Applying Racial Equity to U.S. Federal Nutrition Assistance Programs - Flipbook - Page 4
Table of Contents
Meet the Team....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 2
Acknowledgements.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 3
Key Terms............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Foreword.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 5
Executive Summary............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 6
Methodology.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8
How a Racial Equity Lens was Applied.................................................................................................................................................................................... 8
Research Tools................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 9
The Case for Racial Equity in Nutrition Programs..............................................................................................................................................................10
The Context....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................10
Ending Hunger: Applying a Racial Equity Lens.................................................................................................................................................................11
Understanding the Curb-Cut Effect.........................................................................................................................................................................................12
Trends of Equity in Nutrition Programs................................................................................................................................................................................12
Opportunities to Reduce Racial Divides in Nutrition and Food Security....................................................................................................................13
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)........................................................................................................................................................15
Overview: Policy, Scope, and Impact.......................................................................................................................................................................................16
Equity in SNAP............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 17
Recommendations: Strengthening Racial Equity in SNAP..............................................................................................................................................18
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)...........................................................................................28
Overview: Policy, Scope, and Impact.......................................................................................................................................................................................29
Equity in WIC................................................................................................................................................................................................................................30
Recommendations: Strengthening Racial Equity in WIC................................................................................................................................................32
Child Nutrition Programs (CNPs)...............................................................................................................................................................................................44
Overview: Policy, Scope, and Impact.......................................................................................................................................................................................45
Equity in CNPs..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................46
Recommendations: Strengthening Racial Equity in CNPs..............................................................................................................................................47
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................53
Glossary..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................54
Appendix...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................57
KEY TERMS
Please see the glossary for more detailed definitions of these terms and additional terms used throughout this paper.
Equity. Equity is a state in which all people in a given society share equal rights,
access, opportunities, and outcomes, which are not predicted or influenced
by one’s identity characteristics, including race, gender, and class.1 Equity is
achieved by providing targeted investments to “meet people where they are” to
create equitable opportunities. Equity creates equality.
“Equity
creates
equality.”
Racial Equity. Racial equity is one type of equity. Racial equity is achieved when targeted
investments enable people of color to overcome the structural discrimination they encounter—
thereby eliminating racial divides between communities of color and their white counterparts, and
allowing communities of color to reach optimal outcomes, including in nutrition and food security.
Equality. Equality has traditionally been defined as providing equal investments to people. Under
this definition, actions to promote equality usually do not lead to equal outcomes since they do
not account for discrimination, circumstances, and needs. Equality, as Bread for the World Institute
envisions it, would enable all communities to achieve optimal outcomes on an equal basis. This
requires equity—individuals are protected from discrimination and provided with the targeted
support and access they need to succeed given the barriers they encounter.
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APPLYING RACIAL EQUITY TO U.S. FEDERAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS: SNAP, WIC AND CHILD NUTRITION
