REALLY!? Taco Bell/KFC accepts Food Stamps

Take a look at what I came across on my way to my internship site one day. I had driven past it a hundred times, but somehow never noticed the sign that is proudly displayed on the corner of Taco Bell/KFC: "Now accepting EBT cards" (read: FOOD STAMPS!)

A close-up. I just couldn't believe it!

I was flabbergasted to say the least. Why, exactly, should fast food, which has little to no nutritional value, be promoted by the government, let alone paid for under the Food Stamp Program!? Am I the only one who thinks this is absurd???

Now, I don't have anything wrong with food stamps, which is technically called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and was created while President Roosevelt was in office in 1939. It is considered one of a few "entitlement programs" (similar to WIC), and was designed to assist low/no-income families who struggled with "food security" (not knowing when the next meal would be, something that is highly correlated with poverty). But when the program was developed, many poor families were undernourished and often sick due to "food insecurity," so this was a way to provide solid meals and ultimately improve health. Quite a switch from the nutritional needs of the modern poor person. Food stamps has remained a controversial program, since the "approved" food list is extremely liberal. Pretty much anything edible is covered under the program. I remember as a child standing in line behind a man who has apparently saved up his stamps to buy lobster. Others were more "frugal" with their stamps, spending them on cartsfull of chips, soda, and candy. What is wrong with this picture?

With the switch to the EBT card (from paper stamps) in 2004, the SNAP program began being accepted at farmers' markets around the nation. This received much praise, as it was an effort to increase fruit and vegetable intake in a population known to have very poor intake which has likely led to a disproportionate number of poor being afflicted with obesity (and related diseases). In 2008 over 750 farmers' markets accepted EBT cards.

Over 40 million people currently benefit from the SNAP program, which is why it angers me that in the wake of an obesity epidemic the government program is basically encouraging its beneficiaries to consume fast food. Counter-intuitive, anyone?? In fact, the banner on the SNAP website says "We help put healthy food on the table for over 40 million people each month." REALLY? Are you sure about that? Because last time I checked people can and are buying fast food with their EBT cards. Is this really what I want my tax dollars to be spent on?

This program has been in existence for nearly 80 years and has remained virtually the same in those 80 years, despite drastically different nutritional needs of the population served. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, since apparently our own elected leaders can't manage to make a difference. Case in point: it takes a Brit to come to this country to instill change in the American food system, starting with notoriously bad school food. Why can't we attenuate this sort of change on our own? Where's all the change we were promised???