From the Herald-Sun of Durham comes this headline:
Food stamp enrollment too low here, officials are told
To help solve this “problem,” recommendations include:
– Having food sellers print information about the food aid program on receipts or bags. The group cited a study suggesting that every $5 in new food stamp benefits yields more than $9 in community spending.
– Obtaining data from the public schools’ free or reduced-price lunch program to find eligible families that have not enrolled in SNAP.
– Partnering with the AmeriCorps volunteer service to help screen potential clientele for a variety of public benefits using a Web site called The Benefit Bank. The site, an offering of Philadelphia-based Solutions for Progress, can determine eligibility for food stamps, health care coverage, home energy help and other assistance at no charge and in one sitting.
No one wants people to go hungry. However, just because someone isn’t receiving government assistance does not mean they’re going hungry. Many Durham churches, church-related organizations, individuals, and nonprofit groups — Catholic Charities and the Durham Rescue Mission, for example — help people 365 days a year, and they do so without government dollars.
One word of advice. Before Durham officials look into “solving” the problem of not enough people on food stamps by tapping into the public schools’ database for the free- and reduced-lunch program, they should read this Carolina Journal story by David Bass. Fraud is rampant in the F&R program, as Bass reports.
We should not deny government or private resources to those who legitimately need help, but let’s focus resources on those who need it and want it.
