Countering Myths About the SNAP Program
Our mission at mRelief is to help people who are eligible for food stamps get connected to the benefits they deserve. We do this through screening and application assistance, but also by countering myths about assistance that may hold someone back from applying. Sometimes a client will find out that they are likely eligible, but will be hesitant about continuing the process. Here’s how we address the common myths about food stamps.
Myth #1: I’ll be taking it from someone who needs it more.
Many of our clients express concern that if they apply for benefits, they will be taking money that could have gone to someone else who needs assistance. Luckily, we can easily assuage this concern by letting them know that there is enough money for every single person who is eligible for food stamps to receive them. The SNAP program is an entitlement program, not a lottery with limited spots. In fact, $13 billion in food stamps goes unclaimed every year.
Myth #2: Food stamps are a “handout.”
One of the most pernicious myths about government assistance programs is that they are “unearned,” but everyone who has ever paid federal income taxes has already contributed money to the program! In fact, citizens on all levels of the income spectrum receive some form of government assistance, whether it is in the form of benefits, corporate tax breaks, or the home mortgage interest deduction.
We pay Social Security taxes so that we can provide income to the elderly and the disabled, but we don’t think of retirees as taking government handouts when they collect their monthly check. We all pay into 911 through a tax on phone bills, but we would never begrudge someone the use of emergency services. Why then should receiving assistance for food be considered any different?
Myth #3: I shouldn’t need help.
Another common sentiment we hear from our clients is that they should be able to meet their needs on their own. If they need to apply for assistance, they feel as though they have somehow failed. Yet 43% of Americans struggle to meet their basic needs—that’s 50.8 million American households. In the past few decades, wages have remained stagnant and the cost of living has increased, leaving many households unable to afford food, rent, education, and medical care.
In San Francisco, where we have deployed our End-to-End process, we will often share with people who are tentative about receiving benefits that they live in one of the most expensive cities in the country—it’s hard for most people to get by. The median cost of a home in San Francisco is more than a million dollars and the average rent for a 1-bedroom apartment is $2639 per month.
As stable jobs with good benefits are replaced by more precarious employment, programs like SNAP and Medicaid have become crucial bulwarks against poverty. These programs exist to ensure that people can meet their basic human needs, regardless of income. Accessing them doesn’t mean that someone has failed—the only failure is that people still go hungry in one of the most prosperous countries in the world.
