SNAP
Multibillion-dollar debt relief for minority farmers is backed by House committee
The House Agriculture Committee approved a landmark $4 billion program of debt relief for socially disadvantaged farmers on Wednesday despite Republican objections that the aid was an unconstitutional form of reverse discrimination. Chairman David Scott, a Georgia Democrat, said minority farmers deserved the help because they had been overlooked in the mammoth trade war and coronavirus relief programs that began in 2018.
Pandemic leads to highest SNAP enrollment in three years
Food stamp enrollment has surged by 6 million people since the pandemic hit the United States, said the USDA on Wednesday in its first update of SNAP participation in months. Some 42.9 million people received food stamps at latest count, the highest number since October 2017.
‘Substantial investments’ needed in public nutrition, says senator
Congress can reduce hunger during the pandemic by extending the 15 percent increase in SNAP benefits and providing an additional $3 billion for WIC, as suggested by President Biden, said Sen. Bob Casey to the Consumer Federation of America on Tuesday. "We have to stay on that path where we're focused on substantial investments" in public nutrition.
USDA withdraws proposals on poultry plant line speeds and SNAP
With executive orders, Biden gives anti-hunger advocates a big slice of what they wanted
Amid the flurry of executive orders that marked his first 48 hours in office, President Joe Biden announced on Friday that he will ask the USDA to expand two critical food-assistance programs, as hunger continues to plague millions during the pandemic. The orders will raise SNAP benefits and increase funds awarded through the Pandemic-EBT program, which transfers the dollar amount of school lunches onto debit cards to compensate for meals kids miss while schools are closed. The early moves confirm expectations that the new administration will be serious about tackling food insecurity, through both general financial assistance and targeted food aid.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
First 100 days: From targeted assistance to SNAP reform, how Biden should tackle the hunger crisis
Two days before he was inaugurated, President-elect Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, spent Martin Luther King Jr. Day in a parking lot in Philadelphia, volunteering with Philabundance, a nonprofit that provides food to families in need. Their show of support for food-distribution efforts reflects what advocates say is a promising new start when it comes to curbing America’s hunger crisis.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Biden: Higher SNAP benefits for the rest of the year
As part of his $1.9 trillion coronavirus package, President-elect Joe Biden said on Thursday that the 15 percent increase in SNAP benefits approved last month should be extended through the end of this year. Biden, announcing his American Rescue Plan, vowed his administration would "tackle the growing hunger crisis in America."
Trump administration revives the food-box giveaway
Farmers need coronavirus aid less than hungry people, say economists
Congress allotted the same amount of funding for public nutrition programs that it did for agriculture in the new coronavirus relief bill, even though hunger is on the rise, wrote three economists on Tuesday. "An obvious way to address the problem would be to shift all or most of the $13 billion earmarked for farmers to federal nutrition programs that serve hungry families in real need," the economists said in an essay in The Hill.
Coronavirus package boosts SNAP benefits, aids farmers
Congress was expected to pass a $900 billion coronavirus package on Monday that includes a temporary 15-percent increase in SNAP benefits and up to $8.2 billion for farmers and ranchers. House and Senate leaders announced agreement on the package on Sunday evening. President-elect Biden, while applauding the package, said he will propose additional aid as soon as he takes office.
Farm groups cheer, progressives lament return of Vilsack to USDA
President-elect Joe Biden's selection of Tom Vilsack as agriculture secretary angered farm and food activists who feuded with Vilsack during the Obama years and had hoped for a progressive agenda under Biden. The largest U.S. farm groups welcomed Vilsack on Wednesday as an experienced leader for the recovery from the trade war and the pandemic.
Coronavirus package boosts SNAP benefits by 15 percent
A bipartisan Senate coronavirus relief package would increase SNAP benefits by 15 percent through April and provide additional funding for WIC and food donations to food banks, according to a summary released on Wednesday.
Biden chooses moderate Vilsack to return as agriculture secretary
Tom Vilsack, agriculture secretary throughout the Obama years, is President-elect Biden's choice to lead the USDA and U.S. agriculture through the recovery from a trade war and the Covid-19 pandemic. A former governor of Iowa, Vilsack was a top backer of Biden in rural America during the fall campaign and would come to the Biden administration with friendly relations with lawmakers and farm groups.
In Puerto Rico, 40 percent suffer food insecurity with no end in sight
Even before the pandemic, Denise Santos was struggling to get food to in-need families in Puerto Rico. As president of the Banco de Alimentos de Puerto Rico, the island’s largest food bank, she had spent the years that followed Hurricanes Irma and Maria—which devastated Puerto Rico in 2017—working to fight hunger. Then, in January, a massive earthquake hit, unleashing thousands of smaller temblors that left thousands of families homeless, and destroyed infrastructure. Two months later, the pandemic struck. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Small share of coronavirus package for food aid and farmers
The final coronavirus aid package of the year would direct 3 percent of its $900 billion in funding to food assistance and relief for agricultural producers, according to its Democratic and Republican sponsors. "It's a deal that must come together," said one of the sponsors, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, on Sunday.
Record-high ag subsidies to supply 39 percent of farm income
Despite the effects of the pandemic and the trade war, U.S. farm income this year will be the highest since 2013 because of the largest federal payments ever — $46.5 billion, triple the usual amount, the government said on Wednesday. Think tank analysts said farm income would fall in 2021 with the expiration of Trump-era bailouts, but the drop-off will be lessened by the ongoing rally in commodity prices and increased ag exports.
A ‘hungry winter’ ahead, as food insecurity remains severe
Child hunger has dipped since the summer but still remains near record levels, according to a new analysis from The Brookings Institution’s Hamilton Project. With Thanksgiving around the corner, the findings point to enduring hardship and food insecurity, eight months after the first pandemic-related shutdowns began. <strong> (No paywall) </strong>
Boost SNAP benefits by 15 percent, says Fudge, potential USDA nominee
House defeats Trump-backed government funding bill
One day after President-elect Donald Trump shot down a stopgap government funding bill, the House defeated a Trump-backed bill written by Republicans to keep the government running until March 14. The GOP bill included $31 billion to buffer the impact in rural America of natural disasters and lower farm income.