Albuquerque Journal Editorial Criticizes SNAP-Food Box Proposal

Too many New Mexicans and Americans depend on SNAP to stretch their grocery dollars. Sending out boxes of packaged food nobody wants won’t help them or taxpayers. -Albuquerque Journal Editorial, March 2, 2018

On Friday, March 2, the editorial board of the Albuquerque Journal came out forcefully against a proposal in President Trump's 2019 Budget that would replace current benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Food Assistance program with food boxes. The Journal joins a chorus of voices,  including SNAP recipients, the Food and Research Action Center, New Mexico Voices for Children, and many others in opposition to the proposal.

Here are the reasons that the Journal gave for opposing the measure. While we disagree that fraud is as big of a problem as the Journal states, we are pleased that the board recognizes the absurdities in the president's proposal.

• The proposal does not solve the real problems with the $71 billion-a-year SNAP program, the most glaring one being fraud.
• The proposal doesn’t factor in a family’s food allergies, medical needs or likes or dislikes.
• The proposal creates an entire bureaucracy around manufacturing, supplying contents for, filling and shipping these food boxes.
• The proposal uses half of recipients’ benefits for boxes of food that by definition can not be fresh.  The proposal cuts the amount local families spend on food, taking money out of the local economy and reducing the viability of proposals to address the need for more nutritious grocery options in so-called food deserts.

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