Thread: USDA moves to end questionable food stamp ads after criticism

USDA moves to end questionable food stamp ads after criticism

By Judson Berger
Published July 13, 2012
FoxNews.com



The Department of Agriculture moved Friday to "cease future production" of advertisements that encourage people to go on food stamps, FoxNews.com has learned, following criticism over what was described as an "aggressive" campaign to grow enrollment.

The department had come under fire for a 10-part series of Spanish-language "novelas" that trumpeted the benefits of the food stamp program. The radio ads were produced in 2008, but continued to be available for use.

After those ads drew scrutiny, though, the USDA removed them from its website.

Kevin Concannon, USDA undersecretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, explained that the department will now move away from such ad campaigns.

"The American people support helping those in need, but they want to know their tax dollars are being spent wisely. Many of the PSAs and ads on the agency's website were posted nearly 4 years ago and some of the content in these advertisements does not meet the standards of what I consider to be appropriate outreach," he said in a statement to FoxNews.com.

"To that end, I have instructed the agency to remove these materials from our website and to cease future production of advertisements. These funds could be better invested in improving our oversight of this critically important program and that is exactly what I intend to do moving forward."

The Spanish-language radio ads composed a 10-part miniseries called "Hope Park." In it, the characters were shown persistently trying to convince a character named "Diana" to go on food stamps -- known these days as SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program -- even though her husband works and she doesn't think she needs it.

"I don't need help from anyone," Diana says in Episode 4. "My husband makes enough to take care of us."

But her friends are persistent, and by Episode 10 Diana is enrolled and singing the program's praises.

The ads drew criticism at a time when one in seven are already enrolled.

The food stamp rolls have swelled since the recession, growing roughly 40 percent since 2009. As of April, more than 46 million people were in the program, which costs $80 billion a year.
Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, slammed the campaign as a push to enroll individuals who don't feel they need it.

"It has become increasingly clear that, in recent years, the mission of the food stamp program has been converted from targeted assistance for those in need into an aggressive drive to expand enrollment regardless of need," he said in a statement. "Food stamp spending has quadrupled since 2001, yet USDA complains that too many eligible people continue to resist enrollment. ... Read as a whole, USDA's activities suggest that the program administrators take personal offense when people who technically qualify for their largesse decline to accept -- and see it as an obstacle to overcome."
Sessions noted the radio ads are part of an effort to enroll immigrants and non-citizens, who are eligible provided they meet certain requirements.

The USDA notes that illegal immigrants cannot apply, however.

"Non-citizens who are unlawfully present, are not, nor have they ever been, eligible to receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits," the USDA said in a statement. "States must verify the immigration status of individuals who apply for benefits.

Individuals applying for SNAP are required to provide documentation of their immigration status as a condition of eligibility."

As for the ad campaign itself, a USDA Food and Nutrition Service spokesman said earlier -- before the campaign was canned -- that it was targeted toward "communities most at risk for hunger."

"Congress allocates funds to USDA with the mandate to conduct public education about the benefits of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and how to apply to help reduce hunger in America," the spokesman said. "Partner organizations use the public service announcements and other tools to connect eligible households with the information they need to make an informed decision about SNAP participation."

The radio ads were among a series of USDA-sponsored ads produced between 2008 and 2012 to promote food stamp enrollment.

The criticism over the ad campaigns comes amid debate on Capitol Hill over the proposed five-year farm bill funding food stamps.

Proposals in the House and Senate seek to cut funding from the program.

USDA moves to end questionable food stamp ads after criticism | Fox News

USDA buckles, removes Spanish food stamp soap operas from website

Published: 3:41 PM 07/13/2012
Caroline May
The Daily Caller

Following The Daily Caller’s expose of the United States Department of Agriculture’s food stamp outreach to Spanish-speakers via radio novelas, or Spanish language soap operas, the agency removed the series from their website.

Each of the 10 novelas promoting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps, had been available as a resource for state and local outreach partners as late as Thursday.

The page, formerly containing the audio and Spanish language scripts was “modified” Friday, eliminating the novelas.

The series had been promoted as a resource to increase SNAP participation. They were produced and written in 2008.

In a statement to The Daily Caller Friday, Kevin Concannon, USDA Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services explained the reasoning for their removal.

“The American people support helping those in need, but they want to know their tax dollars are being spent wisely. Many of the PSAs and ads on the agency’s website were posted nearly 4 years ago and some of the content in these advertisements does not meet the standards of what I consider to be appropriate outreach,” Concannon said.

“To that end, I have instructed the agency to remove these materials from our website and to cease future production of advertisements. These funds could be better invested in improving our oversight of this critically-important program and that is exactly what I intend to do moving forward,” he added.

The USDA’s scrub of the novelas from their website came on the heels of a Daily Caller series highlighting USDA’s stated mission and campaign to get more people on food stamps.

Thursday, Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions, ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, slammed the USDA for its aggressive outreach tactics.

“Today we learn that the USDA, in an effort to increase the enrollment of immigrants, including non-citizens, has produced Spanish-language radio soap operas,” the Alabama senator said in a statement. “In one of these, an individual tries to convince a friend to enroll in food stamps even though that friend declares: ‘I don’t need anyone’s help. My husband earns enough to take care of us.’ The first individual replies back: ‘When are you going to learn?’ Is this message we wish to send new arrivals into our country—depend on the government even if you don’t need to—particularly at a time when we have to borrow forty cents of every dollar we spend?”

Sessions also reiterated his contention that America needs to have another debate about welfare reform and reassess the way such programs actually serve their intended beneficiaries.

“USDA’s effort to scrub these records from their site betrays that they realize their recruitment tactics would not be accepted by the public,” Session’s communications director Stephen Miller added in a statement to TheDC.

UPDATE: In a statement emailed to TheDC after this article’s publication, Sessions said that agency’s announcement “represents an admission of a broken culture at USDA” and the tip of the iceberg in terms of necessary reforms. The senator further promised that he would be following up with USDA about its tactics.

“It is time for a top-down review of USDA to examine how the food stamp program is administered. The overriding goal that demands constant and intense focus is to move people from temporary assistance to permanent employment. We must review the tactics USDA has employed that have resulted in a unprecedented quadrupling of the food stamp budget and an apparent lack of respect for the individuals they are seeking to enroll,” Sessions said.

“I have concluded these ads are only the symptom of a wider culture in USDA,” he added, “apparent throughout their enrollment literature, which seeks maximum registration as the ultimate goal, regardless of need… The USDA will have many pressing questions to answer in the coming days. Reform is long overdue.”

See the USDA website until Friday, saved in Google’s cache:



See the modified website:



USDA removes Spanish food stamp soap operas from website | The Daily Caller