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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Happy Thanksgiving? Thousands in MA Facing “Meal Gap”

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Thursday, November 7, 2013   

BOSTON – During the recession, the stimulus package temporarily boosted the amount of SNAP or food stamp benefits.

But that's expiring, and households like Laurinda DeRosa's in Dorchester are going to see a drop in benefits this month – in her case $29 less per month.

DeRosa lost her job of 20 years for health reasons last November and figures Thanksgiving this year is going to be scaled back.

"It's going to be less than what I used to do,” she admits. “I went to a food pantry and put my name on a list for a turkey. You know, at least that can help."

Ironically, because her 21-year-old daughter lives at home and has a job and a paycheck, the household already receives less SNAP benefits than if DeRosa lived alone with her 11-year-old son.

She's kept her sense of humor about it, saying, "You know how it is with kids these days – they won't leave!"

Anti-hunger advocate Pat Baker of the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute explains how SNAP regulations can work against a household like DeRosa's.

"The daughter, who has a minimum wage job, is supporting the family,” she points out. “She doesn't have the option of not getting her income counted. And the family's relying on her income and a small amount of food stamps.”

About 888,000 Commonwealth residents – or nearly 14 percent of the population – receive SNAP benefits.

Baker says the Farm Bill currently in different forms in the House and Senate would include additional cuts to SNAP, which she says would be unconscionable.

"We can't handle any more cuts to the SNAP program,” she insists. “Congress should be restoring the benefits that are being taken away in November and the rest of the fiscal year."

While Congress considers more ways to cut SNAP benefits, DeRosa is resolved to not let that sour her family’s Thanksgiving.

"I'm not going to let that happen,” she says. “I mean, it's a joyful, you know, being with your family on this time of Thanksgiving. But I'll make the best of it."





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