SNAP
Food activist Gus Schumacher dies; former state, USDA official
A food activist with roots on a Massachusetts farm, Gus Schumacher had a hand in the creation of an antihunger movement that helps poor people buy more fruits and vegetables while boosting the income of local farmers. The executive vice president of nonprofit Wholesome Wave, Schumacher died Monday; he was in his late 70s.
Study: Timing of SNAP benefits tied to poor test performance
A new study by economists at the University of South Carolina found that kids whose families got their monthly SNAP benefits several weeks before a big math test did worse on the test than those who got their benefits closer to the test date, reports NPR.
Roberts rips states for ‘cheating and gaming’ to win food stamp bonuses
The government cannot be sure that food stamp money is dispensed properly because states obscured their payment errors in pursuit of USDA bonuses for efficient operations, said Senate Agriculture chairman Pat Roberts. "Simply put, no one knows the error rate of (food stamps) and that is unacceptable," said Roberts.
Poverty rate, at 12.7 percent, finally sinks to pre-recession level
The U.S. poverty rate fell for the second year in a row and, after years of slow economic recovery, it is back to pre-recession levels, the Census Bureau said in an annual report. The nationwide poverty rate for 2016 was 12.7 percent, down by 0.8 points from the previous year; the rural poverty rate – consistently above the urban rate – was 15.8 percent, down by 0.9 points.
USDA eases food stamp, school lunch rules in wake of hurricanes
With classes resuming in Texas following Hurricane Harvey, schools have federal approval to serve free meals to all of their students through the end of this month, said the USDA, which also relaxed its rules on when meals can be served and what qualifies as a meal. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the goal was " to make it as easy as possible to administer the school meals programs at this time to ensure that no child affected by this disaster goes hungry.”
SNAP benefits inadequate for healthy diet
A comparison of food stamp benefits and federal dietary guidelines finds that the premiere U.S. antihunger program "only covers 43-60 percent of what it costs to consume ... a healthy diet," says North Carolina State University. "The study highlights the challenges lower-income households face in trying to eat a healthy diet."
Silicon Valley looks to disrupt food stamps
As state and federal efforts to upgrade the civic infrastructure have faltered, the private and nonprofit sectors see an opportunity to provide "time-saving hacks" for recipients of food stamps and other public services, reports Wired. "There is an endless variety of apps designed to manage life for the upper middle class, but low-income Americans—a group that spends a disproportionate amount of its budget on basic necessities—don’t benefit from the same time-saving hacks," says Wired. "With a user base of nearly 43 million Americans, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides food stamps, is ripe for innovation."
Food banks brace for SNAP fight
The nation's food banks, worried that demand will overwhelm them if Congress follows through on threats to make substantial cuts to food stamps and other nutrition programs, are making their concerns known to key lawmakers, reports Politico. "Food banks and other anti-hunger charities spent the congressional recess urging lawmakers to protect SNAP, with a special focus on moderate Republicans, who will be key in the fate of their party’s decade-long budget plan."
USDA eases food-stamp rules in Texas in response to Harvey
The 3.75 million food stamp recipients in Texas are cleared to buy hot food with their benefits through Sept. 30 because of damage from Hurricane Harvey and schools in the disaster area can serve free meals to all of their students, said the USDA. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said President Trump "made it clear ... that process and paperwork can wait until later."
Rural poor more likely to use food stamps than urban counterparts
SNAP Maps, a new interactive tool from the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC), shows that, over a five-year period, "an average of 16% of rural and small-town households participated in SNAP, compared to 13% of households in metro areas," says Feedstuffs.
Perdue names former House staffer to run USDA nutrition agency
Brandon Lipps, who helped engineer $8.6 billion in food stamp cuts in the 2014 farm law, is the new administrator of USDA's Food and Nutrition Service, which oversees food stamps, school lunch and other public nutrition programs. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced the appointment of Lipps and two senior nutrition officials a day ahead of a trip, scheduled for today, to a summer meal site for school-aged children.
House Budget plan calls for stricter work rules for food stamps
To avoid "extended dependency," the Republican majority on the House Budget Committee would require food stamp recipients to work at least 80 hours a month or spend an equal amount of time in job training or workfare if they are able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs). The GOP's budget package, scheduled for a vote today in committee, also would give states the power to run program as they wish.
Is a penny on the dollar the same as $10 billion in farm bill programs?
House Budget chairwoman Diane Black is trying to line up fractious Republicans to support budget cuts of a penny on the dollar for mandatory spending programs over the next 10 years. If Budget Committee members agree, that ratio would trim around $10 billion from programs that would be part of the new farm bill, a smaller amount than the $17 billion cut from crop supports, conservation and food stamps in the 2014 farm law.
House ag chair sees enough money for farm bill, even with cuts
Chairman Michael Conaway says the House Agriculture Committee will have enough money "to craft a farm bill that works for all of our various stakeholders" despite a prospective cut in funding for farm and nutrition programs, according to Huffington Post. Conaway agreed to the cut as part of discussions among House Republicans, who want to increase spending on the military and reduce spending on social programs to help make room for a tax cut.
Food stamp enrollment to fall steadily in the decade ahead, says CBO
Enrollment in food stamps, the premiere U.S. antihunger program, soared after the 2008-09 recession, prompting conservative lawmakers to say middle-class taxpayers could not afford the program. With the economic recovery, CBO estimates food stamp participation this year will be the lowest since 2010 and will decline annually through 2027.
Outages ‘frequent’ issue for electronic food stamps
At a subcommittee hearing on 21st Century enhancements for the food stamp system, an official from one of the largest electronic payment processors in the world said "large numbers" of recipients "on a fairly frequent basis" suffer network failures when they try to buy food. A USDA spokesman said "outages are rare, and are usually swiftly resolved."
Food-stamp advocate expects House attack on the program
House Republicans voted repeatedly in recent years to slash food-stamp spending through approaches such as converting the program to a block grant for states to run or restricting eligibility. Rep. Jim McGovern, a Massachusetts Democrat, said he expects those ideas will be offered in coming weeks as the Republican-controlled House writes its budget resolution, given President Trump's proposal for a 25-percent cut in the program.
Perdue: We won’t let you go hungry but there are limits
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, who runs the federal farm subsidy and public nutrition programs, told a Montana audience that "my goal is to have a safety net for all American citizens, producers but also those who cannot afford (food) ... It is not in the heart of America to want to see anyone go hungry."