Myth #1 — SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)is a welfare program.
Response: Actually, it’s not part of the welfare system. It’s intended specifically to help low-income individuals and families eat healthfully, which ultimately is a proactive investment in health care that yields long-term benefits for all of us.
Myth #2 — Most people who receive SNAP don’t really need it.
Response: According to Feeding America, the average family receiving SNAP has a monthly gross income of $744. This is well below the poverty line ($14,648 for a family of three), which itself presents a challenge to those seeking to feed their families appropriately.
Myth #3 - SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) provides more than is needed for the poor to eat well.
On average, a beneficiary of SNAP receives $133.41 per month (in 2012). Assuming three meals a day, this equals less than $1.50 per meal, per person.
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Myth #4 - One of the House proposals — getting rid of “categorical eligibility” in SNAP — would save money by keeping people who don’t need help out of the system.
First, the ones who would suffer the most from eliminating categorical eligibility would be more than 200,000 children who receive free school lunches. Second, it would serve to delay benefits to those who qualify anyway because of added layers of red tape. Categorical eligibility actually streamlines government bureaucracy so more money goes to recipients and gets to them more quickly.
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Myth #5 - SNAP (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program) is just another bloated government program.
In fact, the administrative expenses for SNAP are less than 5 percent, which is better than the vast majority of nonprofits in the United States.
Myth #6 - People on SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) don’t work.
Current rules limit SNAP benefits for adults deemed able to work to a total of three months in a 36-month period. It also offers a work incentive so that benefits are reduced gradually as employees become increasingly independent.
Myth #7 - Immigrants are the big beneficiaries of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program).
If you are a legal resident with a green card, you have to wait five years after residence to receive SNAP. Fewer than 1-in-20 people receiving SNAP benefits are non-citizens, generally because they are spouses of citizens.