SNAP Benefits

SNAP remains a target for the GOP even as the farm bill deadline looms and food insecurity rises

Xcaret Nuñez

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is a flashpoint in Congress yet again as members work to renew the farm bill. And the debate comes in the midst of rising food insecurity across the U.S.

Many people who come to the Franklin Center's Food Pantry are either ineligible for SNAP or find the application process too difficult. "They asked too many questions for you needing assistance. If you've got so much a car or all of this, it's limited, but with these food banks, everybody pretty much gets the same thing," said Kansas resident, DJ, who declined to give her full name.

Harvest Public Media

Congress made SNAP work rules even stricter. Food advocates say one state shows likely impacts

Eva Tesfaye

Congress expanded work requirements for food assistance during the debt ceiling negotiations, a move that would normally happen in the Farm Bill. Shortly before that, the state of Kansas made similar changes.

Shoppers like those at this Kroger store in Rolla, MO will see higher food prices this year, especially for meat and fresh fruit.

Harvest Public Media

The pandemic boost to SNAP benefits ends nationwide in March

Katie Peikes

Emergency allotments that took effect in 2020 for those receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits will end next month. Many expect the decrease will be especially challenging for low-income families.

At a recent demonstration outside a University of Illinois Board of Trustees meeting, SNAP-Ed workers (and other university employees) lobbied for higher wages.

Harvest Public Media

SNAP-Ed pays workers so little that some qualify for food benefits themselves

Dana Cronin

The Supplemental Nutrition Education Program (SNAP-Ed) is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and helps SNAP recipients learn how to eat healthy food on a budget. Its employees complain of wages so low that they themselves qualify for SNAP.

Harvest Public Media

It's Unclear What The SNAP Benefits Increase Means For Food Pantry Traffic

Katie Peikes

The Biden Administration is giving a historic, permanent boost to the amount of money people get each month through the Supplemental Nutrition...

Harvest Public Media

States Ending Their Pandemic Emergency Declarations Surrender Extra Food Stamp Money

Dana Cronin

As states like Kansas and Oklahoma let their emergency declarations run out, they effectively take a pass on extra federal help with food stamps. Nearly...

Harvest Public Media

How Ag Programs Fare Under Trump’s Proposed Budget For 2020

Madelyn Beck

President Donald Trump’s 2020 budget proposal is getting a lot of attention for its call for more border protection, but it also makes major changes to...

Amy Truckowski (left) and Sandra Viloria are U.S. Army veterans. They carpooled to the Leavenworth Mission Food Pantry in March to pick up groceries.

Harvest Public Media

Serving And Hungry: How A Federal Rule Keeps Some Military Members From Food Aid

Peggy Lowe

Two women wheel a grocery cart across the parking lot to a white van, open the door and shove kids’ toys out of the way.

Bins of food wait to be sorted at Harvesters' warehouse in Kansas City, Missouri. It's a food bank that distributes to food pantries in 16 Kansas counties and 10 Missouri counties, according to Chief Resource Officer Joanna Seblien.

Harvest Public Media

Obtaining Federal Food Aid Takes Time, Patience

Erica Hunzinger

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the biggest federal program aimed at breaking the cycle of poverty that millions of Americans...

TSPR Local News

USDA Wants More Farmers Markets to Accept SNAP Benefits

The USDA said farmers markets can play a significant role in strengthening local food systems by accepting SNAP benefits.More than 5,000 markets across…