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Promoting dignity and autonomy in NSLP and WIC: Lessons learned from the success of SNAP

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  • Craig Gundersen

Abstract

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program) is by far the largest of food assistance programs in the U.S. Given its size, there is an expectation it should succeed and an extensive literature has demonstrated its success in improving the well‐being of recipients across numerous dimensions. Its success and popularity is due to many factors but what is especially important is its promotion of the dignity of recipients and allowing for the autonomy of recipients' choices. In contrast, two other well‐known food assistance programs run by the USDA, the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), have imposed hurdles to the goals of dignity and autonomy which have led to many potential participants foregoing benefits. This article begins with a review of each of these three programs. After this review, I discuss how the lessons learned from the success of SNAP can be leveraged by NSLP and WIC.

Suggested Citation

  • Craig Gundersen, 2025. "Promoting dignity and autonomy in NSLP and WIC: Lessons learned from the success of SNAP," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 47(1), pages 80-96, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:apecpp:v:47:y:2025:i:1:p:80-96
    DOI: 10.1002/aepp.13496
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Craig Gundersen & Victor Oliveira, 2001. "The Food Stamp Program and Food Insufficiency," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 83(4), pages 875-887.
    2. Gundersen, Craig & Kreider, Brent, 2009. "Bounding the effects of food insecurity on children's health outcomes," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 971-983, September.
    3. repec:plo:pone00:0202642 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Buescher, P.A. & Horton, S.J. & Devaney, B.L. & Roholt, S.J. & Lenihan, A.J. & Timothy Whitmire, J. & Kotch, J.B., 2003. "Child participation in WIC: Medicaid costs and use of health care services," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 93(1), pages 145-150.
    5. Philip M. Gleason & Carol W. Suitor, 2003. "Eating at School: How the National School Lunch Program Affects Children's Diets," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 85(4), pages 1047-1061.
    6. repec:mpr:mprres:5077 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. repec:mpr:mprres:3414 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Gundersen, Craig & Kreider, Brent & Pepper, John, 2012. "The impact of the National School Lunch Program on child health: A nonparametric bounds analysis," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 166(1), pages 79-91.
    9. Rabbitt, Matthew P. & Reed-Jones, Madeline & Hales, Laura J. & Burke, Michael P., 2024. "Household Food Security in the United States in 2023," Economic Research Report 344963, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    10. Douglas Almond & Hilary W. Hoynes & Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, 2011. "Inside the War on Poverty: The Impact of Food Stamps on Birth Outcomes," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 93(2), pages 387-403, May.
    11. Tiehen, Laura & Jolliffe, Dean & Gundersen, Craig, 2012. "Alleviating Poverty in the United States: The Critical Role of SNAP Benefits," Economic Research Report 262233, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    12. Gundersen, Craig, 2021. "Viewpoint: A proposal to reconstruct the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) into a universal basic income program for food," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    13. Travis A. Smith & Christian A. Gregory, 2023. "Food Insecurity in the United States: Measurement, Economic Modeling, and Food Assistance Effectiveness," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 15(1), pages 279-303, October.
    14. Rabbitt, Matthew P. & Reed-Jones, Madeline & Hales, Laura J. & Burke, Michael P., 2024. "Statistical Supplement to Household Food Security in the United States in 2023," Administrative Publications 344962, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    15. Bruce D. Meyer & Nikolas Mittag & Robert M. Goerge, 2022. "Errors in Survey Reporting and Imputation and Their Effects on Estimates of Food Stamp Program Participation," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 57(5), pages 1605-1644.
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