January 4, 2026 — The new year has brought a new natural experiment on the effects of restricting availability of “non-nutritious” foods. That’s a euphemism for junk foods. Policymakers who are opposed to regulating the availability of junk food – “a threat to freedom” – have no reluctance about regulating the freedom of people who need food assistance. Thus, […]
October 29, 2025 — In 2016, the use of the word “numbskull” in English literature soared to a new high. It has remained high ever since. Though we cannot be sure why, we are confident that members of Congress are earning that label as they crash toward creating an utterly unnecessary American hunger crisis by cutting off SNAP food […]
September 22, 2025 — Don’t look up statistics on hunger, says USDA. It only causes “fear mongering.” To make sure we don’t have to worry about that, the agency is canceling the survey research on food insecurity it’s been doing for 30 years. That’s right. USDA announced over the weekend that measurement of food insecurity is unnecessary: “The U.S. […]
August 16, 2021 — A century ago, the iconic image of hunger was the bread line. Today, it is the line at a food bank, swamped by demand because of the pandemic. And for more than a decade now, the SNAP program has been inadequate for providing healthy nutrition to families facing food insecurity. But today, that will change. […]
June 27, 2021 — “I had a student this year when I was trying to explain the disincentive effects of unemployment insurance – and I was being a good economist and explaining moral hazard, and how this is going to discourage people from working. Student raised his hand and said, is it really moral to use the threat of […]
December 5, 2019 — Just in time for Christmas, the Trump administration has new rules for food assistance. They’ll tighten work requirements for single adults getting food stamps. The effect? Most likely, says USDA, they’ll be cutting SNAP benefits for 688,000 adults. According to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, however, this is not about cutting benefits. Rather, it’s about promoting […]
June 10, 2018 — Yesterday’s opening session of Nutrition 2018, the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition, tackled the long-enduring debate about restricting choice in SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as food stamps). Many arguments exist for – and just as many against – restricting choice for SNAP participants to healthy foods and beverages. […]
February 17, 2018 — It’s hard to know what to think about this week’s proposal for sweeping changes in SNAP from the White House. Once known as food stamps, SNAP is the cornerstone program for fighting food insecurity. Under this proposal, a Harvest Box of processed food would replace half of the food that SNAP recipients can presently choose […]
January 24, 2017 — SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) is the backbone of government efforts to fight hunger. So, naturally, everybody has ideas about ways to make it work smarter. And in a large supplement to the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, a diverse group of nutrition activists put forward their ideas and analyses. The central idea is […]
March 19, 2015 — A new study in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (JAND) points to obesity and depression as co-conspirators undermining the health of people in low-income neighborhoods characterized as food deserts. In a sample of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) participants, Karen Flórez and colleagues examined the relationship between depression, dietary quality, and body mass index. […]
