SNAP
Advocates implore Congress to increase spending on anti-hunger programs
In a largely positive review of government programs to address mounting hunger during Covid-19, a panel of experts and advocates speaking at the National Food Security Conference on Wednesday encouraged Congress to boost spending on the anti-hunger programs it has developed since the pandemic began. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
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.
White House cites USDA ‘poison pills’ in threat to veto $260 billion spending bill
The White House listed five dozen objections to parts of a $260 billion government funding bill, including bans on implementing two Trump regulations to narrow SNAP eligibility, on Thursday, and threatened a presidential veto. As the House debated the appropriations bill, Republican senators worked on coronavirus relief legislation expected to include billions of dollars of new agricultural assistance.
Perdue gets $20 billion blank check for ag aid in GOP coronavirus plan
Senate Republicans proposed $20 billion in additional aid to agriculture in their new coronavirus package on Monday, leaving it to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to allot the money. At the same time, Republicans decided against an increase in food stamp benefits, a goal of House Democrats. The proposed increase in farm aid came as the USDA released figures showing that it has only spent a little more than 40 percent of the $16 billion that was earmarked for farmers and ranchers in the CARES act. (No paywall)
Democratic platform redirects farm subsidies, boosts SNAP
Farm subsidies would be reformed "to better support small- and mid-sized farms" if Joe Biden is elected president, says the draft platform written ahead of next month's Democratic National Convention. "Democrats will increase funding for food assistance programs, including SNAP, WIC, and school meals."
Food stamp rolls surge by 6 million people during pandemic
Some 43 million people — or more than one in eight Americans — received food stamps in May, an increase of 6.2 million in three months since the coronavirus pandemic swept the country and economic recession threw millions of people out of work. SNAP enrollment is the highest since October 2017. (No paywall)
Farm, anti-hunger groups try to squeeze into $1-trillion pandemic bill
"Everything's on the table" as Congress sets to work on a new coronavirus relief bill, and most of it will end up in the wastebasket, said Senate Finance chairman Chuck Grassley. Farm groups are pressing for billions of dollars in aid to offset low commodity prices and anti-hunger activists say a temporary increase in SNAP benefits would reduce hunger and stimulate the economy.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
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.
Online SNAP grocery shopping tainted by ‘manipulative’ tactics, says report
State after state joined a USDA pilot program this spring that allows SNAP participants to buy groceries online as a way to reduce the chance of contracting Covid-19. But now, said a report released Thursday, SNAP shoppers face "an often manipulative and nontransparent grocery marketplace" when they shop via the internet. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
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>
FDA may gain power to order drug recalls
The House Appropriations Committee voted on Thursday to give the Food and Drug Administration the power to order the recall of unsafe prescription and over-the-counter drugs rather than having to ask manufacturers to recall the products voluntarily. The language was added to the $153-billion USDA-FDA funding bill for fiscal 2021, which was approved by voice vote and now goes to the House floor for debate.
House panel votes to block two Trump rules restricting SNAP access
Pandemic rages, but USDA’s food box program may end in eight weeks
As it announced contracts for up to $1.47 billion to carry the Farmers to Families Food Box initiative through July and August, the USDA also said the program could end on Sept. 1, or soon afterward, as funding for the food giveaway program runs out. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has highlighted the Food Box as a boon to hungry Americans during the coronavirus pandemic, while the White House opposed a temporary expansion of food-stamp benefits.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
A grassroots push for higher SNAP benefits
SNAP rolls rose as coronavirus spread across U.S.
Food stamp enrollment climbed by 479,000 people, or 1.3 percent, in March, in the early days of combating the novel coronavirus and the economic slowdown that accompanied it, said the USDA. Experts have said the pandemic could result in the highest SNAP participation ever, topping the record of 47.6 million during fiscal 2013 during the slow recovery from the Great Recession.</strong>(No paywall)</strong>
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>
Farmers markets fought to stay open during the pandemic. Now many can’t make ends meet.
At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, farmers market advocates successfully argued for markets across the country to continue operating as essential businesses. Yet as the pandemic stretches into its third month, many markets face existential budget shortfalls as the public health emergency keeps shoppers home and raises their operating costs.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>