Welcome to SNAP to Health, a virtual town hall where all members of the community can convene to discuss the current state of nutrition and health in the United States. We provide a public forum for input from individuals, community organizations, local and regional businesses, and foundations about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Our goal is to improve the nutrition and health of Americans on SNAP by hearing from all of you. We are exploring the role of technology to strengthen WIC now and in the years ahead.

Background

SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamps Program, is a federal government program that provides food assistance to low-income individuals and families in the United States. SNAP is one of the largest federal assistance programs in the country, giving aid to more than 42 million Americans in 2021. The program has been a key driver in preventing food insecurity for people during the COVID-19 pandemic when food insecurity increased in the United States.

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WIC is a federal food assistance intervention that serves 6.2 million food insecure pregnant, breastfeeding, and post-partum women, infants, and children up to age five. It provides four main benefits for program participants: (1) a monthly package of supplemental foods; (2) nutrition education; (3) breastfeeding support; and (4) counseling and referrals to health and social services. WIC has played an important role for families as a source of nutrition during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The SNAP to Health website was created as a space for discussion and debate about the SNAP program and nutrition in the U.S. The opinions and perspectives shared on the SNAP to Health website will be incorporated into information gathered from other key stakeholders to inform the conversation on the reauthorization of SNAP in the new Farm Bill and WIC in the Child Nutrition Reauthorization legislation.

SNAP to Health is a project of the Health Policy Program at New America.  It was originally established as part of a year-long initiative to improve nutrition in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). This project made science-based policy recommendations to improve nutrition and reduce obesity for participants in SNAP. Read the initiative’s first report here. We have expanded the site to include information about WIC and strategies to strengthen this program. This work is supported by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation.