Federal Food Programs and the Public Health:
Can All Americans Afford Access to Nutritious Foods?

A new analysis from The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Service examines the public health implications of the nutrition proposals in the Bush Administration's Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 budget. The budget sent to Congress would cut more than 300,000 low-income people, primarily working families with children, from the Food Stamp Program, in order to achieve a savings of more than $600 million over the next five years. The President's proposal also would eliminate funding for the federal Commodity Supplemental Food Program, which last year provided a monthly package of nutritious foods tosome low-income 423,000 seniors and 40,000 women, infants and children, at a cost of $107 million.

These proposals raise broader questions about the value of federal programs in meeting the nutritional needs of Americans and improving the public's health. This analysis, part of the School's Rapid Public Health Policy Response Project, provides an overview to help inform the discussion.

Click here to download the full report.

Key Conclusions

• One in five Americans used federal food assistance and nutrition programs at some point last year. In FY 2006, USDA spent $52.9 billion, or 60 percent of its annual budget, on these programs.
• USDA research shows that children in families who participate in the $33 billion Food Stamp Program, the cornerstone of federal food assistance, are less likely to be abused and neglected. They also show fewer of the types of health problems associated with inadequate nutrition among low-income children, with a resulting savings to Medicaid.
• One out of every three low-income American households - and 45% of low-income households headed by a single woman - faced food insecurity in 2005, according to the USDA. Food insecurity is defined as a situation in which access to adequate food is limited by a lack of money and other resources.
• Even at existing funding levels, food programs are not meeting essential nutritional needs. On a per-calorie basis, lean meat, fish, fruits and vegetables are more expensive than the more energy-dense refined grains, sugars and fat that are linked to excess weight and greater disease risks. Researchers at the Center for Cardiovascular Disease at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital estimated the cost of a "healthy-heart" diet to be $692/month for a family of four (based on 2003 prices), or $227 above the maximum monthly Food Stamp Program benefit at the time.

For more information about the federal food programs:

Sara Rosenbaum, JD
Chair, Department of Health Policy
School of Public Health and Health Services
The George Washington University
2021 K Street, N.W., Suite 800
Washington, DC 20006
(202)530-2342
sarar@gwu.edu