Why SNAP Works

The first book to tell the whole story of SNAP and to explain why all Americans should support it.
 
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is the nation’s largest government effort for helping low-income Americans obtain an adequate diet. How did SNAP, formerly the food stamp program, evolve from a Depression-era effort to use up surplus goods into America’s foundational food assistance program? And how does SNAP survive? Incisive and original, Why SNAP Works is the first book to provide a comprehensive history and evaluation of the nation’s most important food insecurity and poverty alleviation effort.
 
Everyone has an opinion about SNAP, not all of them positive, but its benefits are felt broadly and across party lines. Christopher Bosso makes a clear, nuanced, and impassioned case for protecting this unique food program, exploring its history and breaking down the facts for readers across the political spectrum. Why SNAP Works is an essential book for anyone concerned about food access, poverty, and the “welfare system” in the United States.

Christopher Bosso is Professor of Public Policy and Politics in the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Northeastern University, Boston.

Contents

List of Figures 
Acknowledgments 

1. Tales at the Intersection of Want and Plenty 
2. “To Encourage Domestic Consumption” 
3. The Paradox Anew 
4. Farm Programs + Food Programs 
5. Welfare Politics 
6. Let Us Now Praise the Food Stamp Plan 

Appendix: Table 1. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program participation and costs, 1961–2022 
Chronology: Key Moments in Food Stamps and the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program 
Notes 
Suggested Reading 
Index