food insecurity
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.
Food prices forecast to decline to longterm average in 2021
Grocery prices will rise a modest 1.5 percent in 2021, close to the long-term average and half of the larger-than-usual increase expected this year, said the USDA in its first forecast of food inflation in the new year.
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."
Report: Coronavirus worsens food insecurity in the South
Three Southern states — Virginia, Kentucky and Arkansas — are among the eight states nationwide with the lowest SNAP participation rates, says the Food Research and Action Center. The coronavirus pandemic "is exacerbating the already alarming rates of food insecurity in the Southern region," said a FRAC report that recommends expansion of federal nutrition programs, such as SNAP, WIC and school meals, to meet the need.
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>
Report: Covid-19 to worsen food insecurity around globe
The worldwide fight against the coronavirus pandemic will reduce income in countries where food insecurity is already high, leading to increased demand for food aid, said the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in a quarterly report. "While agricultural production has been comparatively unaffected and supplies of staple foods are reported to be generally ample or stable, income losses due to the measures implemented to contain the spread of the disease and the overall economic downturn are likely to increase the severity and prevalence of food insecurity," said the Crop Prospects and Food Situation report.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Risk of ‘food nationalism’ as coronavirus pandemic sweeps world
The world's grain reserves are large, with a bumper crop on the horizon, but the coronavirus pandemic has already inspired agricultural protectionism in a small number of countries, said analysts in a think tank paper this week. Separately, former Agriculture Undersecretary Catherine Woteki said protectionist policies could spark "food nationalism" at a time when trade could minimize food shortages. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Largest annual increase in grocery prices since 2011
Grocery prices will rise by a higher-than-average 3 percent this year, due largely to the coronavirus-propelled surge in the cost of meat, poultry, and fish at the supermarket, forecast the USDA on Thursday. It would be the largest annual increase since 2011. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
A grassroots push for higher SNAP benefits
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>
There are holes in USDA’s Food Box, say congressional Democrats
When Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue talks about hunger relief during the pandemic, he puts the spotlight on the USDA's Farmers to Families Food Box program. He took part in three Food Box events last week and is scheduled to speak at one in Lakeland, Florida, on Monday. Meanwhile, Democrats in the House and Senate question if the donation program is a fair and efficient way to help families. <strong> (No paywall) </strong>
Food insecurity doubles due to coronavirus, may exceed Great Recession
One-fifth of Americans say they have had trouble getting enough food to eat during the economic turmoil of the cornavirus pandemic, a nearly overnight doubling of food insecurity in the United States, according to a national poll released on Thursday. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
USDA food boxes for charity called ‘inefficient’
The "farmers to families food box," a $3 billion part of the Trump administration's coronavirus relief package, may not be an efficient use of taxpayer dollars although it is aimed at two vexing issues during the pandemic – crops with no buyers and food banks overwhelmed by demand, said a panel of analysts on Monday.
American adults skip meals as coronavirus clips income
A quarter of adults have eaten less or skipped meals because they lacked the money to buy food, said an antihunger group on Monday in calling for expansion of food assistance during the coronavirus pandemic. The largest U.S. farm group and a food bank network suggested that the USDA should create a voucher system to get farm-fresh food directly to nearby food banks. <strong> (No paywall) </strong>
Empty shelves will soon be ‘a thing of the past,’ says grocery supply expert
As the novel coronavirus spreads, many people have stocked up on pantry items and paper products in anticipation of hunkering down at home for an extended period, creating temporary shortages of certain products. To better understand the grocery supply chain and how stores are stocked, FERN turned to Dr. Ananth Iyer, a professor of supply chain management at Purdue University and director of the university's Global Supply Chain Management Initiative. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Colleges resort to ‘food scholarships,’ pantries to help hungry, homeless students
With Congress mired in partisan gridlock and the White House showing little interest, the nation's colleges and universities are scrambling to address the growing crisis of hungry, homeless students, as Bridget Huber reports in FERN's latest story.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
SNAP proposal will ‘cut off millions,’ AMA says
The Trump administration proposal for stricter SNAP eligibility rules will "cut off millions of needy households from basic food aid" and should be withdrawn, said the American Medical Association, the largest U.S. doctors' group, on Monday. Fifteen Democratic senators, including all Democrats on the Senate Agriculture Committee, which oversees the food stamp program, also called for withdrawal of the SNAP proposal.
War devastates agriculture in Gaza
Two-thirds of the cropland in the Gaza Strip has been damaged by shelling, razing, and vehicle traffic since armed conflict began a year ago in the territory, said two UN agencies. The escalating agricultural damage exacerbated a food shortage, said the Food and Agriculture Organization and the UN Satellite Center.