SNAP, formerly the Food Stamp Program of 1939, was always designed to be a program that aligned itself with the needs of the poor, and that is admirable. At the programs inception, the government had a surplus of food which they used to feed the hungry. The program has always had America’s indigent citizens at heart, but in the wake of an historical pandemic, commodities shortages, employee shortage, and historic inflation there is a new subset that has emerged as in need, but cannot get any assistance and they are the working poor.
My family is a prime example of a working poor family. I receive Social Security Disability due to Chronic Illness and my husband works at a state university. Our monthly gross is easily $3,500 a month, for a family of three. Nothing to get excited about, right? It seems that we would still be under the poverty level, but apparently not. We are not eligible to receive SNAP based on our gross, as it is for everyone else in America. The problem is that we don’t bring home our Gross, do we? Well, to make things worse, my husband works for the State, so they are getting EVERYTHING! When they are done deducting child support, and other State fees and fines, his bring home is $430 per month. That changes our monthly Net to $1477 per month, but we are still ineligible for SNAP assistance. This is where my affinity with this program ends. This is so wrong, on so many levels, it would take me days to tell you every reason why this must change. Most importantly, is the fact that children of hard working Americans are going to bed hungry every day. The American Workforce is America’s working poor for the most part. Currently America’s Corporate world has been forced to raise their pay in order to entice workers, but it is coming from a place of self interest and not one of altruism, and therefore, not to be trusted. After all that we have suffered through and endured the last 5 years, it is time for America to stand up and support America’s essentials……workers. Changing the poverty levels that they have used for the last 70 years would be a great start, and change your determining factor from Gross income to the Net income. The United States Department of Agriculture is the federal office that makes those decisions and the Secretary of Agriculture is Tom Vilsack. Why don’t you drop him a line, and tell him what you think. Sometimes, we who work hard need help too. We should be able to get it.