Ecolex Logo
The gateway to
environmental law
Search results » Legislation

SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (7 USC Ch. 51, sections 2011 -2036c).

Country/Territory
United States of America
Document type
Legislation
Date
2008
Source
FAO, FAOLEX
Original source
United States Code, Title 7 - Agriculture.
Subject
Food & nutrition
Keyword
Nutrition Poverty Procedural matters Public health Social protection Special fund Financing Food security Governance Research Early warning system
Geographical area
Americas, Arctic, East Pacific, North America, North Atlantic
Abstract

The Chapter lays down rules and regulations regarding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. It is declared to be the policy of Congress, in order to promote the general welfare, to safeguard the health and wellbeing of the Nation's population by raising levels of nutrition among low-income households. Congress finds that the limited food purchasing power of low-income households contributes to hunger and malnutrition among members of such households. Congress further finds that increased utilization of food in establishing and maintaining adequate national levels of nutrition will promote the distribution in a beneficial manner of the Nation's agricultural abundance and will strengthen the Nation's agricultural economy, as well as result in more orderly marketing and distribution of foods. To alleviate such hunger and malnutrition, a supplemental nutrition assistance program is herein authorized which will permit low-income households to obtain a more nutritious diet through normal channels of trade by increasing food purchasing power for all eligible households who apply for participation. The Chapter also establishes an Advisory Committee on Welfare Simplification and Coordination consisting of not fewer than 7, nor more than 11 members appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture, after consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and with the advice of State and local officials responsible for administering the supplemental nutrition assistance program, cash and medical assistance programs for low-income families and individuals under the Social Security Act and programs providing housing assistance to needy families and individuals, and representatives of recipients and recipient advocacy organizations associated with such programs. The Chapter further lays down rules and regulations regarding the establishment of supplemental nutrition assistance program, household eligibility criteria and eligibility disqualifications, issuance and use of program benefits, value of allotment, administration, civil penalties and disqualification of retail food stores and wholesale food concerns, disposition of claims, administrative and judicial review, restoration of rights, violations and enforcement, administrative cost-sharing and quality control, research, demonstration, and evaluations, appropriations and allotments, consolidated block grants for Puerto Rico and American Samoa, workfare, Minnesota Family Investment Project, automated data processing and information retrieval systems, assistance for community food projects, simplified supplemental nutrition assistance program, availability of commodities for emergency food assistance program, nutrition education and obesity prevention grant program, retail food store and recipient trafficking, and annual State report on verification of SNAP participation.

Full text
English
Website
uscode.house.gov