Ash Pipkin: Why isn’t SNAP working for rural poor?

Regarding Gene Nichol’s Jan. 15 Point of View “Reaching rural North Carolina”: Nichol said that one in four residents in Bertie (pop. 20,581) and Hertford (pop. 24,456) counties don’t get enough to eat. That’s about 11,000 people.

With 50 million Americans getting food assistance from the federal government (the SNAP Program, formerly food stamps), Nichol, unintentionally, raised the question of why isn’t this federal program working for these people? This country devotes significant resources to creating a “safety net” for those without adequate resources, but somehow it never seems to get the job done.

Can Nichol answer that question?

This story was originally published January 20, 2017 at 9:37 AM with the headline "Ash Pipkin: Why isn’t SNAP working for rural poor?."