Tag: “Blue Apron-type program”

Trump’s ‘Harvest Box’ Isn’t Viable in SNAP Overhaul, Officials Say

The following article by Glenn Thrush was posted on the New York Times website February 13, 2018:

People paid for fresh produce using federal assistance at a farmers market in Lake Orion, Mich., in 2013. Credit Lauren Abdel-Razzaq/The Detroit News, via AP

WASHINGTON — The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program offers about 46 million low-income Americans both sustenance and economic choice by providing an allowance to buy the fruit, meat, fresh vegetables, soda, ice cream and kind of bread they want to eat.

But on Monday, the Trump administration sprung a surprise: Under a proposal in the president’s budget many participants in the program would be given half their benefits in the form of a “Harvest Box” full of food preselected for nutritional value and economic benefit to American farmers. The cache of cheaper peanut butter, canned goods, pasta, cereal, “shelf stable” milk and other products would now be selected by the federal government, not by the people actually eating it. Continue reading “Trump’s ‘Harvest Box’ Isn’t Viable in SNAP Overhaul, Officials Say”

Trump wants to slash food stamps and replace them with a ‘Blue Apron-type program’

The following article by Caitlin Dewey was posted on the Washington Post website February 12, 2018:

White House budget director Mick Mulvaney explained on Feb. 12 how the Trump administration hopes to save money on food aid. (The Washington Post)

The Trump administration wants to slash food aid to low-income families and make up the difference with a box of canned goods — a change that Office of Management and budget director Mick Mulvaney described in a Monday briefing as a “Blue Apron-type program.”

“What we do is propose that for folks who are on food stamps, part — not all, part — of their benefits come in the actual sort of, and I don’t want to steal somebody’s copyright, but a Blue Apron-type program where you actually receive the food instead of receive the cash,” Mulvaney said. “It lowers the cost to us because we can buy [at wholesale prices] whereas they have to buy it at retail. It also makes sure they’re getting nutritious food. So we’re pretty excited about that.” Continue reading “Trump wants to slash food stamps and replace them with a ‘Blue Apron-type program’”