ACCESS TO GOOD NUTRITION 1

Access to Good Nutrition: Breaking the Cycle of Poverty.

Hannah A Mancoll

Legal Studies Academy

First Colonial High School

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Abstract

This paper discusses the SNAP program as well as nutritional and physical education for

children from Kindergarten through fifth grade. In this paper there will be an overview of people

leading the way in this effort for better education of nutrition and healthy lifestyle in general. In

addition the paper looks at court cases regarding SNAP redemption records in stores, and other

legislation trying to make our country healthier as a whole.

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Access to Good Nutrition: Breaking the Cycle of Poverty.

Despite vast improvements in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, otherwise

known as SNAP, there is a lot of work to be done. Good nutrition isn't just about eating right it’s,

about being active and working out as well. The best way to make sure that this is happening in

every household in America is by teaching proper nutrition at a young age and have the adults in

the house continue to enforce these practices. For the families getting assisted by the SNAP

program this may come as a challenge.

The first effort towards a "food stamp" program was in 1939. This was known as the

Food Stamp Program otherwise known as the FSP. The program only lasted about four years

(U.S. department of agriculture, 2018). The Food Stamp program ended because there wasn't

much of a need for it at the time. After all, the program's causes were no longer there, those

problems being food surpluses, and high unemployment rates. The food stamp pilot program was

brought up in 1961, then again in 1964, President Johnson asked Congress to create legislation to

make this program permanent. Legislation making the food stamp program permanent was

signed into law the following year. From 1971 through 1974 major legislation was passed. The

three bills passed were The Food Stamp Act Amendment of 1970, Agriculture and Consumer

Protection Act of 1973, and Public Law. 93-347. The Food Stamp Act Amendment of 1970

made uniform requirements for the states and the nation to ensure that each state follows

directions and helps each and every citizen. This act also spread its help to territories of the U.S.,

including Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The Agriculture and Consumer Protection

Act of 1973 gave each state one year to let every jurisdiction have the ability to receive stamps in

addition to expanding the program to drug addicts and alcoholics in treatment and rehabilitation

centers. It also created a new category of eligible purchases with SNAP benefits, those being
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seeds and plants that produce food for human consumption: "P.L. 93-347 authorized the

Department to pay 50 percent of all states' costs for administering the program and established

the requirement for efficient and effective administration by the states(U.S. Department of

Agriculture, 2018)."

SNAP

SNAP credits are used for food, drinks, and purchasing seeds to grow food for a family to

eat. These credits are given to the unemployed, elderly or disabled, low-income, homeless,

people working for low wages or working part-time. Individuals have to apply for a SNAP card,

and the amount that is on the card is dependent on how you rank in the U.S. Department of

Agriculture's Thrifty Food Plan. The Thrifty Food Plan estimates how much it costs to buy food

to prepare nutritious, low-cost meals for your household. This estimate is changed every year to

keep pace with food prices ("Facts About," 2019). The program has a few different rules that

families and individuals have to follow in addition to just meeting the requirements. One of the

regulations was implemented this past year by President Trump stated

Beginning April 1, every able-bodied adult between the ages of 18-49 who does not have

a dependent will have to work at least 20 hours a week in order to keep their SNAP

benefits; otherwise, those benefits will be capped at three months within a 36-month

period.(Aguilera, 2019)

These new rules are said to impact around 700,000 SNAP recipients Aguilera, 2019.

Before this was put into place there were requirements such as time limits and work

requirements, states get around those rules by applying for waivers showing their unemployment

rates are low.

Effect of COVID-19 on nutrition in low-income communities.

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The coronavirus affected everyone in every walk of life, and an article titled "Most

Americans on food stamps must shop at stores, risking Coronavirus exposure" (Crampton 2020)

goes in-depth on the effect of corona on low-income communities and families around the

United States. During the first few months of the shutdown, it was said to be extremely unsafe to

go out into a store or to go out in public, but for families who use food stamps or the SNAP

program, had to go out and risk their health (2020). The SNAP credits didn’t work for online

ordering service’s at the beginning of the pandemic. After a few weeks, lawmakers got together

in some states to rework how SNAP could be collected online, limiting the need for human

interaction and trying to stop the spread of the virus. Alabama and Nebraska lead the effort in

allowing online purchases with SNAP cards, leading other states to realize that it's possible to

provide this service online with appropriate security measures. Before the pandemic, only six

states allowed that Crampton(2020). Most people using SNAP are those most at risk of getting

COVID-19 such as, the elderly and people with disabilities. During the pandemic, most families

used delivery or pick up services from local or chain stores such as Target, whole foods, etc.

