food stamps
Heavy spending in re-election bid by food stamp critic
Some $10 million could be spent on the U.S. House race between Rep Steve Southerland and Democrat Gwen Graham in the Florida panhandle, says WTXL-TV in Tallahassee.
Food and agriculture races to watch on Nov 4
From soda taxes in California to neck-and-neck Senate races in the heartland, an abundance of races of import for U.S. food and agriculture policy will be decided in the Nov 4 elections.
Food issues rate “off the charts” with voters, says pollster
Voters respond strongly to issues such as food safety or assuring that children, veterans and the elderly have enough to eat, said pollster Celinda Lake.
Lucas wants “work first” tested as path off food stamps
The House Agriculture chairman says he expects USDA to test the "work first" format as a way to move poor people up the job ladder and off the food stamp rolls. The approach worked as part of welfare reform, said chairman Frank Lucas during a hearing on employment and training programs associated with food stamps. "These programs are designed to get individuals to work as soon as possible and then offer additional training so they can improve their earnings," he said.
Rural poverty rate falls sharply, still above US average
The poverty rate in rural America was 16.1 percent, down sharply from the previous year, but still notably higher than the U.S. average, said the Census Bureau's annual Income and Poverty report. Census said the rural poverty rate dropped by 1.6 points for 2013, from 17.7 percent in 2013. One-fifth of Americans live in rural areas.
Three states drop out of “heat and eat” program
Three states decided not to put up the additional money needed to participate in a program that triggers additional food stamps for people who receive assistance with their utility bills - a program with the nickname "heat and eat," writes Alan Bjega of Bloomberg. Two of the states, New Jersey and Wisconsin, have Republican governors mentioned as possible candidates for president. The third state is Michigan.
WIC foods cost more at smaller stores
Participants in the Women, Infants and Children food program face notably higher prices at small grocery stores than at supermarkets, says a study by USDA and UC-Davis. Researchers looked at prices charged by retailers in California from 2009-12. A package of milk, eggs, cheese and peanut butter or beans was likely to cost $20.05 at a store with one or two registers while it would be $12.95 at a store with at least 10 check-out lanes.
Food-stamp cutter Southerland in close race in Florida
Second-term Rep Steve Southerland, the Florida Republican who proposed $40 billion in food stamp cuts as part of the farm bill, faces a tough contest for re-election, say Politico and Roll Call. In its "Homestretch" series, Politico says Southerland is among three House candidates repeatedly mentioned by GOP strategists as "well-positioned to win but seen as running poor campaigns."
With $200 million to divide, USDA seeks job-training ideas
The government will fund up to 10 pilot projects to provide food stamp recipients with the training and education to move up the job ladder, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced at a county employment office in Arlington, Va. The $200 million program is intended to improve the $400 million-a-year employment and training programs that are an adjunct of the major U.S. anti-hunger program.
Recession’s surge in food stamps reflected economic misery
The 2008-09 recession drove up food stamp enrollment by 19 million people, with the major increases clustered in regions with the greatest dislocation, such as Arizona, Florida, Michigan, and Nevada, rather than...
USDA asks comment on release of food-stamp sales data
USDA set a 35-day public comment period on how to comply with an appellate court decision for release of records showing a retailer's food stamp sales.
Ryan would fold food stamps into antipoverty grants
House Budget chairman Paul Ryan "outlined a plan to combat poverty on Thursday that would consolidate a dozen programs into a single 'Opportunity Grant' that largely shifts antipoverty efforts from the federal government to the states," said the New York Times.
House GOP eyes block grant, cost-share for food stamps
House Republicans want more cuts in food stamps, the largest U.S. anti-hunger program. Agriculture subcommittee chairman Steve King of Iowa rattled off a list of possible changes to the program - converting it to a block grant, requiring a state cost-share, ending so-called categorical eligibility, toughening work requirements, and closing the "LIHEAP loophole" - at a hearing on Thursday.
Food stamp enrollment falls for fifth month in a row
Participation in food stamps, the major U.S. antihunger program, is down for the fitfth month in a row, say USDA data. Some 46.1 million people received food stamps at latest count, down 3 percent since October.
Food stamp enrollment drops for fourth month in a row
Enrollment for food stamps, the largest U.S. anti-hunger program, is down for the fourth month in a row, according to new data from the Agriculture Department. Since the decline began last November, participation has dropped by 1.2 million people, or nearly 3 percent, to 46.2 million people in February, the latest month available.
Anti-hunger lawmaker expects more attacks on food stamps
Rep Jim McGovern, who opposed food stamp cuts in the 2014 farm law, says opponents are not satisfied with narrowing the connection between utility assistance and additional food stamps.
How much of grocer revenue comes from food stamps?
The government could soon be required to make public how much a retailer or a specific store records in food stamp sales, says a story in Mother Jones and produced in partnership with the Food and Environment Reporting Network; a longer version appears at thefern.org.
Two House chairmen put a bite on heat-and-eat
House Republicans, who have accused states of cheating by averting cuts in food stamps, have raised a new argument -- that state governments discriminate against some poor people by holding on to food stamps for other poor people.
Think tank says SNAP time limit would hit California the hardest
One in six of the older Americans targeted by an expansion of SNAP work requirements in the debt ceiling bill negotiated by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Biden lives in California, said the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities on Wednesday.