top of page
Search

The SNAP Trap: How America’s Anti-Hunger Program Fuels Dependency, Obesity, and Corporate Profits. Government Reform, Fix Snap and help end Hunger!

Updated: Nov 10

The SNAP Trap: How America’s Anti-Hunger Program Fuels Dependency, Obesity, and Corporate Profits. Government Reform, Fix Snap and help end Hunger!

By Jeremy Black  | November 8, 2025


Government Reform and Snap

In the shadow of a $38 trillion national debt, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), better known as food stamps, stands as a $113 billion behemoth, feeding 42 million low-income Americans each month.  It’s hailed as a lifeline against hunger, but dig deeper, and you’ll find a system riddled with inefficiencies: it traps recipients in cycles of dependency, subsidizes health-destroying junk food to the tune of billions, and enriches mega-corporations like Pepsi and Coke while ballooning healthcare costs. As the federal government shutdown drags into its 38th day, the longest in U.S. history, SNAP’s flaws are on stark display, with partial benefits delayed and millions left scrambling.  This isn’t just policy failure; it’s a betrayal of the citizens it’s meant to serve.


The Myth of SNAP as a Launchpad: Why It Doesn’t Get People Off Assistance

SNAP’s defenders tout it as a poverty-buster, claiming it lifts 6.6 million people above the line annually.  But this short-term bandage masks a deeper rot: the program fosters long-term reliance rather than self-sufficiency. Unlike cash assistance programs with strict time limits, SNAP’s “entitlement” structure, where benefits phase out gradually, sounds humane, but it creates perverse incentives. For every additional dollar earned, benefits drop by only 24-36 cents, discouraging full-time work or upskilling. 

Studies show SNAP participation correlates with reduced food insecurity by 17-19% in the moment,  yet it fails to disrupt intergenerational poverty. A 2023 Equitable Growth analysis found that while childhood SNAP exposure cuts deep poverty risk by 8.6% for Black adults, overall mobility remains stagnant, participants are 21% more likely to stay in working-poor families.  Critics argue this stems from administrative bloat: 93% of funds go to benefits, but the rest fuels a bureaucracy that recertifies users endlessly without job training mandates.  In fiscal 2024, SNAP’s $100 billion tab was just 1.6% of the budget, yet it perpetuates a welfare cliff where earning more means losing more, trapping 73% of households in poverty. 

The shutdown exacerbates this: With federal funding lapsed, states like Alaska and Pennsylvania are delaying November benefits, forcing families to ration or skip meals undoing any “stability” SNAP promised.  It’s not empowerment; it’s a hamster wheel.


Junk Food Handouts: 20% of SNAP Dollars Fueling Soda, Candy, and Chronic Illness

Here’s the gut punch: SNAP isn’t just ineffective, it’s actively harmful. USDA data reveals SNAP households blow about 20% of benefits on “salty snacks, sugar, candy, and sweetened beverages,” with soft drinks alone claiming 5% ($3.7 billion in 2011, now over $10 billion annually).   Broadening to all sugary drinks (soda, energy drinks, fruit juices), it’s a whopping 9-10% three times what they spend on milk.  Two-thirds of SNAP adults guzzle soda regularly, versus 61% of low-income non-recipients. 

This isn’t harmless indulgence; it’s a public health catastrophe. Sugary beverages pack 9% of Americans’ calories, driving obesity (41.1% national rate) and type 2 diabetes (up 12-fold since 1958).  SNAP recipients, already in “food deserts,” face 35-40% obesity in high-use zip codes, with diabetes at 14-18%, far above averages.  Taxpayers foot the bill twice: $23 billion yearly on junk,  plus $1.1 trillion in diet-related diseases via Medicaid/Medicare (25% of health spending).  A 2022 PLOS Medicine study estimates banning soda could avert 797,000 cardiovascular events and save $39 billion. 

