THE NOURISHING EFFECT

most effective counter-cyclical program to offset the
inevitable downturns in economic activity and availability
of jobs that is systemically built into the U.S.
economy. WIC provides nutrition education and
medical services in addition to food targeted specifically
to pregnant and lactating mothers, and infants
and children.
In addition to providing much needed food and
other services for low-income and food-insecure families
and individuals, the private food assistance system
also provides opportunities for corporations to remove
unprofitable product from their inventories, reduce
their tax burdens, and improve public perceptions of
their degree of social responsibility. In addition, both
the public and private food assistance systems provide
much-needed jobs, many of which pay very well.
It is also extremely important to note that the public
and private food assistance systems comprise complementary
systems for dealing with food insecurity and
hunger, with overlap and interaction between the two
systems. And it is necessary to state the obvious fact
that the two systems combined are still far from adequate
solutions to the problems of food insecurity and
hunger. Food insecurity and hunger, like poverty, their
main proximal cause, are systemic problems that result
from numerous market, policy, and leadership failures.
And they will not be eliminated until those systemic
failures are acknowledged, addressed, and resolved.
Exhibit 9
Average monthly number of SNAP participants, and average monthly per person benefit
level, 2000-2014.
Thousands
60,000
50,000
40,000
(Average Monthly Benefit
per Person; Line, Rt Axis)
$160
$140
$120
$100
30,000
$80
20,000
10,000
(Average Monthly
Participation; Bars,
Lft Axis)
$60
$40
$20
0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
$0
Source: USDA Food and Nutrition Service; SNAP program data (http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap)
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