After learning about the Trump administration’s “harvest box” program, I was appalled. The harvest box program would slash SNAP funding by 30 percent and deliver participants a box of conventional, shelf-stable food each month. The program does not consider an individual’s preferences or dietary restrictions and strips individuals’ freedom to shop for themselves. Proposed by members of the Trump administration, it is an ineffective political ploy, which perpetuates issues of food insecurity and further punishes those suffering from it instead of attempting to mitigate its effects.

The proposal’s lack of logistical input proves that it is a political maneuver to advance an alternative, larger budget cut to the SNAP program. Those sorts of political manipulations do not work toward solving the nation’s food insecurity crisis, nor do they help those affected in the meantime.

The government should work toward supporting Americans and solving the root issues of food insecurity, not manipulate SNAP beneficiaries.

Anika Becker, Lewiston