March 13th, 2007
Washington, DC
Dr. Mariana Chilton, PhD, MPH, testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture on March 13th, 2007. Dr. Chilton provided scientific evidence related to food stamp participation and its affect on child health and well-being. She began by recounting a compelling story about Alexander, a little boy from the C-SNAP Study in Philadelphia. His family made too much money to qualify for government assistance, but they still struggled to earn enough money to feed themselves. As a consequence, Dr. Chilton said, Alexander and all children who suffer from hunger are put at risk for developmental disabilities which impacts all of us, both financially and socially.
Dr. Chilton made several recommendations to the committee. They include: food stamp benefits should be based on a realistic food plan that reflects the real-life conditions of families at risk for hunger. Second, the minimum benefit for food stamps should be increased to $10 to $25. Third, do not eliminate categorical eligibility between government programs. Dr. Chilton stated that the committee should increase the current $2,000 cap level on family assets to allow poor people to save more money and still receive critical food stamp benefits. Finally, restore food stamp eligibility to all income-eligible legal immigrants
Dr. Chilton cited data from a C-SNAP study, which includes more than 23,000 children nationwide and is the most current and largest dataset in the nation about food security, health and development of very young, low-income children.
To read her testimony in full, click here.
Dr. Chilton was also asked by U.S. Representative Jerry Moran from Kansas about health care cost savings associated with investing in children and children's nutritional programs.
To read Dr. Chilton's economic analysis that is now apart of the Congressional Record, click here.