September 16, 2019

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Proposed Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Rule Change

Hunger declines, but some fear Trump proposals could reverse the trend (Philadelphia Inquirer, September 9, 2019)According to a recent food security report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the number of food-insecure households in the U.S. decreased from 11.8 percent in 2017 to 11.1 percent (about 14 million households) in 2018. “I think it’s good news,” said Jim Weill, president of FRAC. “But more work needs to be done.” Anti-hunger advocates cite the improved economy and SNAP benefits as significant reasons for the decrease, with SNAP greatly helping families from becoming hungry. Advocates also say that the Trump administration’s efforts to cut SNAP could undo these gains against hunger. “We need jobs, wage growth, and strong nutrition programs, which this administration is certainly eroding,” said Weill.

Hunger Free Vermont fights proposed changes to national Food Stamp program (Middlebury Campus, September 12, 2019)
According to FRAC, the Trump administration’s proposed changes to SNAP would jeopardize more than 500,000 children’s access to free school meals. The rule change also would eliminate SNAP benefits for 3.1 million Americans, and more than 13,000 Vermont participants. “This proposal is another in a long line of actions by this administration to demonize low-income Americans and keep them from applying for programs that help them and their families get what they need to thrive,” said Anore Horton, executive director of Hunger Free Vermont.

More than a quarter of SNAP recipients in Maine could lose benefits under Trump administration proposal (Bangor Daily News, September 5, 2019)
More than 44,000 Maine SNAP recipients could lose their benefits should a proposed rule take effect that would tighten the program’s eligibility requirements. The state Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) estimates that nearly half of these recipients are children, older adults, and people with disabilities. The rule also would cut automatic enrollment of children from SNAP households in free and reduced-price school meals.

Trump proposal threatens SNAP assistance to 68K children, families, elderly (NJ.com, September 10, 2019)
SNAP benefits, through USDA’s proposed rule tightening SNAP eligibility, would be denied to 68,000 New Jersey residents, making their current situations even worse, writes Adele LaTourette, director of Hunger Free New Jersey, in this op-ed signed by a coalition of anti-hunger advocacy and provider organizations. Of the number that could lose benefits, 26,000 are children under 18. The authors urge readers “to send a strong message to the Trump administration: Cutting aid to people struggling to put food on the table is bad public policy for us all,” and directs readers to FRAC’s comment platform.

Thousands Of Oregonians Risk Cut in Food Subsidy Benefits (The Lund Report, September 10, 2019)
According to a report from Mathematica and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, more than 66,000 Oregonians, or 16 percent of the state’s SNAP recipients, would lose their benefits should USDA’s proposed rule to tighten eligibility requirements take effect. Oregon is one of 20 states that would have a SNAP participation decrease of 10 percent or more; Wisconsin and North Dakota would have higher proportional impact, according to the study.

Study shows 11% of NC SNAP participants at risk of losing benefits (Salisbury Post, September 12, 2019)
Research by Mathematica, which was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has found that 11 percent of North Carolina’s 750,493 SNAP households would lose benefits under a Trump administration proposed rule to limit benefits. In North Carolina, 9 percent of households with children, 16 percent with elderly family members, and 7 percent with disabled family members, stand to lose benefits.

Public Charge Rule

The Food Research & Action Center Files Amicus Brief Opposing Public Charge Rule that Punishes Immigrants and Their Families and Increases Hunger (FRAC, September 12, 2019)
“This rule would increase hunger and poverty across the nation, and force immigrant families — including those with U.S. citizen children — to make impossible choices between food and family,” said Jim Weill, president of FRAC. “The intended effect of this rule counters everything that this nation stands for by instilling fear and making it tougher for immigrant families — particularly families of color and low-income families — to enter and stay in the U.S. legally and to access programs that safeguard their nutrition, health care, housing, and economic security.”

