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Emmanuel Vasquez
English 2010
Lewis
October 18, 2015
The Problem With Food Stamps
Food stamps, also known as SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) is a
social program meant to help people curb the cost of living by supplying them money for food.
This social program was started in 1939 by the Secretary of Agriculture Henry Wallace. The idea
behind food stamps was to help undernourished U.S. citizens by giving them the surplus
gathered by farms and producers. However, in todays society people are abusing this program
by selling their food stamps in return for illicit materials. The most prominent of these illicit
materials is drugs. To the current Secretary of Agriculture, drug testing is a viable step in
choosing and regulating SNAP recipients.
The extra step in the Food Stamps program will have rules and regulations. The first
regulation is that the drug tests will happen in sessions of three months for the first year, six
months in the second, and annually after three years unless the applicant has a history of drug
abuse. The recipient with prior drug history will be screened for drugs every month until a year
has elapsed. Afterwards, the system will follow the initial model for those with a drug history. If
an applicant fails a test they will be unable to apply for SNAP benefits for six months or they
have the option of enrolling in a mandatory rehabilitation program for at least a year unless
permitted otherwise. Programs such as halfway houses will be used to help long term drug
abusers and the program will allow them to still be able to apply for food stamp benefits. If a

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food stamps recipient is caught selling their benefits for illicit materials, they will be disqualified
from receiving SNAP aid for four years or until the charge is expunged from their record.
Although these rules and regulations may not completely stop drug users from abusing SNAP
benefits it will lessen the amount of people taking advantage of this social program.
Although hiring employees and administering drug tests requires money to operate, this
extra step will save more money in the long run. Figures from the U.S. Department of
Agriculture show the increase in funding for SNAP from 1969 to 2014. The initial cost of SNAP
was $250 million and has increased to a staggering $75 billion in 2014. This information
displays the increase in money for this social program. With the increase in funding over the
years the number of food stamps recipients has also increased. This shows that more people have
become reliant on this program to make ends meet. This is both good and bad because those who
need the assistance will receive it and those who do not have an opportunity to take advantage of
the system. Adding drug tests will crack down on the illegal trade. This will give those who are
on drugs two options: either they quit taking drugs or they will need to find another source of
assistance. This can reduce crime in some parts of low-income communities. The money saved
from these tests can be put into rehabilitating these recipients or into other government assistance
programs.
Ever since drug addicts started abusing the food stamp program many citizens have
questioned the security of the program. The vast majority of citizens who pay for this program
are above the poverty line. They are also voters who have little to no say on how SNAP is
operated. But a study based off of income shows that After studying 30 years of datacould
not find any year in which low-income voter turnout was higher than high-income voter turnout
(Franko). This information shows that voters from higher incomes vote more frequently than

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those with lower incomes. And incidentally the higher the income the more taxes these citizens
have to pay which go towards programs like SNAP. Regulating food stamps will make these
citizens feel like both their votes and tax dollars are being used correctly rather than being
wasted. This will also make them feel that SNAP is a secure program because of the regulations.
This is particularly useful because it can improve the image and the public relations of the U.S.
government.
In conclusion, drug testing food stamp recipients is the best course of action for the
welfare of the U.S. The rules and regulations provided for this extra step allow the current lawabiding recipients to still receive benefits, but they also crack down on those who abuse the
system. Also, this additional step will save money in the long run and allow for spending on
other programs that benefit the public. Also the regulations will improve the image and the
public relations of the U.S. government.
Works Cited
McElwee, Sean. "Why the Voting Gap Matters." Why the Voting Gap Matters.
Http://www.demos.org/, 23 Oct. 2014. Web. 18 Oct. 2015.
USDA. "Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)." Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP). USDA, 13 Oct. 2015. Web. 18 Oct. 2015.