Our Policy Work: Income & Health

The Issues

Currently more than 500,000 low-income New Yorkers are eligible for, but do not participate in the USDA Food Stamp (also known as Food Card) Program.  Designed to ensure low-income people can afford nutritious food, Food Stamps are a significant tool for helping working families stretch their budgets.  In addition, many people who are eligible for or who depend on food stamps are overweight or obese and suffer from diet-related health problems.

Our Positions

To help low-income individuals feed themselves and their families, it is essential to increase access to and utilization of food stamps.  At the same time, increased nutrition literacy and access to healthy foods are needed to address obesity and resulting diet-related disorders among low-income New Yorkers.

Background

It is estimated that more than 500,000 New Yorkers are eligible but not receiving federal food stamp (SNAP1) benefits.2  Food stamp benefits worth millions of dollars go unclaimed due to several barriers faced by potential applicants in New York City3.  As of June 2009, the average monthly benefit was $133.12 per person.  This represents more than $1,500 of potential income going unclaimed by needy families each year.  Additionally, local businesses lose an estimated $60 million per year in federal revenues because of lower food stamp use.

Many of the low-income individuals who depend on food stamps are overweight or obese and suffer from diet-related health issues.  The amount of money that a food stamp recipient receives is insufficient to support a nutritious and healthy lifestyle for an entire month.  The low cost of unhealthy foods promotes overconsumption of calories which raises the incidence of obesity and diet-related health problems within this population.

Taking Action

To address the issues of under-utilization of food stamps as well as obesity and diet-related disorders among low-income people, United Way of New York City (UWNYC) proposes the following recommendations.  These actions offer the potential to increase utilization of food stamps and related benefits and access to healthy food in New York City.

  1. Address barriers to food stamp access.
  • Eliminate finger imaging.  In order for needy families to get food stamps, all adult members or heads of households must have their finger images taken.  New York is one of the four remaining states in the country where this practice is still required, and it costs New York's taxpayers an estimated $800,000 in administrative fees per year.
     
  • Require interagency data sharing.  Outreach efforts around the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) have proven highly effective in increasing utilization of this important benefit.  A key component of this strategy involved the Department of Finance (DOF) analyzing its data on taxpayers and proactively sending them information about potential eligibility rather than waiting for them to come forward.  Similarly, DOF should work with the NYC Human Resources Administration to identify those who may be eligible for food stamps and do a proactive outreach.  Community-based organizations can play an important role in implementing this targeted outreach and managing the flow of clients who respond.
  1. Address barriers to healthy food access and discourage unhealthy food consumption.
  • Encourage the Purchase of Healthy Foods.  We will continue to support efforts that make healthy eating an easier choice for New Yorkers by increasing access to healthy food options for families, communities and children in schools.  This includes efforts to increase access to farmers markets, support urban farming, support food pantries, and educate New Yorkers about the benefits of healthy eating. 
     
  • Provide financial incentives.  Health Buck, the financial incentive program developed by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, allows food stamp recipients to receive voucher coupons for certain dollar amounts they spend at farmers markets.  Implementing this type of program at supermarkets/grocery stores that sell fresh produce in areas that are frequented by food stamp recipients might incentivize recipients to purchase healthier foods.  The increase in purchases of fruits and vegetables would also benefit farmers.
     
  • Increase knowledge of healthy foods and where to buy them.  Eat Smart New York (ESNY) is a statewide nutrition education program that collaborates with community-based organizations to teach food stamp recipients and other eligible populations how to improve their health and well-being through culturally competent classes that focus on dietary quality, food security, money management and food safety.  ESNY and similar programs that bring nutrition literacy directly to food stamp recipients have great potential to educate this population about healthy foods.

    Currently, the NYC Human Resources Administration (HRA) provides informational literature through mailings to the District Public Health Office’s catchment zones4.  Increasing the number of mailings and the zones to which the mailings are sent would help inform food stamp recipients as to where food stamps are accepted and what to expect with regard to benefit usage at alternative venues such as farmers markets.  Providing informational literature to food stamp applicants would also be helpful in increasing the purchasing of healthy foods.

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1 SNAP is a federal program that provides benefits to low- and no-income individuals and families living in the U.S. to purchase food. The program is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) with benefits distributed by States or Local authorities. In New York State, the Office of Temporary Disability Assistance (OTDA) is the governing State agency. The New York City Human Resources Administration has local jurisdiction of SNAP.
2 www.legalservicesnyc.org/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=287
3 www.citylimits.org/news/articles/4116/farmers-markets-csas-struggle-to-get-food-stamp-customers
4 GrowNYC 2009 EBT Summary Report