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anti-hunger programs

The ‘Commod Bod’ and USDA’s box-o-food program

There are federal predecessors to the Trump administration's "Harvest Box" proposal, to provide half of food-stamp benefits in the form of a box of processed and packaged foods, says the NPR blog The Salt. "Among those horrified at the thought: American Indians who recognized this as the same type of federal food assistance that tribes have received for decades, with devastating implications for health."

Startup formerly known as Hampton Creek takes aim at malnutrition in Africa

The food startup that began as Hampton Creek is now known as JUST, and its newest product is a nutrient-fortified cassava porridge named Power Gari that it says is the solution to malnutrition in western Africa, reports the Washington Post. "JUST believes that its product will increase Africans' intake of critical vitamins and minerals by including them in a product that tastes good and is sold at retail in slick branded bags, unlike the fortified foods currently offered by development organizations."

USDA wants ideas about how to better enforce 90-day limit on food stamps

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has long spoken out against the “permanent lifestyle” of able-bodied adults who receive food stamps. Now the USDA is asking how it can more stringently enforce its 90-day limit on benefits to those who work fewer than 20 hours a week.

Harvest Box may be a Pandora’s box of logistical troubles

The Trump administration proposal to replace half of food stamp benefits with a monthly box of food for program participants “would put families’ basic food security at risk,” says the think tank Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Trump budget eliminates funding for biggest U.S. food-aid program

The Food for Peace program, created during the Cold War to relieve hunger overseas through the donation of U.S.-produced food, would be mothballed by the Trump administration in its fiscal 2019 budget. In its place, the State Department would provide emergency food aid through a smaller-ticket disaster assistance office that is expected to be thriftier and fleeter of foot.

Slower growth in school breakfast participation

About half as many children take part in the school breakfast program as the more than 30 million who eat a hot meal through the school lunch program, according to USDA's most recent data. The government and the anti-hunger group Food Research and Action Center say that participation in school breakfast grew at a slower rate during the 2016-17 school year than it did in previous years.

‘Harvest Box’ proposal makes a policy point, say officials

Two administration officials “who worked on the idea” say the White House proposal of a monthly “Harvest Box” of preselected food for poor Americans “was intended to lay down a marker that the administration is serious” about revamping the food stamp program, said the New York Times.

White House plan: Cut food stamp eligibility, give people a box of food

President Trump would slash food stamp spending by 30 percent over the next decade by cutting enrollment 6 percent and giving recipients half of their benefits in a monthly box of U.S.-grown food. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the "America's Harvest Box" was "a bold, innovative approach to providing nutritious food" that would cost far less than the current system of letting food stamp participants buy food on their own.

Few states offer work programs for people at risk of losing food stamp benefits

Stricter work requirements for food stamp recipients, particularly able-bodied adults, “can increase earnings and training,” but they can also mean a loss of benefits for people who can’t find a job, says a USDA report. Only five states currently guarantee a slot in a job-training or workfare program to able-bodied adults who are jobless and at risk of losing their benefits.

Amazon food store doesn’t accept food stamps

The no-checkout-line brick-and-mortar grocery store opened by Amazon in Seattle “is supposed to represent the pinnacle of convenience,” says Future Tense. “But the convenience isn’t for everyone: The Amazon Go store doesn’t accept food stamps.”

Food stamps may reduce healthcare costs

New research suggests that food stamps, the major U.S. anti-hunger program, do more than help poor people buy food — they “may promote better health and lower healthcare costs,” said the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a think tank.

Food stamp revisions possible but not radical change, says key House Democrat

States have abused their discretion in order to keep able-bodied adults on the food stamp rolls, said Collin Peterson, the Democratic leader of the House Agriculture Committee, suggesting that some changes were possible in the anti-hunger program but also warning that attempts at radical reforms could blow up the 2018 farm bill.

State contractors can handle food stamp data, says USDA

In a step to ease state agency handling of social services programs, the USDA announced that contractors can “provide basic case-specific information” about food stamp applications — work that is usually handled by civil servants.

Trump says tax bill mostly ‘wiped out’ the estate tax

During a half-hour “bill passage event” that resembled a pep rally for the Republican-written and -passed tax bill, President Trump said farmers and small-business owners will benefit because “for the most part, [the] estate tax is wiped out.”

Hunger halved in strife-torn northeastern Nigeria

The number of hungry people in northeastern Nigeria has dropped by half, to 2.6 million, since mid-year, according to analysis by regional groups, which give credit to improved security and scaled-up humanitarian assistance.

USDA may revamp food stamp time limits for able-bodied adults

When Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said this week that food stamps should not be “a permanent lifestyle” for able-bodied adults without dependents, he may have hinted at a forthcoming USDA proposal.

Perdue wants farm bill to end ‘permanent’ food stamps for able-bodied adults

Reviving a White House budget theme, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said Americans do not believe food stamps should be “a permanent lifestyle” for able-bodied adults without dependents.

Immigrants cautious of food assistance in Trump era, experts say

Undocumented immigrants have become cautious of seeking food aid in the Trump era because of fears they could be targeted for deportation, said a panel of food security experts last week in San Francisco.

Number of food insecure Americans soars 40 percent in two years

Some 47.4 million Americans — roughly one of every seven — were food insecure during 2023, meaning they were unable at times to acquire enough food, said the Agriculture Department on Wednesday. It was a 40 increase in two years, and while the report did not suggest factors behind the rise, it coincided with the end of pandemic-era food assistance.

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