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National & World Ag News Headlines |
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USDA Releases Study on Hurdles to Healthy Eating on SNAP
USAgNet - 06/24/2021
Nearly nine out of 10 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participants face barriers in providing their household with a healthy diet throughout the month, based on a USDA study released Wednesday. The study, Barriers that Constrain the Adequacy of
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Allotments, conducted in 2018, finds that 88% of participants report encountering some type of hurdle to a healthy diet.
The most common, reported by 61% of SNAP participants, is the cost of healthy foods. Participants who reported struggling to afford nutritious foods were more than twice as likely to experience food insecurity. Other barriers range from a lack of time to
prepare meals from scratch (30%) to the need for transportation to the grocery store (19%) to no storage for fresh or cooked foods (14%).
"No one in America should have to worry about whether they can put healthy food on the table for themselves or their children," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "Today's report makes clear we still have work to do to ensure all Americans not only have
food to eat, but access to nutritious foods."
USDA is dedicated to enhancing the nation's food safety net, ensuring SNAP participants not only have enough to eat but also access to nutritious foods. As directed by Congress in the 2018 Farm Bill, the department is currently re-evaluating the Thrifty Food
Plan (TFP), which is used to set SNAP benefit amounts. Since it was first introduced in 1975, the value of the TFP has stayed the same, adjusting only for inflation.
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