The Trump administration’s budget-cutting plans for next year may well include a test, or even a full-scale revival, of “America’s Harvest Box,” said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Wednesday. Perdue faced a storm of criticism last spring for the proposal to send a box of canned and processed foods to SNAP recipients each month in lieu of half of the benefits they would otherwise spend at grocery stores.
Asked if the Harvest Box would be part of USDA budget proposals for next year, Perdue replied, “I hope so, yes. Sure. At the least, I would hope that Congress will trust us with a pilot project. … At least give us a chance to demonstrate the efficacy of that program.” The USDA estimated last spring that it could save $129 billion over 10 years with the Harvest Box through volume purchasing of foods such as cereal, pasta, peanut butter, beans, and canned meats, fruits, and vegetables. It planned on shipping the box to 80 percent of SNAP recipients.
“I think it’s a great idea, frankly,” said Perdue, who was credited with the concept. “With our SNAP recipients, we think they can have fresh fruits and vegetables and a good value meal cheaper than we are providing it now.”
“It was, is, and will continue to be a proposal to drastically cut benefits,” said Stacy Dean of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a think tank. “We don’t anticipate Congress being any more interested next year than they were this year.”
The Harvest Box got little traction when it was proposed last February. Critics said it would be wildly complicated to assure accurate and timely delivery of the Harvest Boxes and to take into account allergies or dietary restrictions in millions of households. Rep. Nita Lowey, a New York Democrat, said it was a “condescending plan,” and other lawmakers said it would hurt local grocers by displacing sales.
Perdue said it “remains to be seen” if the USDA will tighten the 90-day time limit on food stamps to so-called able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) or wait for Congress to complete work on the 2018 farm bill. SNAP is part of the farm bill. House Republicans want to set work requirements for a broader age range of “work-capable” adults than the ABAWD rule and to include adults with children over age 6.
The administration has complained that it is too easy for states to invoke waivers allowing ABAWDs to receive food stamps for more than the limit set in the 1996 welfare reform law of three months in three years. Waivers are allowed for areas with high unemployment or insufficient jobs.
“We would love to wait for Congress, as I said. We would love for them to have it in the farm bill,” said Perdue. In a White House document, the USDA said on Wednesday that it is working on regulations to tighten so-called categorical eligibility for food stamps and to constrain states’ use of waivers for ABAWDs. Categorical eligibility allows people enrolled in social welfare programs to apply for food stamps. There is no limit on household assets, although incomes must be below SNAP cutoff points.
Some 38.9 million people were enrolled in SNAP at latest count, with an average benefit of $123 per person, per month. Enrollment peaked at 47.6 million and a cost of nearly $80 billion in fiscal 2013, during the slow recovery from the 2008-09 recession. SNAP enrollment, which is highest during times of economic distress, has declined slowly over the past couple of years as the jobless rate has plummeted.
“It’s just diverging,” said Perdue, a proponent of stronger work requirements. “We think it’s important we help people move off of government dependency to an independent lifestyle.” President Trump has said the farm bill should include stronger work requirements for SNAP participants.
Two-thirds of SNAP recipients are elderly, children, or disabled, and thus exempt from the requirement to register for work and accept a suitable job if offered one. Analysts say that one reason enrollment numbers have stayed relatively high is that a larger portion of eligible people are enrolled than in the past.
Vice President Mike Pence will spearhead a pre-election call for stronger work requirements for SNAP, using the argument that the booming U.S. economy has created millions of job vacancies that could be filled by SNAP recipients, said Politico.
After visiting an elementary school as part of National School Lunch Week, Perdue told reporters that the USDA would exceed the White House goal of a 5-percent cut in spending for next year. “USDA will absolutely participate in that, and I think we will be able to meet greater than the 5-percent target,” he said.