child-559415_640More than 46 million Americans rely on food stamps--officially known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP--to help stretch their budgets and keep food on the table every month.

Food insecurity is a widespread problem in America. According to the most recent statistics, 17 million households were food insecure at some point during the year, including 32 millions adults and a staggering 15 million children.

The importance of this federal program in reducing food insecurity can not be overstated. For the millions of families that live at or near the federal poverty level (about 24,000 a year for a family of four) receiving SNAP benefits every month can often mean the difference between having either a low or high quality of life.

In fact, a recent study conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that children with access to government food support beginning in early life (birth to age 5) had improved health, education and economic outcomes later in life.

Despite the many negative misconceptions about families who receive food assistance, the simple fact is this: reaching out for and receiving help feeding yourself, or your family, does not make you a lazy, stupid or bad person. Most individuals receiving SNAP benefits are doing their absolute best to provide for themselves and their families.

"The vast majority of food-insecure households with children are working households: over 85 percent of households with children reporting food insecurity in 2014 also reported at least one adult who earned an income in 2014. Among every type of household reporting food insecurity-i.e., households headed by married couples, single mothers, or single fathers-at least 75 percent of households had an earner during the year they experienced food insecurity," reports the Brookings Institution.

Everyone deserves to know where their next meal will come from, but for the countless families who live in food deserts, receiving food support is only part of the solution to their food insecurity.

"Millions of food stamp recipients live in food deserts-sometimes hours away from a SNAP-approved grocery store. And only 24 percent of those under the poverty line have access to a car," explains the Organic Consumers Association (OCA), a Minnesota-based grassroots non-profit campaigning for health, justice and sustainability. "In fact, nearly 23 million people in the U.S. live in places where there is little or no access to healthy food, sometimes for dozens of miles."

For many dealing with this dilemma, a simple solution would be purchase the bulk of their food online. However, the USDA currently prohibits the use of food support benefits to buy food online, but this policy is behind the times and needs to be changed as soon as possible. Doing so would make buying real, healthy food more accessible and affordable for millions of people whose geographic location may limit their ability to eat in a way that is best for them.

This is why the OCA is teaming up with Thrive Market, the EWG and others, to petition the USDA to allow those who receive SNAP to have the option of purchasing healthy food online using their benefits.

"Allowing food stamp recipients to use their benefits to buy groceries online would give them much greater access to healthy food. Not only that, but shopping online could help these families stretch their food budgets because brick-and-mortar stores have overhead costs which get passed on to the consumer in the form of higher prices." states the petition.

If the USDA takes action to change this outdated rule, we will be one step closer to providing all Americans with the tools they need to live secure and healthy lives. Want to get involved? Sign the petition here.