coronavirus relief
Farm state GOP senators speak favorably of more food assistance funds
Four Republicans on the Senate Agriculture Committee have spoken favorably in the past few days of additional funding for public nutrition programs during the pandemic, possibly including an increase in SNAP benefits. <strong> (No paywall) </strong>
Pandemic aid is too constricted and too slow, ag groups and lawmakers tell USDA
The USDA should immediately release the $1.4 billion of coronavirus payments it's holding in reserve for farmers and change the rules — particularly on eligibility, payment limits and the deadline for applications — that are keeping aid from producers, said 28 farm and agribusiness groups.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Glitches in aid program obscure need for more relief during pandemic, say ag leaders
Farm groups are arguing for a massive new round of cash for agriculture in the coronavirus relief bill being negotiated by Congress and the White House, even though billions of dollars in an ongoing USDA aid program may go unclaimed. There's no contradiction in the request, said the two largest U.S. farm groups on Monday. <strong> (No paywall) </strong>
Million-dollar payments from USDA’s coronavirus fund
A hog producer, Titan Swine, got the largest single payment during the first month of the USDA's coronavirus relief program — $1.4 million — and it received two additional checks, totaling $1.1 million, on the same day, reported The Counter on Thursday. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Food-box giveaway to run through Oct. 31, says USDA
The Farmers to Families Food Box giveaway program, the Trump administration's response to hunger during the coronavirus pandemic, will run through Oct. 31 to use up the last of its $3 billion in funds, said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue.
Surge in grocery prices will bring a 5 percent increase in SNAP benefits
Food stamp benefits will rise by 5.3 percent in October, to a maximum of $680 per month for a family of four in the continental United States, said the USDA Food and Nutrition Service on Wednesday. The cost-of-living adjustment was announced even as anti-hunger groups are calling for a temporary 15 percent increase in SNAP benefits during the pandemic.
White House cites USDA ‘poison pills’ in threat to veto $260 billion spending bill
The White House listed five dozen objections to parts of a $260 billion government funding bill, including bans on implementing two Trump regulations to narrow SNAP eligibility, on Thursday, and threatened a presidential veto. As the House debated the appropriations bill, Republican senators worked on coronavirus relief legislation expected to include billions of dollars of new agricultural assistance.
Pace of coronavirus payments to farmers slows, reasons unclear
Perdue gets $20 billion blank check for ag aid in GOP coronavirus plan
Senate Republicans proposed $20 billion in additional aid to agriculture in their new coronavirus package on Monday, leaving it to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to allot the money. At the same time, Republicans decided against an increase in food stamp benefits, a goal of House Democrats. The proposed increase in farm aid came as the USDA released figures showing that it has only spent a little more than 40 percent of the $16 billion that was earmarked for farmers and ranchers in the CARES act. (No paywall)
School lunch count plummeted as schools closed in pandemic
Participation in the school lunch program nosedived 28 percent during the first months of the pandemic despite breakneck efforts across the nation to provide an alternative to meals in the cafeteria, said USDA data. An anti-hunger group said extension of the so-called P-EBT program and an increase in SNAP benefits were needed to treat "this child hunger crisis."
Federal payments soften farm financial stress
Agricultural credit conditions remain weak, but government payments "appear likely to limit the severity of financial stress among farm borrowers in the coming months," said the Federal Reserve in a quarterly report on Thursday. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Coronavirus damage tops $3.4 billion, says ethanol industry
Gasoline consumption fell precipitously in the spring due to stay-at-home orders and the economic slowdown, cutting ethanol industry revenue by more than $3.4 billion, said the Renewable Fuels Association on Wednesday. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
USDA hasn’t helped small farmers in pandemic, lawmakers say
The USDA has ignored small diversified farms in its $16 billion coronavirus relief program despite specific instructions from Congress to help them, said two U.S. lawmakers on Monday. Wheat growers said they deserved broader coverage, including payments on this year's crop. The USDA has disbursed $5.9 billion since payments began in early June, with $2.6 billion going to cattle producers.
In pandemic, one in five children are not getting enough to eat, says report
An unprecedented number of U.S. children — 13.9 million — are experiencing food insecurity and did not have sufficient food in late June due to the coronavirus pandemic, said an analysis from the Hamilton Project on Thursday. "This level of need merits a substantial and immediate public investment," said Lauren Bauer, a fellow at the Hamilton Project and author of the analysis. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Apples and potatoes will get coronavirus aid for lost sales
In a series of adjustments to its $16-billion coronavirus relief program, the USDA said on Thursday that apple, potato, and blueberry growers would now qualify for federal payments for sales lost to the pandemic. More than one-third of the money in the program has already been paid in cash to farmers and ranchers. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Three Farm Belt states get a quarter of coronavirus relief money
Survey: Unrelenting food insecurity during pandemic
One in five US households say they often or sometimes run out of food, a persistently elevated level of food insecurity as the nation faces its fourth month of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Covid Impact Survey. "Despite some public benefits in place, this is still very high," said Nick Hart, president of the Data Foundation, which launched the survey.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Boost SNAP benefits by 15 percent, groups ask Senate
An increase in SNAP benefits "must be part of an effective, comprehensive response to Covid-19," said 2,500 anti-hunger, medical, religious, labor, farm, and consumer groups in a letter to Senate leaders. Republican senators, who blocked recent proposals by House Democrats for higher SNAP benefits, are expected to decide soon whether to draft a new coronavirus relief bill. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
‘Spot market’ hog payments may be pro-rated
Hog farmers will have an additional two weeks, until April 29, to apply for federal payments to offset the pandemic-depressed prices offered by packers on the cash market during the summer of 2020, said the Agriculture Department on Thursday.