Oh, SNAP!
17th October 2023
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has proposed an experiment in which it will provide additional benefits to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients who purchase more fruits and vegetables.
Named the Electronic Healthy Incentive Projects (eHip), the well-meaning programs are intended to encourage people on low-incomes to eat more healthy foods (MHFs).
(No, I made that last one up.)
As almost every endeavor undertaken by the government will demonstrate, well-meaning intentions that are funded via the force of law often go amiss — at best, achieving less than hoped, and at worst, achieving the opposite of what was intended.