Along with new focus, Food Stamps gets new name

January 03, 2009

BERLIN – Say goodbye to "Food Stamps." Say hello to "3Squares VT."

The well-known Food Stamp program got a new updated name Friday, and Vermont Gov. James Douglas was on hand for the launch, standing in front of three tables of food at Shaw's Supermarket Friday afternoon. The state's expanded nutrition program was symbolized by the display of foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner, underscoring the new name and "3Squares" focus on healthy eating.

Enrollment in the program currently stands at 31,000, or more than 12 percent, of Vermont's approximately 250,000 households. Those households represent more than 61,000 individuals in the state.

The program has expanded by about 57 percent since 2001, when it served 39,000 individuals, said Steve Dale, the commissioner of the Department for Children and Families.

Douglas said he anticipates that "tens of thousands of additional Vermont families will be eligible" for 3Squares VT. "What better time to make that important change than now, when so many Vermonters are struggling to pay their bills in these challenging economic times," he said.

During the summer, anti-hunger advocates and members of the Vermont Food and Fuel Partnership looked for the most effective way to confront an expected winter crisis caused by spiking fuel bills that could force Vermonters to cut back on food. The consensus was to raise the eligibility ceiling for the supplemental nutrition assistance program and eliminate the asset test, which Douglas called "a burden to participation." Those changes, agreed to last summer, went into effect Jan. 1.

Now people with gross incomes of 185 percent of the federal poverty level, up from 130 percent, are eligible for the program. That's $3,269 a month for a family of four. And people will no longer have to spend down their savings for their children's college education or their retirement to qualify.

"That's still lower income, but when you take away the onus of being the poorest of the poor, people realize, 'This is for me!'" said Renée Richardson, the director of the program.

"3Squares VT is more than just a renamed Food Stamp program," Douglas declared. "It is an expanded supplemental nutrition assistance program that can help more hard-working Vermonters than ever put three square meals on their table. Calling the program by a more accurate name can help mit-igate some of the embarrassment or stigma some applicants might associate with the program."

The process of coming up with the name wasn't easy. It started with a survey of the Economic Services Division. "We got 291 responses," Richardson said. "We weeded through those responses, and we said, 'We can't pick anything out of this!'" Then she and her staff held focus groups and conducted interviews with stakeholders. Finally, they narrowed the choices down to four names, and "(3Squares VT) seemed to be the one that resonated with us."

Douglas noted that the original "food stamps" have not been used to issue benefits since the early 1940s. The coupon books that replaced the stamps have not been seen in Vermont since 1998, when the state began issuing benefits through a system that uses plastic cards resembling credit cards. To provide more privacy and flexibility for the elderly and disabled, recipients over 65 and those receiving SSI have their benefits deposited as cash to their bank accounts.

"We see the new name in the same light as 'Dr. Dynasaur,' helping us all think differently about this program – it's designed to help people have balanced, nutritious meals on their tables," said Dale. "I don't sense any stigma or shame or anything connected with Dr. Dynasaur. There's a huge percentage of the population of children that are covered by Dr. Dynasaur."

He said he hopes 3Squares will be seen in the same way as the state's health care access program for children, or as other entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare.

Dale noted that Douglas was responsive to the idea of expanding access to the nutrition program when the issue was raised, and that he supported hiring additional staff to handle the increased caseload. Dale thanked staff members for their hard work over the fall. "This is no small project," he observed. "To actually have it happen on schedule is a major undertaking."

Richards observed that qualifying for 3Squares VT automatically qualifies people for a variety of other programs, such as Lifeline, a discount on basic telephone service, free day-care meals and free school meals. School meals cost an average of $70-$90 a month for each child, she said, and the money saved can be spent on meals the family eats at home.

Richards noted that 100 percent of the program's benefits are paid for by the federal government. In November, $6.7 million in Food Stamp benefits were distributed around the state, she said. Because the benefits can't be saved or used to pay previous grocery bills, the money functions as direct economic stimulus. Richards estimated the stimulus effect of November's benefits at more than $12 million.

The new program expansion could mean an additional $12 million per year in food assistance for low-income Vermont families, which would have the effect of infusing $22 million into the state's economy, according to the governor's office.

The state's interest in expanding the program is two-fold.

"It's in the interest of all of us that people receive proper nutrition," Dale said. "We certainly all know the cost of obesity. We know the cost of diabetes. We know the cost of chronic diseases. Obviously nutritious food is absolutely essential to the health of all of us, and in the health world we've all come to learn that preventive health care is the most cost-effective approach. At a minimum, the interest of government ... is in keeping the population healthy."

Dale also cited a second reason.

"I think the government's interest in promoting this program is that it really isn't OK from a social justice perspective for people to be going hungry in a country that has the kind of plenty that we have," he said. "The program was created to address that issue, and we would hope that people will take advantage of it."

For more information or to get an application for 3Squares, contact the Department for Children and Families, Economic Services Division, at 1-800-287-0589, or visit www.vermontfoodhelp.org.

January 03, 2009

Press Room