SNAP, Corey Booker, and ETHANOL

November 29, 2012

Corey Booker, the very admirable mayor of Newark, NJ has accepted a challenge to live for a week on a prorated SNAP allowance for a fairly large family. The allowance he intends to use is $1.40/meal. (SNAP used to be called Food Stamps.)

I say a fairly large family because the SNAP allowance for a family of four is $668/Month. At ninety meals per person per month, 360 meals for a family of four, that works out to $1.85 per meal. The allowance per person drops as the number of people in the household increases. The plan assumes some efficiency of scale. His plan for $1.40 per meal would be for a family of six or eight. I won't do the math.

It won't be enough money. But not just for the reasons you might think of right away. The world price of corn has gone up 25% because 40% of the US corn crop goes to ethanol so the United States can have "greener(1)" fuel for cars. Beef farming, as it is done today, depends on corn for getting to market weight in a hurry (a crappy poisonous diet for a perfectly decent animal). Beef prices are out of sight. I have no idea what the impact of corn prices are on other foods.

The SNAP allowance has not been adjusted to reflect the rapid climb in corn prices because the US Government has not passed a budget in three years. The House passes a budget each year but the Senate does not enact it or amend it. At the last possible moment both houses agree to pass continuing resolutions.

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Want to know how to feed a family on $1.85 per meal, cooked at home, and meet USDA guidelines for nutrition? Look no further...

http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/usdafoodplanscostoffood.htm
FoodPlansRecipeBook.pdf

The recipes meet all USDA dietary guidelines. The SNAP plan is intended to cover the price of basic, cook at home foods necessary to meet those guidelines. The plan is developed by food scientists at Penn State.

The are some force multipliers for the SNAP allowance. No deductions are made from the SNAP allowance for USDA free breakfasts and lunches at schools (20 to 40 meals per school age child).  SNAP is not reduced for recipients of  WIC allowances. WIC is a program solely for mothers and infants from pregnancy thru age 2ish. The WIC allowance is solely for protein/dairy foods necessary for early childhood development.

Just for drill I intend to see if the recipes in the USDA booklet above make for a decent diet. Maybe during Lent?

(1) "Greener" is in quote marks because by most estimates it takes more energy to make a gallon of ethanol from corn than you get from burning it.