Public and private officials discuss the socioeconomic benefits of enhanced nutritional assistance
- Giovanna Garofalo, The Weekly Journal
- Sep 9, 2020 Updated Mar 10, 2021
- https://www.theweeklyjournal.com/politics/the-case-for-snap-in-puerto-rico/article_dd2c26ea-f229-11ea-9ff9-4f6823501680.html
Now that the U.S. Congress resumed its activities on Tuesday, September 8, after a recession, members of the public and private sectors hope to reinstate dialogue over transitioning Puerto Rico from the Nutritional Assistance Program (NAP) to the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP)—a change that would drastically improve the livelihoods of a sizable portion of the population, as well as boosting the local and U.S. economies.
On May 13, Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced the Equitable Nutrition Assistance for the Territories Act of 2020 to ensure that the people of Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa receive equal access to SNAP. Presently, only states in the mainland and the U.S. Virgin Islands have access to that program, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
In Puerto Rico, the federal government sets a fund cap of $1.9 billion for NAP, whereas, under SNAP, the funds are determined by the needs of that particular jurisdiction. NAP also has stricter requirements for its participants, such as monthly resources of up to $2,000, or up to $3,000 and being a part of a household with a person 60 years or older or totally disabled.
By contrast, U.S. jurisdictions with access to SNAP require its participants to hold assets of $2,250 or less, and $3,500 for households with an elderly or disabled person.
By establishing more rigorous qualifications and a cap, fewer low-income residents can receive nutritional assistance, and participants receive fewer funds than their counterparts in the U.S. mainland and participating territories.
Rep. Jenniffer González (R-PR), Puerto Rico’s resident commissioner, explained to THE WEEKLY JOURNAL that in 1982, Congress replaced the former food stamp program with SNAP, whereas Puerto Rico and the aforementioned territories were placed under NAP. She noted that island officials actually preferred NAP due to cash benefits awarded in that program’s electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card, known locally as ‘Tarjeta de la Familia’ (Family Card).
“The main reason as to why at that time in ‘82 they asked for Puerto Rico to remain in NAP instead of SNAP is that NAP beneficiaries could access 75 percent of their benefits through the NAP card and redeem 25 percent in cash. That doesn’t happen in any state; the SNAP program doesn’t allow you to redeem the money in cash,” said González, who co-sponsored Velázquez’s and Sanders’ act.
However, Section 4025 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (Public Law 113-79) included a provision to phase out the cash portion of the NAP, a process that is supposed to expire officially by October 1, 2020, as confirmed by the acting deputy administrator of the Family Socioeconomic Development Administration (Adsef by its Spanish acronym), Alberto Fradera. As such, the 25 percent that participants could use for other purchases—such as hygienic and disinfectant items—would be used exclusively for food products, just like in SNAP, but with fewer funds.
Meanwhile, the case for Puerto Rico regained strength following the judicial cases of “U.S. v. Vaello-Madero” on April 10, 2020, and “Peña Martínez v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services” on August 4, 2020, by which the respective courts ruled that it was unconstitutional for the Social Security Administration to deny Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and SNAP benefits, respectively, to otherwise qualified individuals based on their residence in Puerto Rico.
After Hurricane Maria devastated the island in September 2017, González lobbied in Congress to approve an additional $1.27 billion for NAP participants in Puerto Rico, which, paired to the $1.9 billion cap, reaches a sum akin to what the island would receive under SNAP, the resident commissioner explained.
Puerto Rico subsequently received an additional $600 million for the program after the Category-4 storm and $297 million over the COVID-19 pandemic under different legislations, but these were designed as temporary solutions.
“I have had to approve in Congress three bills to get those additional funds that, if we were a state or under the regular SNAP, they would have come automatically by adjusting the formula and the people of Puerto Rico would not have had to delve in negotiations,” she said, adding that the scenario would have been marred if Congress had declined to approve those measures or if President Donald Trump hadn’t signed them. That is, NAP hinders what would have otherwise been a streamlined process.
