Savannah Hulsey Pointer, FISM News
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Recently released guidance from the United States Army advises soldiers to apply for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, also known as food stamps, to help make up the difference that inflation-driven cost increases have made in their budgets.
The official guidance by the Army specifically mentions the rising cost of commodities, encouraging them to take part in the public assistance program, linking to the welfare program’s website.
“With inflation affecting everything from gas prices to groceries to rent, some Soldiers and their families are finding it harder to get by on the budgets they’ve set and used before,” the guidance written by Sergeant Major of the Army Michael A. Grinston reads. “Soldiers of all ranks can seek guidance, assistance, and advice through the Army’s Financial Readiness Program.
“SNAP is a U.S. government program that provides benefits to eligible low-income individuals and families via an electronic benefits transfer card that can be used like a debit card to purchase eligible food in authorized retail food stores. Service members and their families may be eligible,” the Army guidance reads.
The rise of food insecurity within the United States Military is an exacerbation of an already existing problem, however, the decades-high inflation rate has reportedly made the problem significantly worse.
According to The Center Square, Mackenzie Eaglen, an analyst at the American Enterprise Institute, said,
Based on the Pentagon’s own data, 24% of enlisted personnel are food insecure. While food stamps are a Band-Aid, they’re also an admission that basic pay for enlisted troops and their families is too low – further exacerbated by unyielding inflation causing paychecks to shrink more.
A big part of the problem plaguing soldiers who were already struggling is not only inflation but a skyrocketing price index, where food items are rising in price at their fastest rate since the 1970s.
“The food index increased 10.9 percent over the last year, the largest 12-month increase since the period ending May 1979,” the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said according to The Epoch Times. “The food at home index rose 13.1 percent over the last 12 months, the largest 12-month increase since the period ending March 1979. The index for other food at home rose 15.8 percent and the index for cereals and bakery products increased 15.0 percent over the year. The remaining major grocery store food groups posted increases ranging from 9.3 percent [fruits and vegetables] to 14.9 percent [dairy and related products].”
Harvard researchers say that Americans nationwide are showing just how personally desperate they are by tapping the “pay later” option for even basic necessities, such as groceries. According to CNBC, the study outlines historically high food prices.
“The fact that there’s a large number of Americans that simply can’t afford to buy food highlights the desperation that this economic climate creates,” said Marshall Lux, a fellow at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School. “Once people start stretching out grocery payments it shows the height of personal desperation.”
A recent Gallup study found that 56% of American households are experiencing economic loss and financial hardship. That statistic is rising fast, up from 49% in January, which was itself up from 45% in November of last year.
Eaglen believes there’s a better answer for military members, namely that there needs to be a realistic assessment of how inflation is impacting service members and a pay increase to offset the damages.
“A better solution is to abandon rosy inflation assumptions, boost basic pay, and request a defense topline above inflation each year so forces and families have predictability and stability,” Eaglen said.