BOSTON, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- Low-income families in Boston and Philadelphia on food stamps don't have the money to buy the cheapest food plan, researchers said.
Families receiving the maximum food stamp benefit would have to spend an additional $2,250 in Boston and $3,165 in Philadelphia annually to purchase the Thrifty Food Plan -- the least expensive food plan, said researchers at the Children's Sentinel Nutrition Assessment Program at Boston Medical Center and Drexel University School of Public Health.
The report showed that, on average, the maximum food stamp benefit is insufficient to buy the Thrifty Food Plan in any size food store in participating neighborhoods in Boston and Philadelphia. Moreover, the researchers found it very difficult for families in the surveyed neighborhoods to find healthy foods -- on average 27 percent of the items that make up the Thrifty Food Plan were missing, predominantly the healthier options like whole grains, fresh fruits, vegetables, low-fat milk and cheese.
Lead author Julie Thayer of Boston Medical Center said a lack of adequate food -- food insecurity -- puts young children at increased risk for poor health, hospitalizations, iron-deficiency anemia and developmental delays, but, conversely, young children who receive food stamps are 26 percent less likely to be food insecure.
