My spouse came home from our weekly grocery shopping the other day practically waving a paper-wrapped parcel of chicken thighs in victory.
“Chicken at the deli counter is almost down to pre-pandemic prices!” he declared. This is a welcome change for our family as we feed ourselves and two young children whose appetites seem to balloon by the day.
Along with my fellow Oregonians, we’ve been weathering food prices that rank sixth highest in the nation according to Forbes.
I appreciate the state’s willingness to join the FTC in suing to stop the Kroger-Albertson's merger. Keeping our neighborhood Safeways and Albertsons affordable is important.
We know that Kroger already engaged in price gouging, for example (as covered by the Portland Tribune). But the lawsuit is proving thorny, much like any policy aiming to address the “supply” side of consumer products. We need “demand side” policies. We need a bigger, better Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
We often label SNAP (formerly known as “food stamps”) as a safety net program or a government assistance program. I like to think of it as balancing the scales for consumers affected by poverty.
Large grocery store chains are not the only players in the food supply hiking up prices. Food conglomerates have seized on the uncertainty created by the pandemic. Earlier this year, Carrefour, the largest grocery store chain in France, stopped carrying PepsiCo products due to the unconscionable price increases. Here in the U.S. we’re also on the receiving end of those high prices from manufacturers. But we don’t have grocery stores calling them on their greed. Instead, we have grocery chains merging to create even less competition.
There has been promising talk in the election cycle about potential crackdowns on price gouging for food. But Oregonians can’t wait for the conclusion of the 2024 election. Those among us battling poverty especially cannot wait since grocery tabs can also make or break a rent payment or a medical bill. SNAP is how we balance the scales in the meantime.
SNAP works, and we can deploy its power right now. In fact, brand new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau only last week showed that SNAP helped give 3.4 million people the tools to stay above the poverty line. This is a program that helps when it reaches people.
But prices remain high.
In fact, that same poverty data showed that child poverty rose again in 2023. One in six Oregon children faces food insecurity. Clearly, SNAP and other anti-poverty programs do not yet reach everyone they should.
Now to be clear, I’m all for a massive Child Tax Credit of the proportions we saw in 2021 that helped cut child poverty by 46 percent. I’m also in favor of cracking down on price gouging. Both of those things would help address those wrenching child poverty numbers.
But uniquely, SNAP is an effective program that Congress could act on right away. There is already pending legislation that lawmakers could (and should!) start moving forward this week if they chose. It’s called the Farm Bill, and it needs renewing this month.
Along with other agricultural policy, the Farm Bill dictates funding and rules for SNAP. Incomprehensibly, some leaders in Congress want to cut SNAP even as families clip coupons and sink hours into pinballing between stores to score the best price on our kids’ lunchbox apples.
SNAP helps give families with low incomes the tools to ride out these price fluctuations as their wealthier counterparts do. I urge Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, as well as our representatives (for me, outgoing Rep. Earl Blumenauer) to prioritize the Farm Bill with increases to SNAP.
Right now, that means talking to their colleagues on the Agriculture Committees about SNAP expansion and moving the bill forward.
I also urge my fellow Oregonians to send this message to our senators and their respective representatives. Many of our lawmakers have excellent track records on hunger and nutrition, and it is with deep appreciation that we ask for action now.
In the economics of keeping our kids healthy, Oregonians deserve more tools on the 'demand' side.
Local News