Families using SNAP couldn’t use these services because most online places don't accept these

credits due to the amount of security the website needs to ensure the person using the credit is

who they say they are.

Furthermore, delivery costs are not covered by SNAP, and with a monthly average

income of a SNAP recipient being around 250 dollars, they can't pay the delivery fee out of

pocket. COVID also increased the number of people applying for SNAP credits. This increase

was due to how the virus impacted the economy in every aspect, from stocks to a major loss in

jobs (Crampton,2020).
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Multiple studies have shown that without proper nutrition, students can not thrive in the

classroom resulting in "early sexual initiation, violence, and physical inactivity

(Markowitz,2018).”

Studies observing the diets before and during the first few hours of the morning on

preschoolers and kindergartners throughout the country have shown that when breakfast is eaten

before arriving at school or at school, the student's ability to focus and learn is substantially

higher (2018). Food security was one of the significant factors of the study. Food security is the

thought of not having food for each meal or just when they are hungry in general. This worrying

can start as early as preschool and has been shown to decrease preschoolers' attention spans and

efficacy. Markowtiz observes, "The study looked at a nationally representative data set that

measured how often children from low-income households experienced episodes of food

insecurity over several years of early childhood" (2018). They then compared this data to

kindergarteners' abilities like reading, mathematics, curiosity, and self-control. The study's final

result showed that kids with food security are more likely to have better cognitive and social-

emotional skills in kindergarten than students with food insecurity. Some people may think

hunger and food insecurity are the same, but "hunger is a physical experience, while food

insecurity is psychological (Markowitz,2018). Despite the link psychologists have found

between food insecurity and behavior, it is difficult to identify to what extent food security is a

causal factor in specific behaviors. Another study done by the same group investigated schools

selling breakfasts to students and its effects on learning. School breakfasts have been in place for

a long time, but they're all not getting utilized as much as they could be (2018). The government

is trying to get more kids to eat breakfast with a program called Breakfast after the Bell. This
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program is leading an effort to have breakfast during the beginning of classes for the students

who haven't already eaten (Markowitz, 2018).

Laws and Court Cases

California is implementing laws one by one to try and make the lunchroom a place of

nutritious and delicious foods and beverages. One of those laws is banning sugary drinks on

school grounds. More requirements from this were the inability of school-related adults to sell

sugary products on campus unless they waited 30 minutes after the school day ended or off the

school grounds. This act is a great start, but the areas most affected by subpar nutrition, are

underdeveloped and rural areas, are not in California; it affects California, but the problem areas

getting hit with lousy nutrition from the lack of healthy options aren't there (Byrnes, 2019). It is

cities such as Lubbock, Texas; Memphis, Tennessee; and Cincinnati, Ohio. These places are the

top three cities in America with the lowest median incomes, with an average median household

income of around $47,000-$60,000 per year. To put that into perspective, California's median

household income, where this law is helping, is about $101,493 a year. The difference is stark

and shows that legislation is being put in places where people need it less. If these laws got put

into areas where the average income is $75,000 or less, the effects would be more effective and

useful. It is helping people, which is always a plus; it isn't getting to others that may need it just

as much or even more. These states show that eating decisions have a strong correlation with

money and the availability of healthy food options. The listed places have around a 73 to

100,000 ratio of fast food places to people in surrounding areas. With this statistic, it is not only

saying that these fast-food chains are convenient but also cheap and easy for the whole family

instead of going to the grocery store and cooking a healthier meal (Byrnes, 2019).
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This case was brought to the Supreme Court with a question of whether outside sources

should be allowed to see store-level data on the redemption of food stamp benefits in their stores.

The public sector believes that data like that shouldn't be allowed to see records the store has on

SNAP redemption. On the other hand, the private sector believes that it is general knowledge

that the people should have as tax-paying citizens. People in the private sector think since the

people are paying tax and almost paying for the SNAP credits, they should know where they are

getting used. After reviewing the case and each side, the Supreme Court reversed a decision

made over 45 years ago saying that outside sources are allowed to obtain records of these SNAP

credits, so this made it so the newspaper and anyone else could not see the data. Whereas before

it was allowed if they could get the information. The Supreme Court made the final decision on

this case, stating that newspapers seeking to access food stamp data are not allowed (Gerstein,

2019).