Worse, it supercharges corporate greed. Coke and Pepsi rake in 40.2% of U.S. revenue from SNAP soda sales.  This “multibillion-dollar taxpayer subsidy” lines pockets while dooming recipients to higher premiums and ER visits. 

 

A History of Half-Measures: Reforms Stifled by Soda Lobby Cash

SNAP’s roots trace to the 1930s Great Depression pilots, evolving into the 1964 Food Stamp Act amid undernutrition fears, when obesity was just 13.4%.  The 1996 Welfare Reform added work requirements, but SNAP dodged deep cuts, ballooning post-2008 recession to 47 million users. 

Reform attempts? Dead on arrival, thanks to Big Soda. In 2010, NYC’s Bloomberg sought a soda ban pilot; Coke and Pepsi CEOs fired off opposition letters within 24 hours.  By 2013, the industry spent $16.2 million lobbying Farm Bills to preserve SNAP soda eligibility.  The ABA, Coke, and Pepsi poured $12.2 million in 2016 alone.  They even fund anti-hunger groups like FRAC and Save the Children ($5M from Pepsi in 2009), flipping them against restrictions.  

Today, amid the shutdown, 11 states push junk bans, but federal inertia, fueled by $1.7M ABA lobbying in H1 2025, stalls progress.  It’s the “other iron triangle”: Ag committees, USDA, and industry proxies blocking change. 

 

 

Government Reform, Reps taking soda lobbying money

 


Government reform, Reps taking soda money

 

Media’s Role: Stirring Division, Dodging Truth

Media coverage of SNAP? A partisan circus that amplifies myths over facts. Right-leaning outlets like Fox and Just the News hammer “fraud” (177K incidents in Q1 2024, costing $3.72 per lost dollar via skimming).  They spotlight “welfare queens” buying steak and soda, ignoring that 70-80% supplement with cash and patterns mirror non-SNAP spending (7% on sweets).  Influencers, paid $1K/post by PR firms like Influenceable, bash RFK Jr.’s reform push as “nanny state” overreach. 

Left-leaning media (CNN, NPR) defend SNAP as “vital,” downplaying junk spending and dependency, focusing on shutdown blame (50% pin on GOP, 43% Dems).  Rarely do they probe lobbying ties or health costs, framing reforms as “stigmatizing” the poor.  Balanced reporting? Scarce. A 2025 STAT analysis notes media ignores pilots like Nevada’s Healthy, Hunger Free Kids, which boosted benefits 10% and cut insecurity.  Instead, division reigns: Dems cry “GOP cruelty,” GOP screams “Dem waste”, while families starve.


The Shutdown Saga: Both Parties Dig In, Media Plays Along

As of November 8, the shutdown, sparked September 30 over ACA subsidies, hits day 39, eclipsing the 1995-96 record.  Dems demand a one-year extension of Biden-era tax credits (expiring 2025, hiking premiums for 10M+).  GOP counters with clean CRs to November 21, rejecting “Obamacare bailouts.”  Senate votes flop: 14 GOP plans blocked (53-43 party-line), Dems’ healthcare add-on DOA. 

Parties posture: Schumer calls GOP “radical”; Thune blasts Dem “obstruction.”  Trump’s AI memes mock Dems as “woke,” while Vance blames “immigrants” (false, SNAP bars undocumented).   Unions rally for workers (800K furloughed), but no filibuster nuke yet, despite Trump’s taunts. 

Media? CNN/Guardian frame Dems as principled; Fox/Politico spotlight GOP “efficiency.”   NPR notes bipartisan blame (50/43 split), but skips how delays hit SNAP hardest, partial November payouts mired in red tape, new enrollments frozen.  FAA warns of flight cuts; Head Start teeters.  Both sides own this mess.


Fixing SNAP: Target Real Hunger, Slash Waste, Mind the Deficit

With a $38T debt, SNAP can’t stay a blank check. Reforms must prioritize nutrition, mobility, and fiscal sanity, without gutting aid.

