The final day of FERN’s food-waste series: the role of farm-labor abuse, and charting waste through apples
An estimated 33 percent — some 78 million tons — of the U.S. food supply is wasted every year, including nearly a pound of food per day in every household. This in a country with some 44 million food insecure people. It’s also a climate problem; all the waste generates methane, a greenhouse gas more potent than carbon dioxide. Can’t we just send would-be-wasted food to hungry mouths? Unfortunately, our food system is notoriously inefficient, with waste found on farms, in grocery stores, schools, and our refrigerators.This special six-part series, produced in partnership with Inverse, looks at how data, technology, ingenuity, and common sense can be used to fight this waste. With all these ingredients, and a handful of worms, the solution may be within reach.
Hunger worsens in global hot spots
From Haiti to Zambia, the world’s hunger hot spots will see rising food insecurity in the months ahead, said a United Nations report, urging prompt action to mitigate the crises. “We must ... act now to stop these hot spots from igniting a firestorm of hunger,” said Cindy McCain, executive director of the World Food Program.
Next up in FERN’s special food-waste series: grocery stores and schools
An estimated 33 percent — some 78 million tons — of the U.S. food supply is wasted every year, including nearly a pound of food per day in every household. This in a country with some 44 million food insecure people. It’s also a climate problem; all the waste generates methane, a greenhouse …
GOP farm bill increases crop subsidy ceiling by 24 percent
Row-crop farmers would be able to collect up to $155,000 a year in crop subsidies, a $30,000 increase from the current limit, under the farm bill written by House Republicans and scheduled for a committee vote on Thursday. And, for the first time, the subsidy ceiling, often a lightning rod for reformers, would be adjusted annually for inflation.
Food insecurity twice as high in U.S. military as among civilians
A quarter of the U.S. military experienced food insecurity in recent years, more than twice the civilian rate of 10 percent, said a USDA report on Thursday. Rates were highest among active-duty personnel under the age of 25 who were members of a minority group and whose spouses were unemployed.
USDA announces update of WIC food packages
The USDA has completed a months-long update of the foods available through the Women, Infants, and Children program (WIC) to reflect the latest nutrition science, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Tuesday. The new list, which includes a significant expansion of fruit and vegetable benefits, would take effect in about 60 days.
Crime rings target EBT cards, say police
Authorities arrested 10 immigrants from Romania and Italy on charges of "skimming" EBT cards to steal SNAP and welfare benefits from California recipients, a crime that has increased in the past couple of years and occurs nationwide. Since June 2022, more than $181 million in EBT benefits were stolen in California, mostly by unauthorized ATM withdrawals, said the Secret Service. (No paywall)
Study: Climate change will drive up food costs, threatening political stability
Global warming may drive up food inflation by as much as 3.2 percentage points a year, based on temperature increases projected for 2035, according to a paper published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment on Thursday. Warming is also projected to cause an overall rise in inflation of up to 1.2 percent annually during that period.
School meals participation declined in 2022-23 school year
The number of students eating meals at school declined in 42 states and the District of Columbia during the first year since the expiration of pandemic-era waivers that allowed all students, regardless of family income, to eat for free. But eight states — all of which continued to serve meals for free to all, or used the Community Eligibility Provision to offer free meals at a significant number of schools — bucked the trend and reported increases in participation, according to a new report from the Food Research & Action Center.
Rice prices are up as India restricts exports
The global rice market is still feeling the impact of India’s decision last August to limit its rice exports in the name of battling high domestic food prices, said two IFPRI analysts. “Rice-importing countries in sub-Saharan Africa have felt the greatest impacts, scrambling to find alternative sources even as global rice prices have risen more than 20 percent since India imposed its restrictions,” they wrote in a blog.
Why are GOP governors taking food out of children’s mouths?
In FERN’s latest story, published with Mother Jones, Bryce Covert explores why 15 states are refusing to participate in Summer EBT, a new federal program that gives poor families with children money for groceries during the summer when they can’t get meals at school.
School food directors call for free meals for all students
Congress should offer free meals to all school students and increase the federal reimbursement for each meal that is served, said the School Nutrition Association on Tuesday, speaking for school food directors. "Research shows students eat their healthiest meals at school, and school nutrition programs need Congress' support to sustain that achievement," said SNA president Chris Derico.
Food insecurity soars 30 percent as pandemic aid ends
More than 44 million Americans experienced food insecurity last year, the highest number since 2014, at the same time that pandemic assistance was reduced, said a USDA report on Wednesday. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and anti-hunger groups called on Congress to protect funding for public nutrition programs, including WIC and SNAP.
Russia benefits from throttling Ukrainian grain traffic
Russia's months-long drive to shut off Ukraine grain exports has produced both financial and diplomatic gains for President Putin, said a Washington think tank. "Securing ample and low-cost export routes for Ukrainian grain and increasing investments to rebuild Ukraine's agricultural sector are crucial to to defusing what has become one of Russia's most potent weapons in its war with Ukraine," said the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Report: Food insufficiency grew when SNAP benefits shrank
Two million SNAP households "faced food insufficiency" following the nationwide termination in March of so-called emergency allotments enacted during the pandemic, said researchers from the University of Pennsylvania medical school.
Ukraine grain exports to suffer as Russia blockades Black Sea
The United States will work with allies to find new ways to get Ukrainian grain onto the world market following Russia's decision to effectively blockade its ports again, said an administration spokesman on Monday. Nonetheless, exports from Ukraine, a leading supplier of wheat, corn, and sunflower oil, are sure to decline with the demise of the year-old Black Sea grain agreement, he said.
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.
Debt deal toughens SNAP rules for some, eases them for others – White House
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy agreed in debt limit negotiations with President Biden to exempt able-bodied veterans and homeless Americans from a 90-day limit on SNAP benefits, said two White House officials. But the agreement also applies the 90-day limit to so-called ABAWDS — able-bodied adults without dependents — up to age 55; the cutoff age is 50 now.
Think tank says GOP expansion of SNAP time limit affects 1 million people
About 1 million Americans would be affected by the House Republican plan to apply more broadly a 90-day limit on SNAP benefits to people who do not work at least 20 hours a week, said a think tank on Monday. “Not everyone newly subject to the requirement would lose benefits,” said the Center …