My daughter loves to cook and she forces everyone in her home (including the dog) to eat healthy.<\/p>\n
For example, the step kids like chicken nuggets, so, she makes them from scratch \u2013 even sneaking shredded cauliflower and carrots into the batter.<\/p>\n
Alas, most of us don\u2019t enjoy cooking that much. The 1950\u2019s and early 1960\u2019s lifestyle where the \u2018woman of the house\u2019 spent an hour a day shopping and hours on meal preparation (always favoring fresh, in-season ingredients) really never got beyond June Cleaver and Harriett Nelson.<\/p>\n
Yet, for generations the United States Department of Agriculture\u2019s<\/strong> \u201cThrifty Food Plan\u201d <\/em><\/strong>charted what a family with a lower income ought <\/em>to spend on food based on the June and Harriet lifestyle. Worse, that draconian, labor-intensive approach fed into the budget for determining how much struggling families received in food stamps.<\/p>\n The good news: the Biden administration is reworking the Thrifty Food Plan<\/em> in a way that increases the average base food stamp benefit by about 15%. <\/p>\n The bad news: the coming end to pandemic food stamp bonuses still means typical benefits will fall off a cliff. The fall just won\u2019t be so far.<\/p>\n You see, both Donald Trump and Joe Biden supported a boost to food stamps when Covid crippled the economy, just as George W. Bush and Barrack Obama nudged benefits during the great recession. These boosts were to cover the emergency situation, not permanent. The recession boost, for example, expired a few years into the Obama administration<\/p>\n Let\u2019s look at the average benefit per person per meal in Missouri for June<\/strong>\u2026<\/p>\n 2011 2015 2020 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n $1.42 $1.37 $1.92 $2.53<\/strong><\/p>\n Source: www.mo.dss.gov\/re<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n This June\u2019s benefit ain\u2019t bad. Yes, it still wouldn\u2019t cover a lunch of one Kenrick\u2019s<\/em> hamburger patty, a bun, a slice of deli American cheese, some chips and a glass of home made ice tea but it is way better than the state\u2019s historical benefit level in the $1.30 to $1.45 range.<\/p>\n With the revised Thrifty Food Plan<\/em> formula, we would expect the average Missouri benefit to go to $1.74<\/strong> \u2013 better than the old base but still way below what is needed. [https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/business\/2021\/08\/15\/snap-food-assistance-benefit-boost\/<\/a> ] <\/strong>The \u201cLow Cost Food Plan\u201d<\/em><\/strong> (next higher on the USDA charts) of around $2.32<\/strong> per person per meal would be more attuned to this century. [ www.fns.usda.gov\/cnpp<\/a> ]<\/strong><\/p>\n Three takeaways:<\/p>\n Of course, this being Missouri we have to remember that the Department of Social Services<\/em> barely functions. Getting help in the Show Me State is always hard but especially now with under-staffing, Covid office closures and the Greitens \u2013 Parson administration\u2019s disdain for helping citizens. A lot of deserving families who need and qualify for food stamps don\u2019t get them. As I mentioned before, nationwide food stamp participation increased by more than 12% in the past year: in Missouri participation fell by 10%. The state of Missouri prefers to sit-out the war on hunger.<\/p>\n Oh yes, my daughter spends way more than a food stamp family preparing meals for the five (plus the dog) in her home. Fortunately, she can afford to buy what she wants. And, she makes a wonderful grated Brussels Sprout salad with fresh bacon.<\/p>\n Glenn<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n