SNAP’s “unhappy marriage” to the farm bill

Abstract

First paragraphs:

The U.S. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) once again finds itself in the political hot seat. With cuts enacted under the Trump Administration in the summer of 2025 compounded by the government shutdown just months later—leaving millions of Americans without benefits for weeks—conversations about SNAP are widespread. But how did the program get here?

In Why SNAP Works: A Political History—and Defense—of the Food Stamp Program, Christopher Bosso offers exactly that: a chronological account of SNAP’s legislative past. He structures his argu­ment around SNAP’s longstanding political resili­ence—rooted in its ties to the farm bill—and ultimately concludes that the program’s greatest strength lies in its administrative practicality. . . .