DiNitto (2011) noted that public assistance programs, cash and in-kind, may not reduce national poverty rates dramatically , but that they can considerably improve the quality of life of the poor. Has American society actually reduced food insecurity? With the reduction in hunger, is society better off today than it was 5 years ago? Supplemental Nutrition Program AssistanceAccording to DiNitto (2011), the most basic subsistence need that the government addresses is food. The federal government's primary food program for low-income individuals and families is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). SNAP is designed to reduce food insecurity and disrupted eating habits in a household due to lack of money or other resources (FNS, 2013). SNAP replaced the food stamp program, the program employs the use of electronic benefit transfer which made paper vouchers obsolete. Benefits cannot be used to purchase material items such as soap, toilet paper, or other personal hygiene items (DiNitto, 2011). The Food Stamp Act of 1964 was intended to help feed people in need at a time when hunger was one of the nation's leading food problems (Brownell and Ludwig, 2011). According to a recent study published by the United States Department of Agriculture, SNAP is associated with substantial improvements in food security (FNS, 2013). Effects of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program In 2007, 13 million households, the equivalent of 11.1 percent of the U.S. population, were undernourished. Food insecurity means that at some point during the year, these families have had difficulty providing enough food for all members of their family due to lack of resources (Dinitto, 2011). In 2008, the maximum SNAP benefit for a family of four was $542 dol...... middle of paper ... leaving American society better off than it was five years earlier. References Blumenthal , S., Ludwig, D. and Willett, W. (December 2012). Opportunities to reduce childhood hunger and obesity. Journal of the American Medical Association, 308(24), 2567-2568. Retrieved March 16, 2014, from JAMA database. Brownell, K. and Ludwig, D. (September 2001). The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the soda policy, and the USDA, who benefits from it. Journal of the American Medical Association, 306(12), 1370-1371. Retrieved March 16, 2014, from JAMA database. DiNitto, D. (2011). Social protection policy and public policy. Boston, MA: Pearson. Food and nutrition service. (2013) Nutrition Assistance Program Report. Accessed March 15, 2014, from http://www.fns.usda.govFood and Nutrition Service. (2014). Research and evaluation plan. Accessed March 15, 2014 from http://www.fns.usda.gov