TY - JOUR
T1 - Strengthening the public health impacts of the supplemental nutrition assistance program through policy
AU - Bleich, Sara N.
AU - Moran, Alyssa J.
AU - Vercammen, Kelsey A.
AU - Frelier, Johannah M.
AU - Dunn, Caroline G.
AU - Zhong, Anthony
AU - Fleischhacker, Sheila E.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2020 by Annual Reviews.
PY - 2019/4/1
Y1 - 2019/4/1
N2 - The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the cornerstone of the US nutrition safety net. Each month, SNAP provides assistance to 40 million low-income Americans-nearly half of them children. A number of changes could strengthen the public health impacts of SNAP. This review first presents a framework describing the mechanisms through which SNAP policy can influence public health, particularly by affecting the food security, the diet quality, and, subsequently, the health of SNAP participants. We then discusspolicy opportunities with the greatest potential to strengthen the public health impacts of SNAP, organized into three areas: (a) food production and distribution, (b) benefit allocation, and (c) eligibility and enrollment. For each section, we describe current policy and limitations of the status quo, suggest evidence-based opportunities for policy change to improve public health, and identify important areas for future research.
AB - The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the cornerstone of the US nutrition safety net. Each month, SNAP provides assistance to 40 million low-income Americans-nearly half of them children. A number of changes could strengthen the public health impacts of SNAP. This review first presents a framework describing the mechanisms through which SNAP policy can influence public health, particularly by affecting the food security, the diet quality, and, subsequently, the health of SNAP participants. We then discusspolicy opportunities with the greatest potential to strengthen the public health impacts of SNAP, organized into three areas: (a) food production and distribution, (b) benefit allocation, and (c) eligibility and enrollment. For each section, we describe current policy and limitations of the status quo, suggest evidence-based opportunities for policy change to improve public health, and identify important areas for future research.
KW - SNAP
KW - diet quality
KW - federal nutrition assistance
KW - nutrition policy
KW - public health
KW - social safety net
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U2 - 10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040119-094143
DO - 10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040119-094143
M3 - Review article
C2 - 32237988
AN - SCOPUS:85082933027
SN - 0163-7525
VL - 41
SP - 453
EP - 480
JO - Annual review of public health
JF - Annual review of public health
ER -