Food

Extra Food Assistance Cushioned the Early Pandemic’s Blow on Kids’ Mental Health

COMMENTARY | Expanding SNAP helped shield low-income children from some of the harm caused by economic upheaval when the Covid-19 pandemic began.

  • By Grace Melo, Pourya Valizadeh and Rodolfo M. Nayga Jr., The Conversation

Kids Eat Free! States Push to Make School Meals Available to All

Lawmakers around the country have passed or are considering bills that would make universal free school meals permanent following the end of a similar federal pandemic-era program.

  • By Daniel C. Vock

States Strive to Help SNAP Recipients Cope With Lower Benefits

More than 41 million people bought food with SNAP benefits last year.

  • By Marsha Mercer, Stateline

States Scramble to Replace Ripped-Off SNAP Benefits

Food stamp cards don’t have the technological or consumer protections of credit and debit cards.

  • By Elaine S. Povich, Stateline

SNAP Emergency Allotments Scheduled to Terminate in March

According to hunger relief experts, amending the 2023 Farm Bill is the only sustainable way to shield rural households from increased food insecurity long-term.

  • By Kristi Eaton, The Daily Yonder

Biden Administration Looks for Ways to Provide More Free School Meals

With a pandemic-era program expired and no help from Congress on the horizon, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says his department is considering options for how it can take action.

  • By Kery Murakami

States Must Plug Into Federal Antifraud System for Food Aid Under New Rule

The system, meant to help prevent duplicate participation, is expected to make enrollment and oversight easier with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

  • By Natalie Alms

States Investing in SNAP Fraud Detection and Prevention

Several states won U.S. Department of Agriculture grants for services and programs to help stop fraud in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

  • By Kaitlyn Levinson

Advocates Look for New Ways to Fill City 'Food Deserts'

An estimated 53.6 million people live outside an easy walk or drive to a full-service supermarket.

  • By Caitlin Dewey, Stateline

More States Are Forgoing Extra Federal Food Aid

At least 16 states have opted out of receiving millions in pandemic food aid.

  • By Kristian Hernández, Stateline

Taco Bowls and Chicken Curry: Medi-Cal Delivers Ready Meals in Grand Health Care Experiment

In California's Inland Empire, where many residents have diabetes, a health plan is delivering healthy, prepared meals to those lucky enough to get them.

  • By Angela Hart and Heidi de Marco, Kaiser Health News

Code for America Unveils First States in Safety Net Cohort

The nonprofit aims to help states build digital tools and services to connect people with health, food assistance and other benefits programs. 

  • By Stephanie Kanowitz
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Distrust Keeps Families on SNAP From Buying Groceries Online

COMMENTARY | When buying groceries online, families eligible for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits are less likely to purchase both healthy foods, like fruits and vegetables, and sweets, a new study shows.

  • By Jade McClain-NYU , Futurity

Agriculture Department Offers Grants To Improve SNAP

The USDA says that the grants fall in line with administration priorities around equity and inclusion, as well as improving the customer experience of Americans interacting with government programs.

  • By Natalie Alms

Surviving Small Restaurants Push Forward as Pandemic Ebbs

At least 10 states introduced or passed bills this session to help restaurants.

  • By Aallyah Wright, Stateline

Mayors Call on Congress to Extend Expiring Pandemic Era Food Aid

Millions could lose food stamp benefits with the end of the federal Covid-19 public health emergency this summer.

  • By Kery Murakami

As Inflation Drives Up Prices, State Lawmakers Eye Cutting Food and Sales Taxes

More than a dozen states are considering such cuts, as others eye income tax reductions.

  • By Liz Farmer

What Does It Say About Your Neighborhood If the Supermarket Isn’t So Super?

COMMENTARY | A mother-and-daughter team went comparison-shopping to see what grocery store shelves revealed about inequity in America.

  • By Chaseedaw Giles, Kaiser Health News

About 1 in 3 Child Care Workers Are Going Hungry

Child care workers are at the center of the food insecurity crisis in America. In 2020, nearly one-third of them were food insecure.

  • By Colin Page McGinnis  , The Conversation

USDA Offers $1.5B to Help With School Meal Supply Chain Struggles

School nutrition officials have flagged concerns about rising costs and goods shortages.

  • By Bill Lucia

Plastic Trash in the Ocean Is a Global Problem, and the US Is the Top Source

An estimated 8 million metric tons of plastic waste enters the ocean each year – equivalent to dumping in a garbage truckload of it every minute. A new report calls on the US to help stem the deluge.

  • By Matthew Savoca Anna Robuck and Lauren Kashiwabara, The Conversation