Program Evaluation of SNAP: Stakeholder Analysis and Conflicts

Running head: PROGRAM EVALUATION
PROGRAM EVALUATION
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PROGRAM EVALUATION
SNAP or supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is a federal program that helps
millions of low income families Australia meet their basic nutritional needs for helping them to
overcome their temporary hard times. It aims to help people in getting back on their feet and
thereby move through the road towards a better life. In the year 2015, this program had helped in
lifting 4.6 million Americans above the poverty line. This included 2 million children as well as
366000 seniors. Moreover, the program helps in ensuring that every child is given the fair
chances to develop e healthy adulthood and that every senior life with dignity and that the
families might care for themselves in a sufficient manner (rivera et al., 2016). One of the main
goals of this health program is that no individual in the nation of America goes hungry. This
assignment will discuss various aspects of this program and undertake stakeholder analysis and
conflicts between them as well.
After the passing of the 2008 Farm bill, the already existing commitment of the federal
government had increased towards the poverty stricken and disadvantaged population. The food
stamp act of 1977 was changed to SNAP at that time. The Farm bill was seen to provide $ 20
million in the mandatory funding for the project known as the Healthy Incentives Pilot for testing
point of purchase incentives for different types of healthy foods as well as authorized
appropriations for other small projects, this was then followed with the passing of the 2009
American Recovery & Reinvestment act and then the Healthy Hunger Free kids act in the year
2010 (Bremer et al., 2018). All of them wanted to ensure that every family is able to consume
foods that build up their health. Finally, in the year 2014, the Farm bill made a large number of
alterations to the policy of SNAP. Not only had the SNAP finally included the required foods

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PROGRAM EVALUATION
important for maintaining nutrient maintenance, quality control measurements as well as SNAP-
education systems were also introduced into the programs.
Outcome measurement and evaluation research had put forward much important
information that shows how it had successfully helped huge number of citizens to overcome
hunger and develop better health through nutritious foods. Available evidence suggests that
SNAP is at least associated with and may promote better health as well as lower health care
costs. This is also proved by the evidence that those policies which had tried for limiting the
program eligibility as well as cut SNAP benefits had resulted in harming the health as well as
raising the healthcare costs (Leung et al., 2017). Substantial research and evaluation of the
program showed that it had helped in fighting with the issue of food insecurity in the nation.
Food insecurity results in increasing the risk of different health outcomes as well as causes
complications to the ability of individuals in managing the illness and is also linked with higher
healthcare costs. SNAP had helped in reducing the overall food prevalence of the food insecurity
in the nation by 30%. Evaluation also suggests that it has been found to be more effective on the
most vulnerable like those with children and very low food insecurity (Rodriguez, 2018).
Moreover, data had seen to show that SNAP is intricately associated with improved current and
even long-term health. SNAP is also found to be associated with low healthcare costs. Low
income adults who participate in SNAP are seen to incur about $1400 or about 25% less in the
medical care costs within the year than low income participants who do not take the benefits.