal government that have been subsidized for low-income earning households with a view of helping such families to meet the cost of catering for food for their households. There are various types of supplemental food programs across different American states since they are managed at the state level. The eligibility criteria for families to qualify for the supplemental nutrition programs is determined by the income of each household before the deduction of taxes. Household income means the aggregate income of all the working adults in the family, for instance, a family with two adults one earning $250 and the other earning $200, then their total income would amount to $450 before taxes. The other factor considered for eligibility is the size of each household which translates to the total number of people and their total food budget with the exception of guests and tenants.

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One of the common supplemental nutrition programs can be found in the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP). The program is administered at the California state level as CalFresh and it is usually disbursed to reach its beneficiaries through the electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card that is operated like a credit card and is acceptable at various shopping stores. Any individual who meets the eligibility criteria for SNAP/CalFresh qualifies for the supplemental nutrition program. Such people include low-income earning workers, college going students, parents, and senior citizens. The program demand that all able-bodied adults ought to work for at least 20 hours per week to qualify for the program benefits for more than 36 months. They should also be in employment, actively job-hunting, or not quit their jobs. Individuals who are non-citizens of the United States also qualify for the supplemental nutrition program as long as they have lived in the country for more than five years, they also qualify for disability-related assistance, or they be under the age of 18 years.

The financial benefits that accrue to each household are referred to as allotments and they are disbursed on a monthly basis based on the size of the household and the allotments are roughly about 30% of a family's net income. The higher the number of people within each household the higher is the allotment amount that they are bound to receive each month. The family income is calculated based on the liquid or financial resources of the household and it does not include immovable property or fixed assets like cars, land, or a house.

Besides the supplemental nutrition programs from the government, there are additional supplemental food resources from which an individual can benefit to boost their source of food supply. These include the breakfast and lunch programs offered at various schools, not to mention the community food banks. Beneficiaries can also benefit from organizations that deal with food sufficiency like the WhyHunger organization, Feeding America charity group, Share our Strength, and the Meals on Wheels food entity.

Other ways through which people from a poor family background can ensure that they have enough cash for their use is through strict budgetary routines whenever they are shopping. A common budgetary practice is to ensure that they prepare meals in large quantities and preserve the leftovers as meals for a later time. One can also ensure that they substitute the source of proteins like beans for meat to enhance the affordability of such commodities. Purchasing food supplies in bulk also helps save and take advantage of quantity discounts in different stores. The individual should have a lean shopping list for groceries and other food items to ensure that they operate within budget by faithfully adhering to this list. It is advisable that one avoids shopping while they are on a hungry stomach to help avoid the temptation to eat while shopping. Purchasing store brands helps to save because they are relatively cheaper compared to name brands while the shopper should also go to the shopping stores that have advertised food sales to take advantage of the lower pricing. Equally important is that the individual should always strive to buy in-season food items as they tend to be cheaper when their supply is high.

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