anti-hunger programs
Public spotlight does little to stop ‘lunch shaming’ in schools
Seven months after New Mexico passed a state law against “lunch shaming,” progress to end the practice is slow, writes school-food blogger Bettina Elias Siegel on Civil Eats.
Analyst says food stamp agencies ‘insufficiently interested’ in promoting work
The government ought to encourage food stamp recipients to find employment or to move up to better-paying jobs, said Robert Doar during a discussion on the future of the largest U.S. antihunger program.
USDA to let states ‘test new and better ways’ to run food stamps
Declaring that states are the laboratories of innovation, the head of the federal government’s largest anti-hunger program said he will give states “the flexibility to test new and better ways to administer our programs.”
Lowest cost in four years for traditional Thanksgiving dinner
A spot check of grocery prices in 39 states found that the ingredients for a traditional Thanksgiving meal will cost 1.5-percent less than last year, and, at $49.12 for a dinner for 10, are the lowest since 2013, said the American Farm Bureau Federation. The biggest item for the meal, in weight and dollars — 16-pound turkey — costs $1.40 a pound, or 1.4-percent less than last year.
Food banks brace for SNAP fight
The nation's food banks, worried that demand will overwhelm them if Congress follows through on threats to make substantial cuts to food stamps and other nutrition programs, are making their concerns known to key lawmakers, reports Politico. "Food banks and other anti-hunger charities spent the congressional recess urging lawmakers to protect SNAP, with a special focus on moderate Republicans, who will be key in the fate of their party’s decade-long budget plan."
Former WFP director Cousin joins Chicago Council
Ertharin Cousin, director of the UN World Food Program since 2012, has joined the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and will advise the group in “its ongoing efforts to advance global food security by supporting research, representing food security expertise on a variety of global stages, and building unique partnerships.”
Food stamps a target as House GOP moves toward budget plan
House Republicans are expected to caucus today to discuss a budget package that reportedly increases military spending while cutting domestic programs. The food stamp program is commonly mentioned as a target in government-wide cuts to domestic spending that could total $150 billion over 10 years.
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.