We are hours away from the weekend, which means it is time for your weekly dose of healthy news! This week we have rounded up stories from Entertainment Weekly, Best Life Diet, and Yahoo! Shine. And while Halloween may be over, we’ve got treats that can be made with your leftover candy.
Eating Healthy on $12 Per Day Food Stamp Budget is Impossible and How the Next President May Make it Worse
With the elections coming up, government programs like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, could be changed drastically. DIR’s staff writer Lacy J. Hansen tried to feed her family healthy meals on a food stamp budget and barely made it. Read about Lacy’s food stamp project and tell us what you think!
Vanessa Lembo Lost 120 Pounds After Deciding She Was Worth The Change
This week’s true weight loss story features Vanessa from Upstate New York. After Vanessa’s mother’s passed, she knew she had to start living a healthy life. She ditched the bags of Dove chocolate for cardio and weight training. Tell us what you think about Vanessa’s weight loss journey!
Kids Sell Halloween Candy for Cash at Dental Buy Back Programs Across the Country
There is a new trend sweeping the nation – kids selling their Halloween candy back to dentist offices. Tooth decay and cavities are a result of children eating loads of Halloween candy. We found one kid who received $22 for selling his Halloween candy to a local dentist office! This is a neat way to get rid of the sugar high will still giving them a reason to celebrate.
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Next week presents so many possible changes for our nation as we mark our ballots. Election day could end with a new president lined up to lead the country. A new president impacts huge issues like the soldiers overseas, foreign affairs, and of course the budget. As you vote next week, you will also be determining smaller issues that affect all of us. Who we vote in as our Commander-in-Chief may change what’s served on a large percentage of Americans’ dinner tables.
Frequently called food stamps, our government has a food assistance program called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. The program is income based and designed to help those who are financially struggling. According to Politofact.com, one in seven US families are using the SNAP program. Findings from the Food Research and Action Center state that many families struggle to purchase enough nutritious food before the month’s allotment runs out. Many users cannot afford proper foods for healthy meals and actually have to turn to food pantries to supplement their food needs.
If one out of seven families are currently needing the SNAP program and the current benefits are found to be too little to support a family, what can one expect from our primary candidates on this issue?
Valerie Jarrett is the Senior Advisor to the President Obama. She explained in The White House Blog where he stands on the issue of food assistance.
“…When President Obama took office, he enhanced and expanded the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The investments we made kept 3.9 million Americans, including 1.7 million children, above the poverty line in 2010. They prevented child hunger from rising, even as poverty and unemployment levels increased in the wake of the economic crisis.”
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reported on what former Governor Romney may intend to do about the SNAP budget is he were elected. Richard Kogan and Paul N. Van de Water wrote that Romney would cut entitlement and discretionary program budgets. These cuts would mean a reduction in the funds allotted for SNAP.
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UPDATE [8/24/2011]: The USDA has rejected the proposal to ban soda purchases made with food stamps.
With obesity numbers skyrocketing and the associated medical costs out of control, New York City has decided to make a major change to their food stamp program. The program, now called SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), serves more than 1.7 million New York City residents. City Health Commissioner Tom Farley and New York State Health Commissioner Richard Daines have asked the USDA for a food stamp waiver for two years during which recipients would not be allowed to use their food stamps to buy sodas.
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