Two Exciting Bills in the TN General Assembly

The Tennessee General Assembly has taken initiative in the effort to guarantee food security and good food for all Tennesseans. As I write this, two bills, one for the House and one for the Senate, are making their way through the legislature. Both the House bill (HB 2260), and the identical Senate bill (SB 3487), aim to facilitate community gardening throughout our state.

We owe our thanks to Representative Hardaway from district 92 here in Memphis for proposing the original House bill, and to Senator Tate from district 33, also in Memphis, for proposing the Senate bill. These brief but important bills provide, among other things, an updated definition of community gardens and enable municipal and county governments to convey property to nonprofits for the purpose of cultivating these gardens. The bills prioritize collaborative gardening between senior citizens, who often are a wellspring of gardening knowledge, and our youth, who have the power to ensure that our communities continue to move toward greater food security.

Just as importantly, both bills call for the creation of programs to involve school children in community gardening, possibly for academic credit.

In proposing these bills of their own initiative, Representative Hardaway and Senator Tate demonstrate how far the movement for food security has come in Memphis. Questions remain as to some of the specifics of the bills - especially the provision which disallows community gardens from using the proceeds of sales for anything other than maintenance and upkeep - but the bills are encouraging nonetheless!

The status of the bills can be followed here: http://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default.aspx?BillNumber=HB2260

And you may find this glossary of terms helpful in understanding the sometimes cryptic abbreviations employed by our state legislature: http://www.capitol.tn.gov/legislation/billabbrev.html

Our Food Stamp President

Newt Gingrich is a man with some rather peculiar ideas. In addition to calling for the colonization of the moon, Gingrich has taken to labeling Obama the "food stamp president." Now, it's not entirely clear what Gingrich means by that phrase. If in calling Obama the "food stamp president" Gingrich is suggesting that Obama has personally caused the massive increase in food stamp (or SNAP) enrollment, then he is committing some questionable reasoning.

To begin with an obvious point, Obama does not decide who receives SNAP benefits or who is eligible for them - That is the job of Congress. SNAP, which stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is designed to fluctuate with the economy. This means that in times of recession (like the one we are currently experiencing) SNAP automatically increases in size, in order to accommodate the increasing need.

Granted, it is true that Obama's 2009 stimulus package included increases to SNAP benefits, but is that a bad thing? The USDA certainly does not think so. In fact, according to the USDA, SNAP increases economic growth in this country by a factor of 1.79. This means that for every dollar spent on SNAP, our economy experiences $1.79 of growth. This makes SNAP more effective at growing the economy than unemployment benefits, infrastructure spending, and federal aid to states! And it's really pretty obvious when you think about why that's the case. What do Americans do with food stamps? Well, they buy food! The money spent on SNAP goes back into the economy, and with a substantial increase. (1) (2)

But let's be serious - we know Newt isn't doing any number crunching. He's not really concerned with SNAP's effectiveness. He's concerned with getting elected. In fact, it's clear that in calling Obama the "food stamp president" Gingrich is attempting to play off racial tensions in order to get votes, just as his idol Ronald Reagan did through the misguided notion of the "welfare Queen." And as always, the facts tell a different story than what the demagogues would have us believe. The majority of SNAP recipients are not black. African Americans don't even make up the largest group of SNAP recipients by race. That title belongs to non-hispanic WHITE Americans, who make up 35.7% of the households receiving SNAP benefits. In contrast, African American households make up 22% of the total. While we're at it, we should probably point out that 47% of SNAP recipients are children and 8% are over the age of 60. Oh, and 41% of SNAP recipients live in a household in which at least one member of the household has a job. (3)

And just for good measure, and in the continued interest of dispelling the welfare queen myth, which Gingrich seems to be echoing. Let's recognize that the average SNAP household consists of 2.2 persons.

SNAP isn't the problem. It grows the economy, and even more importantly it helps feed children, seniors, and other Americans in need. Besides, Gingrich should realize that if America is going to colonize the moon we're going to need a well-fed and healthy population...

(1) http://slopefarms.com/blog/2012/01/23/food-stamps-feed-the-economy-and-people-too/

(2) http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/ERR103/ERR103.pdf

(3) http://www.fns.usda.gov/oane/MENU/Published/SNAP/FILES/Participation/2010Characteristics.pdf

(4) http://www.fns.usda.gov/oane/MENU/Published/SNAP/FILES/Participation/2010CharacteristicsSummary.pdf