Nineteen states and Washington, D.C., had filed a lawsuit challenging the USDA's changes to food assistance, which would have cut 700,000 adults from the program.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture loosened requirements for children receiving free meals through their schools at the start of the coronavirus pandemic and announced Monday it would keep those flexibilities in place through the end of the year.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is resuming pre-coronavirus application and renewal requirements for food stamps. Washington, D.C. created a mobile public benefits app that officials hope will make it easier for recipients to apply and meet eligibility requirements.
In documents dating to 2006, government officials predicted that a pandemic would threaten critical businesses and warned them to prepare. Meatpacking companies largely ignored them, and now nearly every one of the predictions has come true.
Skeptics say the lack of enforceable federal safety standards geared toward the coronavirus allows these employers to prioritize the harvest over worker safety.
Even with the expanded benefits for out-of-work people, millions of families had to sign up for food stamps during the early months of the pandemic. Now even more people are expected to need the assistance.
COMMENTARY | Municipal composting programs, if executed on a large scale, can reduce food waste, cut greenhouse gas emissions and promote better stewardship of our soil.
By Kristen DeAngelis, Gwynne Mhuireach and Sue Ishaq, The Conversation
Local health departments that suspended in-person inspections of restaurants and bars are beginning to restart their programs and now have even more responsibilities than before, like enforcing social distancing.
A new lawsuit challenges health ordinances the city of Lincoln enacted after Nebraska lawmakers loosened state restrictions on the sale of home-baked goods and other cottage foods.
The findings released by the Census Bureau come at a time Republicans and Democrats in Congress are at odds over an extension of expanded federal unemployment benefits.
A federal judge had blocked the USDA from moving forward with requiring more stringent work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, saying they weren’t appropriate during the coronavirus pandemic.
With restaurants and schools closed, farmers lost their traditional markets for fresh produce. New state and federal programs hope to connect excess supply with the demand, including at food pantries across the country.