Food Stamp's Purpose
The idea for the first FSP also known as Food Stamp is credited to various people, most notably Secretary of Agriculture Henry Wallace and the program's first Administrator Mr. Milo Perkins. The purpose of this program when first initiated was to permit people on relief to buy orange stamps equal to their normal food expenditures; for every $1 worth of orange stamps purchased, 50 cents worth of blue stamps were received. With the orange stamps the recipient could use it to buy any kind of food; but the blue stamps could only be used to buy food determined by the Department to be surplus. It is reported the first Food Stamp Program reached approximately 20 million people at one time or another in nearly half of the counties in the U.S.--peak participation was 4 million--at a total cost of $262 million over the course of 4 years (New York Times, 2010).
The main purpose of the FSP (Food Stamp) when signed into law in 1964 were; strengthening the agricultural economy and providing improved levels of nutrition among low-income households. The ideas behind the FSP were good. However, since the creation of this program it has gone out of control to a point where it becomes more like a political tool and a social one. The average food stamp per person is right around $101.00/month. As a result, recipients are forced to purchase the cheapest food possible in order to stay alive but not healthy though. Studies show that most of the FSP beneficiary are children, sadly enough most of those children have obesity. So my point is that; when FSP was first created it had an ethical purpose which was “strengthening the agricultural economy and providing improved levels of nutrition among low-income households.” But, what it has become today is very unethical, it’s nothing but a handout to many who chose an easy way out (Huffington Post, 2014).
References
Madeline R. and Huffington Post (2014). Ethics Aside, SNAP Is Good for the Economy. Data Retrieved on 07/15/2015, from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/madeline-ruoff-/ethics-aside-snap-is-good_b_4784384.html
New York Times (2010). A History of Food Stamps Use and Policy. Data Retrieved on 07/15/2015, from: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/02/11/us/FOODSTAMPS.html?_r=0
