In its 2019 budget proposal, the Trump administration put forth a bold new idea: the slashing of the SNAP program, better known as food stamps, to make way for the distribution of preprocessed nutrition boxes called America’s Harvest.
Unlike the SNAP model, which places food choice into the recipient’s hands, the contents of America’s Harvest boxes would be preselected by the government – nutrient-dense, shelf-stable foods like pasta, canned milk and peanut butter. In households that receive over 90 dollars per month from SNAP, pre-existing benefits would be split between the boxes and a food card. Houses with benefit values below 90 dollars would continue to receive food stamps as normal.
The Trump administration argued that the program would cut the government’s existing food purchasing budget by almost 130 billion dollars and eliminate food stamp fraud. “We wanted it to be a Blue-Apron type deal,” said Mick Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget, in a statement. “We thought it was a tremendous idea.” Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue echoed the statement, saying, “It maintains the same level of food value as SNAP participants currently receive, provides states flexibility in administering the program, and is responsible to the taxpayers.”
Others, however, voiced doubts on the viability of the program. “Being able to exercise choice in food selection is vital to feeling like a respected, full member of society,” wrote Cossy Hough, assistant professor for the School of Social Work at the University of Texas, for the Houston Chronicle. “If America’s Harvest Box is implemented as planned, the problem of food insufficiency will not be addressed.” The harvest boxes also generated discussion about food deserts – places where fresh food is nearly impossible to find – and dietary restrictions, needs and infrastructure capability. Stacy Dean, vice president of food assistance policy at Washington-based think tank Center on Policy and Budget Priorities, said, “This new proposal to support individual households would require operational capacity and infrastructure that neither USDA nor states now have.”
The proposal also has also drawn comparisons to rations, the Supplemental Food Program for senior citizens and the stigma-ridden “commodity boxes” provided to reservations in the past, the effects of which have been linked to preventable diseases like diabetes. It has also raised questions about whether the government is better able to make food choices for families than the families themselves.
America’s Harvest boxes, however, are unlikely to become a reality. The proposal has further splintered Republican groups, including those in agricultural committees in the House and Senate, and two Trump officials said in a statement to the New York Times that the idea was meant to alienate liberals and draw more support from conservatives. Still, it provides a glimpse into the administration’s psyche – and a telling, if drastic, benchmark for Trump’s budget-slashing goals.
