Trump's budget proposes making part of the food stamp program a meal-delivery service like Blue Apron
- President Donald Trump released his fiscal year 2019 budget proposal on Monday.
- Included in the budget is a proposed overhaul to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), typically referred to as food stamps.
- Under the proposal, SNAP recipients would begin to receive some of their benefits in the form of a package with groceries inside.
President Donald Trump's new fiscal year 2019 budget includes a radical proposed change to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, typically referred to as food stamps, that would see part of the program turn into a meal delivery service.
As part of the budget, the Department of Agriculture - which runs the SNAP program - would send basic food items to households receiving more than $90 a month in SNAP assistance in boxes.
"Under the proposal, households receiving $90 or more per month in SNAP benefits will receive a portion of their benefits in the form of a USDA Foods package, which would include items such as shelf-stable milk, ready to eat cereals, pasta, peanut butter, beans and canned fruit, vegetables, and meat, poultry or fish," the budget reads.
It is unclear whether the boxes would contain ingredients to be cooked, like meal-delivery kits from companies like Blue Apron or HelloFresh, or contain fully cooked foods.
According to the budget, this and other reforms would cut just over $200 billion from the SNAP program compared to the current baseline over the next 10 years.
The budget says that the USDA Foods package will ensure that all food is sourced in the US and sets a standard nutritional value for recipients.
"This cost-effective approach will generate significant savings to taxpayers with no loss in food benefits to participants," the budget reads. "It will also improve the nutritional value of the benefit provided and reduce the potential for EBT fraud. States will have substantial flexibility in designing the food box delivery system through existing infrastructure, partnerships, or commercial/retail delivery services."