Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

Big jump in food-stamp enrollment drives farm bill debate, By Charles Pope, July 22, 2012, The Oregonian: “The farm bill Congress is struggling to pass is enormous — a $958 billion piece of legislation filling 600 pages that seems nearly as expansive as the horizon-to-horizon mega-farms and ranches it governs. Whether it passes this year depends on the response to two questions that have nothing to do with agriculture and affect everyone in the country: Who should pay to reduce the nation’s $1.2 trillion deficit? And, what is the government’s obligation to help people in need? In addition to crop and conservation programs, the farm bill pays for food stamps, technically the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP. The recession spurred growth in the program, which now helps 46 million Americans, including one in five in Oregon…”