Food Stamps Essay, Research Paper

All developed states today maintain a assortment of public assistance plans that serve as a safety cyberspace to set about the effects of poorness. In the United States, one of the most indispensable plans designed to assist low income households today is the Food Stamp Program. Operated by the province and local public assistance offices, this plan was established to assist stop hungriness and better the wellness of 1000s of households across the state. Very frequently, low-income households have trouble buying an equal diet while run intoing all the other basic disbursals such as lodging, wellness attention, and transit. Serving a wide scope of low-income families, this plan prevents malnutrition and ensures the households of resources needed to achieve a healthy diet.

This government-sponsored plan significantly improves low-income households ability to buy nutrient through the distribution of nutrient vouchers, which is used like hard currency to buy nutrient. Issued the first three yearss of every month, the nutrient casts are marked in denominations of $ 1, $ 5, and $ 10 and distributed in a brochure to those households who are eligible to have them. The verifiers are deserving their hard currency equivalent and may be used to buy nutrients or seeds in shops that are approved by the U.S. section of Agriculture

with the proper designation. The vouchers have some benefits over hard currency because the receivers do non hold to pay gross revenues revenue enhancement on nutrient cast points. However, nutrient casts can non be used to purchase non-food points such as favored nutrients and paper merchandises, intoxicant and baccy, vitamins and medical specialty, or any hot nutrients that are ready to eat.

Using for nutrient casts is an extended procedure. A personal interview is required for each family and the application procedure may be different in each province. Normally, one would reach the local nutrient cast office to achieve an application. The office

location can be found through a national hotline, which besides provides information on the paperss required for application. Proof of citizenship position is needed such as a driver s licence or birth certification ( unless they are refugees ) , along with cogent evidence of income and look into stubs from earned and unearned incomes. One would besides necessitate societal security Numberss for all members of the family. After turning in the application, an interview would be set up and if qualified, will have nutrient casts within 30 yearss. Persons using for Supplemental Security Income ( SSI ) benefits or other public aid can use for nutrient casts at the same clip.

Many factors determine the eligibility of having nutrient casts. Those who by and large work for low rewards, are unemployed, receive public assistance, are aged or handicapped and unrecorded on a little income, or are stateless are eligible for the plan. More specifically, eligibility demands depend on how many assets one has, and the sum of income one acquires. Under the nutrient casts regulations, all types of incomes are accounted for to find eligibility. That includes earned

income and unearned income such as other public aid plans or SSI. Most families must run into both gross and net income bounds. Rules on allowable tax write-offs from income consist of: a 20 per centum tax write-off from earned income, a standard tax write-off of $ 134 for all families, a dependent attention tax write-off for work or instruction ( no more than $ 200 each kid ) , medical disbursals for aged or handicapped, and extra shelter costs non more than $ 275.

Resources are besides considered in finding nutrient cast eligibility. Resources such as bank histories, hard currency, existent estate, personal belongings, vehicles, etc. are all counted toward the allowable bound. All families may hold up to $ 2,000 bound on denumerable resources and up to $ 3,000 for those who are age 60 and older.

Work demands are besides another eligibility criterion. Able adults age 16-60 must register for work, or take portion in a preparation plan referred by the nutrient cast office. Able grownups between age 18 and 50 who do non hold dependents can merely have nutrient casts for three months in a 36-month period it they do non take part in employment plans. Failure to follow with any of the demands will ensue in disqualification from the plan.

If qualified, the sum of nutrient casts one can have is dependent on the figure of people in the family and the sum of income the family has. In general, receivers get vouchers equal to the difference between 30 % of their cyberspace monthly incomes and maximal Food Stamp allocations. However, if for illustration a family of three has no income at all, they would still have up to $ 329 a month in benefits.

The federal authorities takes on a big function in finding the distribution of nutrient casts each twelvemonth. The U.S. section of agribusiness yearly establishes a Thrifty Food Plan which estimates the minimum cost to fix a alimentary repast. The section of agribusiness is responsible for supervising this plan and doing alterations while the State and local public assistance offices operate the Food Stamp Program itself. The section of agribusiness besides sponsors other public assistance plans such as Women, Infants and Children ( WIC ) , every bit good as school tiffin plans.

Through the legion province public assistance reform attempts, there has been a lessening in the figure of households having aid in the past several old ages. Through September 1998, public assistance caseloads have fallen 45 per centum since 1994, and as a consequence the figure of people having nutrient casts have decreased enormously every bit good. While this may look to be good intelligence, these households are no longer having aid but continue to hold really low incomes. In add-on, the low-income working households have below poverty net incomes but are non eligible for the nutrient cast plan. Food stamp benefits would raise the lower earning households income enormously and besides convey them above the poorness line. This turning tendency in society today emphasizes the demand to better entree to this plan for these low income households.