U.S.

The White House Proposes A SNAP Food Delivery Program

The 2019 budget proposal includes a couple of major changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

The White House Proposes A SNAP Food Delivery Program
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SMS

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients could see big changes if part of President Donald Trump's proposed budget is enacted. 

The administration wants to deliver some of those food benefits directly to households in "USDA Food packages."

It would have things like "shelf-stable milk, ready to eat cereals, pasta, peanut butter, beans and canned fruit and vegetables," and everything inside would be "100-percent American grown foods." The box wouldn't contain all their benefits, and families would still get money on a shopping card they could use at local, approved grocery stores. 

White House Director of the Office of Management and Budget Mick Mulvaney compared the SNAP food package to Blue Apron. 

Currently, SNAP recipients get all of their benefits loaded onto a shopping card they can use at local stores, so long as they follow certain guidelines. 

Critics of Trump's SNAP proposal say the "budget seems to assume that participating in SNAP is a character flaw" and the new program would be "far more intrusive."