Social science - sociology assignment 8

WKS7ASSIGNMENTFOODINSECURITY.docx

5

SOCW-6361

January 4, 2026

Overview of the Social Issue

Food insecurity is a severe social problem of the United States since it is reflected in the impossibility of households to afford appropriate food. According to the current statistics, one out of 13.5 percent of the households in the U.S. is food insecure, and 5.1 percent is very food insecure (U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service, 2024). The elderly, Black and Hispanic households, single-parent households, and low-income households are also more likely to be affected by this problem. The effects are not just limited to hunger, which has negative physical and mental health, education, and inequity across generations (Mande, 2023). It is a failure of an individual and lack of food is a policy malfunction that is deeply entrenched in economic inequality and lack of sufficient social safety nets.

Synopsis of the Chosen Policy.

The chosen policy that should be promoted is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). SNAP is a federal nutrition support program that is the biggest in the country and used to be named as Food Stamp Program in 1960s and is designed to decrease hunger by buying food benefits (Congress.gov, 2025). However, insufficiency in the benefits, the complex enrollment, and ineligibility of some of the vulnerable populations (e.g., mixed-status families) remain significant drawbacks.

Rationalization behind Policy Choice.

I picked SNAP as a policy advocate since it is a strategic, already-established system that can increase in size and decrease food insecurity directly. Despite its fundamental nature, the existing form of SNAP does not always correspond to the actualities of increased living expenses, low wage stagnation, and non-permanent jobs (Odoms-Young, 2023). Promoting evidences-based reforms in SNAP, instead of developing a completely new initiative, can permit implementing strategic, viable changes to transform the welfare of households and health equity in the short term.

Enactors of the Policy and their Motivation.

The federal government passed SNAP, which was inspired by the fact that hunger was a societal issue and the need to develop agricultural markets and give food aid. The historical push integrated both the humanitarian goals of welfare with the economic goals. This is contrary to my advocacy objectives that are squarely based on social justice, health equity, and dignity of people, and not secondary benefits based on economics (U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service, 2024). I am concerned with making SNAP a less system of minimum protection, and more of a system of comfortable, available, and decent support.

Policy Impact and Consequences.

SNAP has better effects on millions of people by alleviating hunger and poverty. Nevertheless, unintended impacts are counterproductive to the intended ones: supposed benefits do not always cover realistic food expenses, the administration is likely to make it harder to reach the right people, and restrictions may lead to increased stigma and marginalization. This translates to constant stress, compelled choices on food and other needs, and poor health outcomes to clinical social work clients. Change promotion is a clinical necessity since food insecurity is a specific social determinant of health; tackling it is part and parcel of a holistic client care approach and ethical care.

Preliminary Social Advocacy Plan.

The first advocacy plan that I would follow is multi-level engagement:

· Agency Level: Conduct regular screening of food insecurity in clinical and social services with reliable instruments and develop a de-jurisdictional process of referrals to SNAP enrollment agencies.

· Community-Level: Find the way to cooperate with local food banks (e.g. Feeding America network) as well as the community organizations and organize the outreach and help events, which will simplify the process of SNAP application.

· State-Level: Advocate a state-level legislation to make SNAP more accessible (e.g. to immigrants), recertification less challenging, and make school lunch universal to supplement SNAP. It will involve the creation of policy briefs and coalitions of medical and social work practitioners and visiting the state legislators to present evidence on why SNAP is a health intervention (Mande, 2023).

References

Congress.gov. (2025). Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): A Primer on Eligibility and Benefits. Congress.gov. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R42505

Mande, J. (2023). The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program as a health intervention. Current Opinion in Pediatrics, 35(1).

Odoms-Young, A. (2023). Food insecurity and health equity in the United States. Annual Review of Public Health, 44.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service. (2024). Household food security in the United States in 2023.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service. (2024). A short history of SNAP.

Asanastutesocialworkerandprofessionalpolicyadvocat1.docx

As an astute social worker and professional policy advocate, once you have selected and identified a social problem, you begin the process of creating and implementing a policy that addresses that social problem. One of the first things you do in the implementation process is an analysis of the social policy you identified. There is always the possibility that the policy created and implemented to address the social problem you identified is not viable for a variety of reasons.

In this case, you must explore a policy alternative.

In Part 4 of your ongoing Social Change Project assignment, you will identify a policy alternative to better alleviate the social problem you identified.

Resources

Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity. Click the weekly resources link to access the resources.

WEEKLY RESOURCES

To Prepare:

· Review the article by McNutt in the Learning Resources this week.

· Review your previous Final Project Milestone Assignments and your Instructor feedback. Consider the following:

· Identification of a Social Problem (Week 2)

· Issue Statement (Week 4)

· Identification of a Policy (Week 4)

· Social Advocacy Proposal (Week 6)

· Based on your work to date, including your insights into the selected social problem, careful analysis of a policy, and goals for advocacy, identify a policy alternative that would work to better alleviate the social problem while mitigating adverse impacts for the relevant populations.

· Search for and select at least five scholarly articles to support your selection and review of a policy alternative.

By Day 7

Submit a 3- to 4-page paper that addresses the following:

· What is the policy alternative?

· What, if any, change(s) in the policy alternative are necessary, and where will they need to occur (local or state)?

· Is this policy alternative congruent with social work values? Explain.

· What is the feasibility of the alternative policy (political, economic, and administrative)?

· Does the policy alternative meet the policy goals (e.g., social equality, redistribution of resources, social work values, and ethics)?

· What are the forces that are for the policy? What are the forces that are against the policy?

· What policy advocacy skills can be used to support the policy alternative?

· How does the policy alternative affect clinical social work practice with clients?

· What changes could be made in the policy to support the needs of clients seeking clinical services?

Be sure to incorporate at least five scholarly articles you found using standard APA format.

NOTE: Previous week assignment attached.