The newly named head of the USDA, Tom Vilsack, has introduced a new way of framing the issue of hunger relief in America: it’s about nutrition security, not just food security. Inadequate nutrition is leading to high rates of chronic disease including obesity, presenting nothing less than a potential national…
Posts published in “SNAP+”
The last time a U.S. president convened a serious examination of food insecurity was in 1978 under President Jimmy Carter. If Paule Pachter, the CEO of Long Island Cares, has any say, the next one will happen under the watch of President-Elect Joe Biden. Pachter sent a proposal letter to…
This summer, the government has taken steps to make it easier than ever for kids to participate in summer meals. At the same time, closures of libraries, summer camps and community centers because of the coronavirus have created additional challenges in finding places to distribute the meals. Food banks are…
The coronavirus crisis has put added pressure on SNAP, but there is some good news: greater attention is being paid to the need to make it easier for people to apply for and receive the benefit. The notoriously difficult process of applying for SNAP — involving pages of documentation and…
As the nation’s most important mechanism for getting people food, SNAP provides access to about ten times the amount of food as all the nation’s food banks. Here are the ways SNAP has expanded during the pandemic, and how advocates would like to see its reach go even further: Emergency…
At the same time that food banks are mobilizing to feed the millions impacted by the economic devastation caused by Covid-19, many are also ramping up to respond to a flood of calls from people needing assistance enrolling in SNAP. “We typically get about 100 calls a day regarding SNAP,”…
The lowly cardboard box plays a starring role in the USDA’s plan to purchase $3 billion worth of commodities from the nation’s farmers and pass it along to food banks and other hunger-relief organizations. The Coronavirus Food Assistance Program or CFAP, announced late last week, requires wholesalers and distributors to…
If you’ve ever wondered whether public comments sent in to the USDA to oppose proposed SNAP cuts make any difference, then Anore Horton, Executive Director of Hunger Free Vermont, wants you to know: “They make a huge difference.” Here’s why: By law, the USDA must take into account every public…
In 1977, participation in the two-year-old Summer Food Service Program reached 2.8 million kids. By 2018 — 41 years later — participation in summer meals had advanced to only 2.9 million. Why the slow growth? It’s not due to a lack of need, given that during the school year, about…