Advocacy Reports
Food Stamps As Medicine: A New Perspective on Children's Health, February 2007.
The Food Stamp Program is America’s first line of defense against hunger and the foundation of our national nutrition safety network. Physicians and medical researchers also think it is one of America’s best medicines to prevent and treat childhood food security. The report demonstrates the important protective effect of food stamps on child food insecurity and for citizen children of immigrants.
Safeguarding the Health, Nutrition, and Development of Young Children of Color,
September/October 2006. An article summarizing C-SNAP's two reports on children of color and the buffering impact of nutrition assistance on their health and well-being as well as the way in which food insecurity puts young children of color at increased developmental risk. Published in Focus Magazine, a bi-monthly magazine of the Joint Center For Political and Economic Studies.
Nourishing Development: A Report on Food Insecurity & the Precursors to School Readiness among Very Young Children, July 2006. A report of original C-SNAP findings demonstrating that the foundations of school readiness are laid long before the start of formal education begins.
The Impact of Food Insecurity on the Development of Young Low-Income Black and Latino Children;' & 'Protecting the Health and Nutrition of Young Children of Color: The Impact of Nutrition Assistance and Income Support Programs' - Research Findings from the Children's Sentinel Nutrition Assessment Program (C-SNAP), (Prepared for the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies Health Policy Institute), May 2006. A pair of reports demonstrating the increased vulnerability of young black and Latino children from low-income households to developmental risk linked to food insecurity and the buffering effect that family support programs can have on young black and Latino children's health and growth.
The Real Co$t of a Healthy Diet: Healthful Foods are Out of Reach for Low-Income Families in Boston, Massachusetts, August 2005 A report from a research team from the Boston Medical Center Department of Pediatrics revealing that, on average, the monthly cost of the Thrifty Food Plan (upon which Food Stamp Program benefits are based) is $27 more than the maximum monthly food stamp benefit allowance. A low-cost healthier diet based on the most recent nutrition guidelines exceeded the maximum monthly food stamp benefit by $148 -- an annual differential of $1776. This is an unrealistic budgetary stretch for most families who qualify for nutrition assistance.
The Safety Net in Action: Protecting the Health and Nutrition of Young American Children, July 2004 A comprehensive summary of C-SNAP findings showing the positive impact of five public assistance programs on young children's food security, growth, and health.
The Impact of Welfare Sanctions on the Health of Infants and Toddlers: A Report from the Children's Sentinel Nutrition Assessment Program, July 2002. A report based on C-SNAP findings published in the July 2002 Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. Welfare sanctions and benefit decreases have serious negative implications for infants and toddlers’ health and food security.