SNAP plants an idea that could produce good benefits
It’s time to think about spring gardening, and that’s one of the things I was
doing Saturday when I had to make a run to town for a couple of items.
While at the store, I checked out the garden plants to see which ones we might want to try in our container garden. As I was looking over some tomato plants, I noticed a sign above them. Written on the sign was the message that SNAP — Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program — recipients could use their benefit cards to buy all live vegetable plants, fruit trees and vines as well as herbs.
Instantly, I thought this was a good idea, and when I checked the U.S. Department of Agriculture website and found seeds were eligible, too, it seemed like a better idea. Just in case you’re not familiar with SNAP, it’s the successor to the food stamp program, only instead of paper vouchers recipients get a card they use like a debit card.
Being able to use SNAP benefits for garden plants and seeds can do more than
just put a week’s groceries in recipients’ pantries. Instead of a few meals,
they can purchase what will provide a whole season’s worth of fresh, nutritional
vegetables for their families, and if they’re able to can or freeze some of
their produce, they’d have food for a much longer time.
I’m more pragmatist than idealist, and while an ideal situation would be wonderful, I think being practical is more realistic and workable. That’s how I see this aspect of the SNAP program — practical, workable and realistic. Some don’t and think it’s just an opportunity for more misuse of the system. Well, no doubt there could be some of that, but there isn’t any government program that isn’t abused, from those benefiting the poor on up to government programs serving Wall Street and giant corporations.
Being able to buy garden plants, seeds, herbs and fruit trees and vines with SNAP benefits is a way to help people help themselves. Running to the grocery store for groceries takes little effort. Raising a garden requires a little work and effort, and it also creates a sense of accomplishment and pride. Why do you think they give out ribbons at the county fair for vegetables and fruit people have grown? Being able to feed your children with food you raised is quite an achievement, and if they’ve helped, it’s even greater.
If someone doesn’t know how to plant or care for garden plants whether they’re in containers or the ground, then have classes to teach them the basics. It’s something the County Extension Service can do, or even a local school or college could offer.
They don’t have to plant huge gardens or small truck patches, and they don’t even have to have a lot of space. Many vegetables can be grown in containers, and there’s even a thing called “vertical gardening” for small spaces, both of which are handy in urban settings. (An inch of topsoil and an acre of rock are why we have a container garden.) A few containers can put tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash and other vegetables and fruit on a family’s table for months and provide improved nutrition to say nothing of tastier meals.
Those fortunate enough to have room for a larger garden, or who can participate in a community garden, can stretch those meals out even more by preserving some of their produce. There was a time when canning was a regular part of life and provided sustenance through winter months. In our area and other rural areas, it’s still fairly common and often a skill passed down from one generation to the next.
For those who do not know how to can, freeze or otherwise preserve produce — in rural and urban areas — classes could be offered. During the Great Depression, government programs provided training so families could learn how to can and preserve food. Such classes could be offered again, and companies that produce canning supplies could donate to the cause by helping people while helping create future customers, too. Home economic clubs could offer classes, or there could be community canning sessions, much like an Amish barn raising, where everyone pitches in to teach and learn and share in the bounty.
Granted, it’s early to be talking about canning, but it’s not too early to plant the seed of an idea. And speaking of seeds, by saving seeds from vegetables and fruit they’ve grown, they could start their own plants from scratch the following year, and for years to come.
Will this get people off public assistance — or welfare, if you prefer? Not in itself. But it is a step in the right direction. I’m not saying turn SNAP recipients into farmers, but at least let them have access to what they need to help provide something for themselves. And if they need to learn how, teach them.
To reword an old saying, give a family groceries and they can eat for a day; teach a family to garden, and they can eat for a lifetime.
While at the store, I checked out the garden plants to see which ones we might want to try in our container garden. As I was looking over some tomato plants, I noticed a sign above them. Written on the sign was the message that SNAP — Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program — recipients could use their benefit cards to buy all live vegetable plants, fruit trees and vines as well as herbs.
Instantly, I thought this was a good idea, and when I checked the U.S. Department of Agriculture website and found seeds were eligible, too, it seemed like a better idea. Just in case you’re not familiar with SNAP, it’s the successor to the food stamp program, only instead of paper vouchers recipients get a card they use like a debit card.
Being able to use SNAP benefits for garden plants and seeds can do more than
just put a week’s groceries in recipients’ pantries. Instead of a few meals,
they can purchase what will provide a whole season’s worth of fresh, nutritional
vegetables for their families, and if they’re able to can or freeze some of
their produce, they’d have food for a much longer time.I’m more pragmatist than idealist, and while an ideal situation would be wonderful, I think being practical is more realistic and workable. That’s how I see this aspect of the SNAP program — practical, workable and realistic. Some don’t and think it’s just an opportunity for more misuse of the system. Well, no doubt there could be some of that, but there isn’t any government program that isn’t abused, from those benefiting the poor on up to government programs serving Wall Street and giant corporations.
Being able to buy garden plants, seeds, herbs and fruit trees and vines with SNAP benefits is a way to help people help themselves. Running to the grocery store for groceries takes little effort. Raising a garden requires a little work and effort, and it also creates a sense of accomplishment and pride. Why do you think they give out ribbons at the county fair for vegetables and fruit people have grown? Being able to feed your children with food you raised is quite an achievement, and if they’ve helped, it’s even greater.
If someone doesn’t know how to plant or care for garden plants whether they’re in containers or the ground, then have classes to teach them the basics. It’s something the County Extension Service can do, or even a local school or college could offer.
They don’t have to plant huge gardens or small truck patches, and they don’t even have to have a lot of space. Many vegetables can be grown in containers, and there’s even a thing called “vertical gardening” for small spaces, both of which are handy in urban settings. (An inch of topsoil and an acre of rock are why we have a container garden.) A few containers can put tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash and other vegetables and fruit on a family’s table for months and provide improved nutrition to say nothing of tastier meals.
Those fortunate enough to have room for a larger garden, or who can participate in a community garden, can stretch those meals out even more by preserving some of their produce. There was a time when canning was a regular part of life and provided sustenance through winter months. In our area and other rural areas, it’s still fairly common and often a skill passed down from one generation to the next.
For those who do not know how to can, freeze or otherwise preserve produce — in rural and urban areas — classes could be offered. During the Great Depression, government programs provided training so families could learn how to can and preserve food. Such classes could be offered again, and companies that produce canning supplies could donate to the cause by helping people while helping create future customers, too. Home economic clubs could offer classes, or there could be community canning sessions, much like an Amish barn raising, where everyone pitches in to teach and learn and share in the bounty.
Granted, it’s early to be talking about canning, but it’s not too early to plant the seed of an idea. And speaking of seeds, by saving seeds from vegetables and fruit they’ve grown, they could start their own plants from scratch the following year, and for years to come.
Will this get people off public assistance — or welfare, if you prefer? Not in itself. But it is a step in the right direction. I’m not saying turn SNAP recipients into farmers, but at least let them have access to what they need to help provide something for themselves. And if they need to learn how, teach them.
To reword an old saying, give a family groceries and they can eat for a day; teach a family to garden, and they can eat for a lifetime.
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