food stamps
USDA asks retailers to volunteer for test of food stamps online
It's not in the same class as the famous poster of Uncle Sam sternly declaring, "I want you for the U.S. Army." But the government is asking retailers to volunteer for a two-year, nationwide trial of online grocery sales for food-stamp recipients.
A foe of farm subsidies, think tank would remove food stamps from USDA
The conservative Heritage Foundation, which wants to eliminate crop subsidies and revenue insurance policies, also is gunning for food stamps, the largest federal anti-hunger program. In its recent "Blueprint for reform" paper, the foundation says control of food stamps should be transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services and that Congress "should introduce work requirements" for able-bodied adults.
Senators say food-stamp store rule needs better balance
A near-majority of the Senate told the USDA to rewrite a proposal for stores that participate in the food stamp program. The agency’s proposal would require stores to stock a greater variety of healthy foods and would bar retailers that sell a lot of hot food.
GOP: It’s ‘a mistake’ for USDA to run food-stamp program
The Agriculture Department has run the $74-billion-a-year food stamp program since it was created half a century ago — "a mistake," according to the platform approved by delegates at the Republican National Convention. The campaign document says Republicans "will ... separate the administration of [food stamps] from the Department of Agriculture."
With able-bodied cut, lowest food stamp rolls since 2010
Food stamp enrollment dropped by nearly 2 percent in April, to 43.6 million people, the lowest number of recipients since 2010 as the nation began to recover from recession, said the think tank Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. "In many states, the improving economy likely was a major factor," said the center, which also pointed to effect of stricter eligibility rules.
Maine threatens to pull out of food stamp program
Escalating a feud with the federal government, Gov. Paul LePage said Maine would pull out of the food stamp program, potentially cutting off benefits for 190,000 residents, if not allowed to ban purchase of junk food. An aide said LePage "did not threaten to end the program, he threatened to stop administering it ... so the feds would be forced to administer it in Maine."
To improve diet quality, boost food-stamp benefits by $1 a day
Food-stamp recipients would buy more nutritious foods, notably vegetables, poultry and fish, if benefits were raised by $1 a day or 24 percent, says a study commissioned by the think tank Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. Higher-quality diets "may yield better long-term health outcomes," said the think tank.
Capitol Hill tries to derail rule for healthy foods at food stamp stores
In a fractious election year, lawmakers are united on one issue — blocking USDA's proposal for retailers to stock a greater variety of healthy foods if they want to be part of the $80 billion food stamp program. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a provision to bar USDA from working on the regulation in the fiscal year opening on Oct. 1, echoing action by House appropriators a month ago.
Senate may revise SNAP retailer rule as part of USDA funding bill
The Senate Appropriations Committee is likely to demand more flexibility in a USDA regulation for stores to stock a greater variety of healthy foods if they want to be part of the $80 billion a year food-stamp program, said a key member.
Claim: new SNAP rule disqualifies ‘tens of thousands’ of stores
The USDA proposal for grocers to stock a greater variety of healthy foods would push "tens of thousands" of convenience stores out of the food stamp program, one-third of the members of the House said in a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
Conaway endorses Trump, offers aid on farm policy
House Agriculture chairman Michael Conaway endorsed Donald Trump for president, reports the website yourbasin.com in Conaway's district in Texas. The website quoted Conaway as saying, "As chairman of the House agricultural committee I feel like I have a duty to try and work with Mr. Trump in developing his agricultural policy which so far as not been particularly vetted in any of the debates."
USDA: House child-nutrition bill pinches poor, subsidizes well-off students
The child-nutrition bill written by House Republicans "is harmful to children's health," said the USDA in the strongest criticism yet of the bill by the administration. In a statement, the agency said the bill "heaps administrative costs on schools and plans to bury parents in more bureaucratic red tape, all while subsidizing well-off children at the expense of our less fortunate children who need help."
House panel votes to block USDA rules on healthier foods
In February, the USDA proposed that retailers should stock a wider variety of staple foods if they want to be part of the food-stamp program. The House Appropriations Committee has sided with the critics, voting to prohibit the USDA from implementing the new standards.
Lowest food-stamp enrollment in five years
The cost of the food stamp program, the premiere U.S. anti-hunger program, is falling in tandem with the enrollment, says the think tank Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.
Vilsack: No rollback on child nutrition
In the face of a proposal to curtail a program allowing free school meals for all children in high-poverty areas, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told lawmakers, "It would be unwise to roll back standards, saddle parents and school administrators with more paperwork or weaken assistance to our most vulnerable children."
USDA: New food-stocking rule costs retailers $140
In February, the USDA proposed new standards for the number and variety of foods that retailers would have to stock if they want to be part of the food-stamp program. In a notice to be published in the Federal Register today, the USDA says "the average small store would need to add an additional 54 staple food items at a cost of around $140 in order to meet the proposed eligibility criteria."
Time runs out for many on food stamps
As part of the 1996 welfare reform law, unemployed adults without children are limited to three months of food stamp benefits in a three-year period, unless they live in an area with high unemployment.
Republican-drawn House budget plan cuts food stamps by 20 percent
The largest U.S. anti-hunger program would be cut by 20 percent in the coming decade under the budget resolution now awaiting a vote on the House floor. Combined, the cuts total more than $150 billion, says the think-tank Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.