1.  Ban Junk, Boost Healthy: Pilot soda/candy exclusions (like WIC), redirecting $23B to fruits/veggies via 30¢ incentives, averting 300K heart events, saving $6B.  Cost: Neutral, as it trims health bills.

2.  Incentivize Work/Exit: Tie benefits to job training (e.g., expand SNAP E&T, used by <10% now). Phase out cliffs with broader eligibility, cutting dependency 21% per Urban Institute models. 

3.  Tech Up, Fraud Down: AI fraud detection (skimming costs $ billions); auto-recertify via IRS data. Saves $3.72 per fraud dollar. 

4.  Deficit-Proof: Cap at Thrifty Food Plan revisions for adequacy without bloat, $44/month boost for kids via Low-Cost Plan yields 10% insecurity drop. Total savings: $92B over 10 years via work rules, per CBO. 

These aren’t cuts, they’re upgrades. End the soda subsidy, build ladders out of poverty, and deliver real hunger relief. Our $38T hole demands it.


 Build “Hunger Hubs” – Community-Owned Alternatives

•  Why it works: SNAP assumes corner stores are the answer. They’re not. You can create real food access.

•  Action: Launch a Hunger Hub, a co-op fridge, urban farm plot, or bulk-buy club. Model:

•  Oakland’s People’s Grocery: Cut food insecurity 14% in 18 months via $5 veggie boxes.<sup>83</sup>

•  Fund via GoFundMe + church matching. Bypass SNAP entirely.

Read & Rally Around Rare Sense to Save America

This isn’t just about SNAP. The new book Rare Sense to Save America (Independently published, 2025) lays out a full We the People toolkit to tackle hunger, debt, and dependency, outside the broken federal system. Key ideas:


   RARE SENSE IDEAS | HOW TO APPLY LOCALLY   

 Victory Gardens 2.0 | Turn vacant lots into community farms; feed 200 families per acre.


   Food Freedom Vouchers | Churches/synagogues issue $50/month scrip only for local farmers—cuts corporate middlemen.


   Hunger Bonds | Crowdfund $1,000 micro-bonds at 3% interest to build permanent food co-ops.


   Skill Share Networks | Trade SNAP-eligible cooking classes for labor, teach recipients to stretch $1 into 3 meals. 


 Get the book: Rare Sense to Save America, available wherever great books are sold including Amazon at https://a.co/d/dmxAYjK


CRASH THE NEXT TOWN HALL (With Data, Not Screaming)   Script:   “Congressman, why does my tax dollar subsidize Pepsi’s profits while my neighbor’s kid gets diabetes? Nevada proved we can ban soda without hurting hunger. Will you co-sponsor a state waiver?”   Bring a one-pager: SNAP soda spending vs. local child diabetes rates.


BOYCOTT THE ENABLERS   Target: Grocery chains that lobby against SNAP reform (e.g., Kroger gave $1.2M in 2024).   Action: Shop Aldi, local co-ops, or WIC-only retailers. Post receipts: #SNAPNotSoda


RUN FOR SCHOOL BOARD (Yes, Really)   Why: School boards control $15B in federal lunch funds, and can ban soda in cafeterias, setting the cultural tone.   Action: Pledge: “Day 1: No sugary drinks in schools. Day 100: Pilot SNAP-style incentives for cafeteria salads.”


THE BOTTOM LINESNAP isn’t broken beyond repair, it’s designed this way. But We the People built America once with pitchforks and plows. We can rebuild food security with petitions, co-ops, and Rare Sense.


The $38 trillion debt won’t fix itself. But your next $20 grocery run can fund a garden that feeds a family for a month. Whose side are you on Coke/Pepsi’s profits or America’s kids?

 

Rare Sense America’s Take: SNAP can work, but not as a corporate slush fund or dependency engine. Time for tough love over handouts. What reforms would you prioritize?


Check out our other blogs at










 
 
 

Comments

bottom of page