Poverty Data Released

Millions of Americans Continue to Struggle Against Poverty (FRAC, September 10, 2019)
More than 38 million people in the United States lived in poverty in 2018, according to the annual release of income, poverty, and health insurance data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The poverty rate for children in 2018 was 16.2 percent. The high child poverty rate in particular underscores the failure of the nation to reduce unnecessary suffering and invest in its human capital and future. Federal and state governments need to be doing more to reduce poverty and hunger, not taking steps to erode effective programs. However, the Trump administration’s recent proposals to cut people off food assistance could do just that, resulting in millions of people losing their SNAP benefits.

How SNAP helps New Yorkers in poverty (NYN Media, September 10, 2019)
According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data, SNAP helped lift 3.1 million Americans out of poverty in 2018, and New York State saw a 1.6 percentage point decrease in poverty from 2016 to 2018 because of SNAP. However, the Trump administration is proposing changes to SNAP that would remove 3.1 million people from the program. “What we do know [is] a lot of times when these rules happen, New York and California do take a big brunt of the consequences,” said Jerome Nathaniel, senior program manager at City Harvest. New York nonprofits recently mobilized with U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) to oppose the cuts.

College Student Hunger

Congressional Leaders Introduce Legislation to Address Hunger Among College Students (Black Star News, September 12, 2019)
Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) has introduced legislation, titled The Enhanced Access to SNAP Act (or EATS Act), which would amend the Food and Nutrition Act to include “attending an institution of higher education” as a form of SNAP qualification. The act would bring SNAP eligibility to millions of college students struggling with hunger. “That access to SNAP will promote college students’ food security and health now and help them stay on a path to complete their educations and look forward to brighter futures,” said Ellen Vollinger, legal director at the Food Research & Action Center. According to a Government Accountability Office report, food insecurity affects 39 percent of low-income students, and about 31 percent of those students are first-generation college students.

Disaster Nutrition Assistance

Food Stamp Recipients Got Help Early Before Dorian. Now They Could Run Out (WLRN, September 6, 2019)
In preparation for Hurricane Dorian, Florida SNAP recipients, who usually receive benefits between September 1 and 14, received benefits on August 31. Advocates are concerned that recipients may run out of benefits by mid-September. They are turning to food pantries and other emergency food providers for assistance, which are experiencing higher demand because of the hurricane. Karen Erren, director of the Palm Beach County Food Bank, said she heard from one pantry that recently ran out of food. Food insecurity affects about 185,000 people in the county.

September Hurricane Rains Early Food Stamps on NC (Rhino Times, September 9, 2019)
North Carolina issued September’s SNAP benefits to about 380,000 earlier this month so that residents can purchase food to replace food lost due to Hurricane Dorian. All SNAP recipients in the state, even those not affected by the hurricane, received their benefits by September 7. Normally, some of the SNAP benefits would be issued later in the month. The state Department of Health and Human Services also authorized remote/automatic issuance of WIC benefits in counties affected by the hurricane.

Georgia extends deadline for SNAP recipients to report food lost in Hurricane Dorian (All on Georgia, September 11, 2019)
SNAP recipients in 21 counties affected by Hurricane Dorian now have until October 3 to apply for replacement of food lost due to the storm; normally, recipients have 10 days after the loss to submit forms, which require verification of power outage. The hurricane displaced many low-income families from their homes for several days, and, according to Tom Rawlings, director of the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services, the families most affected by the hurricane had power outages that could lead to them being without food.

WIC

WIC — Helping Families for over 40 years (News-Examiner, September 6, 2019)
In the next few months, Southeastern Idaho WIC will start transferring WIC benefits from paper checks to electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards. With an EBT card, a WIC recipient won’t have to separate WIC and non-WIC foods at most grocery stores during checkout. Participants also will be able to purchase a few WIC items at a time with the cards, which they could not do when issued paper benefits. Some stores may even make it possible for WIC recipients to use self-serve checkout lanes. About 4,000 people a month participate in WIC in 10 Southeastern Idaho clinics.