The resident commissioner also noted that SNAP contains the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP), which expedites food assistance to low-income households affected by natural disasters, such as what would have been Puerto Rico residents affected by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017 and/or the seismic activities documented throughout 2020.
Boosting the Economy With SNAP
Manuel Reyes, vice president of the Chamber of Food Marketing, Industry & Distribution (MIDA by its Spanish acronym), observed that a transition to SNAP would spike multiple economic sectors on the island.
He stated that if local participants receive more funds based on their needs, they would not have to “pitch” with their own resources to cover the full cost of food items. In turn, they would spend their own money on other products or services, thus boosting the economy.
“This would benefit auto dealers, movie theaters, restaurants—all other economic sectors would reap the benefits of people having more money to spend… And it is highly important for people to understand the importance of what this represents for the economy as a whole, not just the food and supermarket industries,” Reyes assured.
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He was echoed by González, who stated that the formula used to determine the fund cap for NAP “is very problematic in itself because it essentially limits how much money can be channeled to the program and it is on par with the reality of the demand in Puerto Rico.” She also underscored that by having greater access to funds, participants would be able to buy healthier, organic products, thereby contributing to the local farming industry and improving their own health and well-being.
Moreover, Eduardo Marxuach, president of Supermercados Econo—a local supermarket chain—, debunked the misconception that the U.S. government would simply give away money without benefits. “Puerto Rico is considered among the United States’ top five clients in poultry, pork, and beef. Those proteins are highly consumed in Puerto Rico and they are produced in low amounts locally,” he said.
According to U.S. Census Bureau 2014 data shared by the Coalition for Food Security – Puerto Rico, the island spends $3 billion in U.S. imports. Regarding food imported from the mainland, the island spends $300 million in beef, $260 million in pork, $310 million in chicken, $100 million in rice, $40 million in cereal, $240 million in dairy, $40 million in wheat, and $100 million in corn.
“Puerto Rico consumes a lot of products and these come from the midwest… You are contributing to the U.S. economy,” Marxuach said, adding that the island imports roughly 85 percent of the products it consumes, most of which come from the U.S. mainland.
Ending Child Hunger
Marxuach stressed that, contrary to popular belief, fewer than 12 percent of NAP participants in Puerto Rico are people who are able to work but are not in the labor force. “The program truly works for the 88 percent and, certainly, we have to give the tools to that 12 percent to be included in our [labor] population,” he opined.
The Econo executive shared a table to your correspondent provided by the P.R. Department of Family Affairs that indicates that by September 3, 2020, NAP had 1,497,052 participants, of which 327,234 were children, from newborns to 17 years old.
Likewise, González informed that 23.11 percent were children up to 17 years old; 10.46 percent were young adults aged 18 to 24; 23.9 percent were aged 25 to 44; 17.77 percent were 45 to 59 years old, and 24.69 percent were 60 years or older. In other words, children and the elderly are among the most vulnerable communities affected by poverty.
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In this regard, González asserted that transitioning to SNAP would be a step toward fighting child poverty and hunger. “I would combine [SNAP] with the child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit. If you combine those programs with SNAP, that to me would be the ideal mix in the fight against child poverty,” she said.
Another prevalent issue that has been discussed since COVID-19 was first detected in Puerto Rico, in mid-March, is the need to keep school cafeterias open to curtail child hunger.
Although NAP participants are receiving more funds than usual over the course of the pandemic—$194 versus $112 per one-person household—all interviewees concurred that the government-imposed closures of school cafeterias are a blunder to low-income families, given that these spaces provided meals that are now being financed by the head of the household.
“Oftentimes the only food children receive is in the school cafeteria,” González stated, adding that she is in favor of reopening these rooms.
This was also confirmed by the president of the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce, Juan Carlos Agosto, who previously told THE WEEKLY JOURNAL that a PRCC-conducted survey revealed that most NAP participants are having a harder time managing their money now with more funds than before the pandemic. Even so, 75 percent said the funds were not enough prior to the COVID-19 issue.