Under California Education Code Section 51223, “schools must provide 200 minutes of

physical education every ten school days in grades K through 5”(California Department Of

Education, 2020). Parents and lawyers are saying that these requirements provided by the states

are being fulfilled improperly or at all in some cases. There are roughly 37 kindergartens through

eighth-grade schools throughout California that are going to become a part of the implementation

of documenting physical activity. Every year schools get monitored in each class in addition to

their physical education classes, but this is a once or twice a year kind of thing. This new

mandatory documentation would make it so that schools are checked on at random and more

frequently.

A key legal turning point occurred during a 2009 lawsuit attorney Donald Driscoll filed

against Albany Unified School District When the district argued that the Education Code
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requirement of 200 minutes of physical education every ten days was a goal and a guideline, not

a mandate, a Sacramento Superior Court judge agreed and dismissed the case. But the California

Third District Court of Appeals overturned that judgment and ruled that physical education

requirements were a mandate, not a suggestion. The appellate court also ruled that a parent could

file suit to force a district to comply with the law. Albany Unified asked the California Supreme

Court to review the decision, but the court declined(Adams,2015).

This topic isn't getting neglected because people think physical education isn't essential;

it is getting neglected because budget cuts aren't permitting these types of lessons. This program

will be implemented in an online website/app that teachers can log what they're doing weekly for

physical education; they can add activities like outside time, field trips, ext. Principles will then

need to periodically check throughout the week and write notes on the website of what they

observed. The final decision for this case is that they will start the implementation of this new

monitoring system slowly in schools throughout California. They believe this will help

significantly in lowering the numbers of obesity in the youth in California. With this being a new

rule in California, it could one day be for every state and every school district leading to a

healthier tomorrow (Adams, 2015).

Senate Bill S. 174 is an initiative to expand resources for get kids more active in and

outside of school. They use things like the Free Fruit Act to get kids to eat fruit as snacks more

than maybe chips or unhealthy things. More things there doing in the bill are promoting school

gardens, women breastfeeding in the workplace, and scholarship money to athletic programs that

help kids with disabilities. In addition to these goals that the city can put in different places, it

tries to put the following rules in the workplace. "(1) application of menu labeling requirements

to food establishments and nutritional standards for food provided in such buildings, (2) prompts
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encouraging individuals to use stairs, and (3) installation of bicycle storage areas expanding

nutritional labeling." This bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate on January 24, 2011, by Senator

Tom Harkin but had not had movement since then.

People leading the way in the nutrition of our schools

There are many people who have made considerable strides in the nutrition programs in

our public schools, and in addition to our nation's SNAP program.

Ellen Haas is chairman and CEO of the FoodFit Co, five-time president of the Consumer

Federation of America, founded Public Voice for Food and Health Policy, and was appointed to

run the federal government's nutrition programs in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She

served as undersecretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services for four years by president

Clinton. She has led momentous measures in the world of school lunch nutrition, including

rewriting most parts to make the nation's school lunch programs meet the dietary guidelines for

the first time in 50 years (WebMD, n.d.). With her involvement in our government she has

helped build the nation's school lunch program to be a healthier option to what it was before.

Tom Vilsack has also played an essential role in the nutrition of our nation's public

school nutrition program. He was the 30th secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and

started in the senate as a senator of Iowa. He helped pass and implement the Healthy, Hunger

Free Kids Act and worked with the first lady Michelle Obama in her Let's Move initiative (CNN

Editorial Research, 2020).

All of these strides towards a healthier tomorrow are just the start of what is in the

future. All of the studies on our children's breakfast needs and the amount of fast food places to

population ratio comes to show what else needs to be done in and out of the SNAP program.

Changing school lunch programs is critical in helping to create a healthier tomorrow. Not being
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able to drink soda and have sugary food in a school-provided lunch will help shape the future of

healthier eating. Kids need better options at hand. Parents also have to be on board with this as

well. Trying to limit fast food intake even though it is cheap, quick, and easy is a horrible health

option and creates bad habits. A lot of the issue is having access to adequate nutrition, which

some people don't, but a massive part of this is wanting to be healthy and making the active

choice to do the little things to be a healthy human.

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