Oh SNAP: Three Reasons it’s Time to Move on from “Food Stamps”
A State Senator Dishes on The Culture.
“Food Stamps” has long been part of the vernacular to describe the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). And while Healthcare has a lot of acronyms, this one might be worth saying out loud.
In a recent tweetscreed, Nebraska State Senator Megan Hunt argues the term is less slang than slander.
We distilled three key points from her tweets, below. Scroll through and check out our list at the bottom.
So why is it time to move past “Food Stamps?”
- It’s Inaccurate: The program converted to digital/plastic in 2008
- It’s Stigmatic: It reinforces the belief that low-income families rely on stamps, rather than secure, personalized cards (like everybody else)
- It’s Getting in the Way: The term perpetuates inaccurate stereotypes about fraud and poverty, and undermines discussion of reform and innovation
What would you add to this list?
What are your thoughts on the topic?
As the Food is Medicine movement spreads, we’d encourage health system executives involved in medically tailored meals and “food pharmacy” pilots to convince lawmakers in their states that SNAP benefits (as well as programs like WIC and TANF) are a path to innovation and long term savings on medical spend.
