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Healthy Staples Plan Is Real 'Pathway to Well-Being' for SNAP Participants
[January 26, 2018]

Healthy Staples Plan Is Real 'Pathway to Well-Being' for SNAP Participants


The Healthy Staples (News - Alert) Plan-fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes-is the real pathway to well-being for participants of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), says the nonprofit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in response to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's new 2018 Farm Bill & Legislative Principles.

"If we really want to put SNAP participants-who are disproportionally affected by obesity, heart disease, and diabetes-on the path to well-being, healthful foods are the solution," says Physicians Committee director of nutrition education Susan Levin, M.S., R.D. "The USDA should stop helping the junk food industry get rich through SNAP and instead enrich the health of SNAP participants with disease-fighting Healthy Staples."

Forty-four percent of adult SNAP participants are obese, versus 33 percent for nonparticipants at the same income level as participants. They also have an increased risk of death from heart disease and diabetes, compared to NAP-eligible nonparticipants.



Levin and Physicians Committee president Neal Barnard, M.D., detailed Healthy Staples in "A Proposal for Improvements in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program" published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Healthy Staples is inspired by the USDA's Women, Infants and Children program, or WIC, which is based on the use of food packages that include foods deemed to provide good nutrition. When WIC began promoting more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, childhood obesity declined for participants, according to a new study in JAMA Pediatrics.


SNAP participants choosing solely from Healthy Staples would likely get more than twice the fiber, iron, vitamin E, and folate; almost twice the potassium, calcium, and magnesium; almost 40 percent more vitamin D; and more than five times more beta-carotene than those following a typical American diet. A Healthy Staples participant would also consume 65 percent less fat and 85 percent less saturated fat, and the excess of 250 milligrams of cholesterol consumed daily would be reduced to essentially zero.

Healthy Staples would also be a boon to retailers by curtailing the economic rationale for stocking less nutritious foods and instead reimbursing them for stocking foods that help keep their communities healthy.

Earlier this year, the American Medical Association also asked the USDA to incentivize healthful foods and discourage or eliminate unhealthful foods.

Each month, SNAP provides nutrition assistance to 44 million low-income individuals in 21.8 million U.S. households. Two-thirds of SNAP participants are children, elderly, or adults with disabilities.

To speak with Dr. Barnard or Ms. Levin, please contact Michael Keevican at [email protected].

Founded in 1985, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is a nonprofit health organization that promotes preventive medicine, conducts clinical research, and encourages higher standards for ethics and effectiveness in research and medical training.


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