Don't Mess With Texas's Abysmal Food Stamp Program

by Greg Plotkin · 2010-01-22 09:07:00 UTC
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Despite the fact that Texas was sued over a month ago for failing to process food stamp applications within the self-imposed 30-day timetable, nearly half of the state's food stamp eligible population is still not receiving any assistance.

As a result, the nation's premiere authority on food assistance programs, Undersecretary of Agriculture Kevin Concannon, has named Texas the state with the worst-performing food stamp program in the entire nation. How embarrassing for the nation's second-largest state by population, with a poverty rate higher than the U.S. average.

The delays in processing food stamp applications are not only hurting needy families and costing supermarkets in the state up to $1 billion in revenue, but might also cost the state a significant amount in forfeited federal funding. Since the federal government has already allocated funding to Texas for the food stamp program, it is up to the state to dispense the money in a timely manner. For failing to meet its own deadline, the federal government has threatened to withhold $173 million a year in program funding.

Many experts, including Concannon, blame the problem on the privatization of the Texas food stamp program in 2005. This change in the program's structure has resulted in more middle-income Texans having to wait extended periods of time to collect their benefits because of added screening procedures (including fingerprinting). Governor Rick Perry continues to resist calls to halt fingerprinting and other time-consuming activities he says prevent fraud, even though critics call the measures the cause of the state food program's poor performance.

It's rare to see a man this committed to the status quo. He should keep in mind the thousands of families in Texas who aren't receiving needed food assistance because of the state's insistence on intense screening. What if he had to get fingerprinted before having lunch today?

Photo credit: shirleynedry

Greg Plotkin currently works for Flying Pigs Farm in Shushan, NY. He is dedicated to eliminating inequalities in who has access to healthy food and alleviating hunger.
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