SNAP

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Food Stamps Get Biggest Increase in History

White House raises average monthly benefits from $121 to $157

(Newser) - The Biden administration has approved a significant and permanent increase in the levels of food stamp assistance available to needy families—the largest single increase in the program's history, per the AP . Starting in October, average benefits for food stamps—officially known as the SNAP program—will rise more...

USDA Chief: We're Nixing 'Loopholes' for Food Stamps

New proposal from Trump administration could kick 3.1M people out of SNAP program

(Newser) - A new proposal from the Trump administration Tuesday could cut more than 3 million people from the food stamps program. Per Reuters , the Department of Agriculture says a tightening of who qualifies for SNAP, aka the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, would save the federal government about $2.5 billion annually;...

Trump Administration May Get Its Food Stamps Wish After All

USDA proposal would tighten waiver eligibility on work requirements

(Newser) - It may soon be more difficult to get food stamps if you're jobless. The Washington Post reports the USDA has a new proposal that would tighten eligibility for food assistance from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and it's tied to unemployment. Under the current system, most adults who...

Trump's Plan: Deliver Food Boxes Instead of Food Stamps

But critics say the idea of an 'America's Harvest Box' is 'prone to failure'

(Newser) - Trump administration members are hailing their newest idea as a "bold" approach that would save the government billions and feed more than 38 million people in low-income households, but critics are calling it an approach that's "prone to failure." President Trump's 2019 budget plan was...

Big Question on Snap: Can It Rebound?
Big Question on Snap:
Can It Rebound?
THE RUNDOWN

Big Question on Snap: Can It Rebound?

Competition from Facebook could be an issue

(Newser) - It was a tough day for Snap Inc., and particularly CEO Evan Spiegel, on Wednesday. Snap stock plummeted 24% to $17.59 per share after the company's first quarterly earnings report since going public showed disappointing revenue growth and the slowest pace of user growth in years, reports Business...

It's a Good Day to Be a Snap Co-Founder

Snap shares jumps 48% in IPO debut

(Newser) - Shares of Snap Inc. opened for trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday at $24 per share, up from the IPO price of $17 per share—and kept climbing, per MarketWatch . As of this writing, prices have risen 48% to over $25 per share. Snap co-founders Evan Spiegel,...

Bill Would Ban Food Stamp Sales of Steak, Lobster

But it's considered unlikely to pass

(Newser) - A new bill introduced by New York state Sen. Patty Ritchie would ban the purchase of "luxury food items" and less-healthy food choices through the state's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, the Daily Meal reports. The bill gives examples of foods that should...

Don't Mock Gwyneth's Week on Food Stamps

SNAP needs 'privileged, wealthy champions,' says columnist

(Newser) - Gwyneth Paltrow has undertaken that most favorite of celebrity challenges, living on a food stamp budget for a week—and so far, her efforts have been roundly mocked:
  • Her earnest picture last week of how little $29 will buy you included some weird stuff, like a bunch of cilantro and
...

We Don't Need a Farm Bill Anymore
We Don't Need
a Farm Bill Anymore
OPINION

We Don't Need a Farm Bill Anymore

Charles Lane: It's an out-of-date and expensive 'monstrosity'

(Newser) - In what is being hailed by many as a sign of progress in DC, House and Senate negotiators are finally poised to pass a farm bill next month. But at the Washington Post , Charles Lane has a fundamental question: Why does the US even need a farm bill? The answer,...

Glitch Torpedoes Food Stamps in 17 States

Xerox said it had restored service by last night

(Newser) - You might think that the nation's food stamps program finds its biggest threat in the House of Representatives , but yesterday it was an innocent test of a backup system that felled the system in 17 states, including Ohio and Michigan. The system failure that began yesterday morning took out...

House Slashes Money for Food Stamps
House Slashes Money
for Food Stamps

House Slashes Money for Food Stamps

Bill would cut $40 billion over a decade, setting up fight in Senate

(Newser) - House Republicans have laid down their marker in the fight over the nation's food-stamp program: They passed a bill tonight that would slash nearly $40 billion over 10 years, arguing that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is bloated and too-easily abused, reports the Hill . The vote was close, 217-210,...

Panera CEO Is Eating on $4.50 a Day for a Week

Ron Shaich says he can't stop thinking about food

(Newser) - Panera Bread CEO Ron Shaich is very hungry. "I can't stop thinking about food," he wrote on his LinkedIn blog yesterday. That's because he was on day 4 of a weeklong challenge to eat on just $4.50 per day. He's doing it to raise...

Food Stamps Shouldn't Pay for Junk Food

Congress needs to change the rules: Charles Lane

(Newser) - The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, you'll notice, has the word "nutrition" in the title. So why is it that SNAP debit cards, aka food stamps, can be used to purchase such decidedly non-nutritious items as Cheetos and Fanta orange soda? The Agriculture Department itself states, on its website,...

No More Sodas for Food Stamps
 No More Sodas 
 for Food Stamps 
mark bittman

No More Sodas for Food Stamps

Government is subsidizing obesity: Mark Bittman

(Newser) - It's time to stop letting people buy soda and other sugary garbage with food stamps, writes Mark Bittman in the New York Times . At the same time, the government can encourage healthier food choices by increasing the value of the stamps when used to buy fruits and veggies. The...

Cory Booker's Food Stamp Regret: I Didn't Buy Eggs
Cory Booker's Food Stamp
Regret: I Didn't Buy Eggs
weeklong challenge

Cory Booker's Food Stamp Regret: I Didn't Buy Eggs

Newark mayor thinks he should have clipped coupons, too

(Newser) - Cory Booker began his food stamp challenge yesterday, showing off his decidedly modest grocery haul for the week to the New Jersey Star-Ledger . The vegetarian mayor spent $29.78 on an assortment that included 17 cans of beans, seven yams, two bags of frozen vegetables, and two apples. "If...

In 1st, Bishop Convicted of Shielding Pedophile

Kansas City's Robert Finn gets 2 years probation

(Newser) - The first bishop in the history of the cleric child sex abuse scandal in America has been convicted of shielding a pedophile priest. Kansas City Bishop Robert Finn was found guilty on one misdemeanor charge and not guilty on a second charge, for failing to report a priest who had...

Files Reveal How Church Shielded Sex Abusers

Records reveal how abusive priests were rotated to other parishes

(Newser) - The church helped a California priest flee the country after his arrest in a child sexual abuse case, according to a cache of shocking documents kept secret for decades. Church treatment of Rev. Luis Eugene de Francisco was part of a pattern of behavior by some officials who knew of...

As Food Stamp Use Explodes, Stigma Fades

Americans 'who never thought' they'd use aid are relying on it

(Newser) - With one in eight Americans now using food stamps and 20,000 more signing up each day, "nutritional assistance" is becoming a normal part of American life rather than a shameful secret, reports the New York Times . In analyzing local data, the paper found that in 239 counties—as...

18 Stories