<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;" align="center">The White House has proposed a plan that includes a meal-kit program similar to Blue Apron or Hello Fresh as an option for those collecting food stamps.  ;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In an effort to cut costs and help low income families eat more nutritious meals, the Trump Administration is proposing the introduction of the &ldquo;Harvest Box,&rdquo; which would be a delivery of &ldquo;nutritious, U.S.-grown and produced food.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&ldquo;USDA America&rsquo;s Harvest Box is a bold, innovative approach to providing nutritious food to people who need assistance feeding themselves and their families &mdash; and all of it is homegrown by American farmers and producers. It maintains the same level of food value as SNAP [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] participants currently receive, provides states flexibility in administering the program, and is responsible to the taxpayers,&rdquo; said Sonny Perdue, secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA.) ;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Those enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that are receiving more than $90 a month in benefits would get the box, along with about half of the aid they used to get on their electronic benefits card (EBT.)  ;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The USDA ;estimates that of the 6.4 million households receiving SNAP benefits, 80% of those enrolled would be impacted by the new policy.  ;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The agency also said that the states would determine what food suppliers to include in the boxes, along with how to distribute and regulate them.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The White House is aiming to cut the SNAP budget by $17 billion in 2019 and $213 billion over the next ten years. The USDA expects the Harvest box to help save the government $129.2 billion over a ten-year period. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> ;</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&#8220;What we do is propose that for folks who are on food stamps, part &#8211; not all, part &#8211; of their benefits come in the actual sort of, and I don&#8217;t want to steal somebody&#8217;s copyright, but a Blue Apron-type program where you actually receive the food instead of receiving the cash,&#8221; said Mick Mulvaney, Office of Management and Budget Director. &#8220;It lowers the cost to us because we can buy [at wholesale prices] whereas they have to buy it at retail. It also makes sure they&#8217;re getting nutritious food. So we&#8217;re pretty excited about that.&#8221;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Not everyone is on board with the idea for a few reasons.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a risky scheme that threatens families&rsquo; ability to put food on the table,&rdquo; said Stacy Dean, vice president for food assistance policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&#8220;With Blue Apron, you get to pick your meals and decide when they come. And it gives you all the ingredients you need to complete it,&#8221; said Bryce Covert, <em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">New York Times</em> op-ed writer. &#8220;Under Trump&#8217;s plan, the government decides what you get and when you get it.&#8221; ;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Some believe it could be a logistical nightmare.  ;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&#8220;It boggles the mind how that would play out,&#8221; said Kathy Fisher, policy director at Philadelphia&#8217;s Coalition Against Hunger. &#8220;We know SNAP works now, when people can choose what they need. How they would distribute foods to people with specialized diets, or [to people in] rural areas. &#8230; It&#8217;s very expensive and very complicated.&#8221;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Not to mention, big retailers like Walmart and Aldi will lose half their business from food stamps.  ;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Nonetheless, it&rsquo;s a clever program that could improve corruption in the current system.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The meal-kit program was also included in the Trump administration&rsquo;s second budget proposal, which will be difficult to pass in both the House and the Senate.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong>Author&rsquo;s note: </strong>This does seem like somewhat of a hassle to execute, but the Harvest Box program is at least innovative. The current food stamp system is plagued with corruption and desperately needs to be revamped.</p>
<p> ;</p>