Nutrition and Food Stamps

Erica Barnett from WorldChanging has a great post about food stamps, farmers' markets and WIC.  She advocates for an expansion of programs that encourage the purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables.  Many states are moving in the right direction by allowing federal benefits, like food stamps, to be used at local farmer markets. In the post, Erica refers to these benefits as a "food subsidy."  I found this phrase a bit confusing.  I primarily use the term "subsidy" to refer to the farm bill and the commodity payment programs.  This type of federal subsidy is dolled out by the government to commodity growers or landowners. 

In contrast, federal benefits, like WIC, Social Security or food stamps, provide a safety net for families.  Many individuals or families will apply for these benefits to help themselves through a hard time - unemployment, financial loss due to health care costs or an increase in rent/cost of living.  The Institute Blog has some great posts about the cost of housing and its impact on poor families in the US.  Want to learn more about domestic poverty and ways to improve our domestic policy? Check out the 2008 Hunger Report on Asset Building.