Sacramento Bee Editorial Shames SNAP Recipients

Ruben Navarrette Jr., a reporter for the San Diego Union-Tribune, wrote an outrageous opinion piece in Sunday's Sacramento Bee. In "Bill has misguided goal for farmers markets," Navarrette doesn't just slam Juan Arambula's AB 537, which helps local markets get equipment to accept electronic food stamp benefits cards, he also heaps shame on SNAP participants, saying they don't deserve to shop for fruit and vegetables next to people with jobs:

"We made a mistake when we tried to remove the stigma from programs like this, and now we're compounding that mistake by continually making it easier and more comfortable for people to become a permanent ward of the state."

Shame on Ruben Navarette, and shame on the Sacramento Bee for publishing this piece. It is critical for Strategic Alliance Partners from across the state to write letters to the editor, today, pointing out the inaccuracies of this article.  The letter to the editor submission form is here, or contact LTE editor Gary Reed directly at greed@sacbee.com.

Here are some angles you could cover in your response:

• Food stamp spending serves as an economic boost. There are already successful examples of farmers' markets using the EBT system across the country and in California, including San Francisco Civic Center's "Heart of the City" Market.
• Poor eating and physical inactivity costs California over $40 billion in related health care expenses, and costs our nation $147 billion. Prevention saves money in the long run.
• Not all Americans have equal access to affordable, healthy foods, nor do they have access to full-service grocery stores.
• Environmental efforts to address healthy eating work, as evidenced by Michelle Obama's Let's Move Initiative and CA Governor Schwarzenegger's actions generated from the 2010 Summit on Health, Nutrition and Obesity.

Here's an example of a letter sent in by Prevention Institute's Shakirah Simley:

"In the midst of an unprecedented global recession, stigmatizing families who want to buy good food for their families, but can't ("Bill has misguided goal for farmers markets") isn't just wrong--it's downright mean.  California ranks 47^th in the U.S. with an unemployment rate of 12.4%. These Californians can tell you they did not lose their jobs, and subsequently become unable to feed their families, because they are lazy. At a time when 1 in 10 Americans and 1 in 4 children rely on SNAP to fulfill a basic human need, Mr. Navarrette's arguments just don't hold up. The new face of food stamps includes the recently jobless, working moms, seniors, and workers earning reduced salaries; it's your neighbor, your mom, and your child's classmate. The USDA estimates that $5 in food stamp spending generates $9 in economic activity. Why wouldn't we want this to go to local farmers and producers? EBT: good for families, farmers and communities."

Get something in the news? Tell us about it.

For more information, please contact Shakirah Simley on behalf of The Strategic Alliance: shakirah@preventioninstitute.org, 510-444-7738 or visit: www.eatbettermovemore.org.

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WHAT IS THE STRATEGIC ALLIANCE?

The Strategic Alliance is reframing the debate on nutrition and physical activity away from a focus solely on individual choice and lifestyle towards one of environmental influences and corporate and government responsibility. Current Steering Committee members are: California Adolescent Nutrition and Fitness Program (CANFit), California Center for Public Health Advocacy (CCPHA), California Food Policy Advocates (CFPA), California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, California Park and Recreation Society (CPRS) , California Project LEAN, California WIC Association (CWA), Child Care Food Program Roundtable, Latino Health Access, Partnership for the Public's Health, Prevention Institute, PolicyLink, Samuels & Associates and Public Health Law & Policy.

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