SALT LAKE CITY - An advocacy group is opposing a massive increase in the sales tax on food as one of the changes being proposed for Utah state taxes.

Utahns Against Hunger has said a proposed 177% increase in state sales taxes on food could harm many low-income people and increase the rate of food insecurity across the state. Gina Cornia, the group's executive director, said the plan to tax food at the full state sales-tax rate of 4.85% would hit impoverished families with children hardest.

"From grocery trip to grocery trip, when you add up the sales tax on food, that may not seem like a lot to most people," she said, "but even if it's a few dollars, that's a few more dollars that you don't have to purchase groceries for your family."

The hike is part of a plan under study by the Utah Legislature's Tax Restructuring and Equalization Task Force, which was appointed near the end of the last session. The group of legislators and elected officials has been holding a series of town hall meetings around the state to develop a new tax structure, in a state economy where services are outpacing the sale of goods.

Cornia said an increase in food taxes would cost the average family about $20 extra a month, or slightly more than $240 a year.

"For the 15 percent of people who already are struggling to afford enough food, it will impact each one of those households," she said, "and when you look at households with children, that's one in six households."

She said she thinks lawmakers should look elsewhere to find more revenue for the state's coffers.

"It is important for us to think about the impacts of tax reform and to look at more progressive policies," she said. "Taxing food is a very regressive tax, and it disproportionately impacts the people who can least afford to pay it."

While SNAP benefits or food stamps are available to many poor families, Cornia said, they don't cover most of the monthly food bill. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, low-income families spend more than one-third of their income on food, while middle-class families spend about 13% of their income.

The remaining town halls will be held Saturday, July 20, at Grand Center, 182 N. 500 W. in Moab, with an open house beginning at 1 p.m. and the town-hall meeting starting at 2; and on Tuesday, July 30, at Utah County, Silicon Slopes/UTC, 2600 Executive Parkway, Suite 140, in Lehi, with an open house beginning at 6 p.m. and the meeting starting at 7 p.m.


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Arkansas is taking critical steps to address its high maternal mortality rate, especially among women of color.

In the Natural State, Black women are three times as likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than are white women.

Angela Duran, executive director with Excel by Eight, partners with families and communities to improve health and education outcomes for children up to age eight.

She said that as a result of focus groups and surveys, her organization has developed a new policy agenda that prioritizes maternal health.

"We are looking at is making sure that women have the right health insurance to cover them from prenatal to birth to postpartum," said Duran. "We have met some amazing doulas in the state of Arkansas, who have been very supportive to women, particularly some African American doulas, and been working with Black women around the state."

Duran said Arkansas now offers insurance to women up to 138% of the federal poverty level as a result of the Medicaid expansion.

She added that women at higher incomes can also access health insurance with low or no premiums, co-pays and deductibles.

Duran commended Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders' signing the executive order to address maternal mortality and increase access to doulas and various forms of health insurance.

Arkansas has a maternal mortality rate of approximately 44 deaths per 100-thousand live births.

Duran said her group's policy objective centers on examining populations that face disenfranchisement from systems for various reasons, hindering their ability to navigate existing structures effectively.

"In addition to maternal health, knowing that it has a stronger impact on Black women, we look at ALICE families - which stands for Asset-Limited Income Constrained and Employed," said Duran. "So, it's people that are working, doing the right thing, and still don't have enough income to meet their basic expenses."

Duran added that a prenatal care model called Centering Pregnancy helps to improves outcomes for Black and white women.

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences is launching a mobile version to reach underserved communities. It creates support groups for expectant mothers at similar stages.




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Supporters of a federal pilot program to distribute diapers to low-income families in Massachusetts hope to build upon its success.

More than 1 million diapers, along with wipes and other needed supplies have helped some 1,600 families over the past several months.

Adriana Leo, director of planning and grants management for Community Action Inc. in Haverhill, said the program gives parents with limited budgets a chance to get ahead.

"If a family knows that they have the diaper supply to send their child to care, they also know that they can then go to work, to their school programs," Leo explained. "They're going to be covered and their child's going to be comfortable."

Leo noted enrolled families have received 100 diapers each month, giving them the financial flexibility to cover other basic needs. More than one-third of Massachusetts families said they cannot afford enough diapers for their children.

The Massachusetts Association for Community Action, a coalition of more than 20 community action agencies in the state, was awarded more than 1 million dollars in federal aid to distribute diapers via four hubs across the state and Western Connecticut.

Rep. Mindy Domb, D-Amherst, is sponsoring legislation to create a state fund to keep up the effort, and has held diaper drives at the statehouse to build support.

"The biggest awareness building activity you can do is to hold a diaper drive and have people who haven't experienced the high cost of diapers recently go to the store and see how much they are," Domb asserted.

Domb pointed out diaper distribution is just one strategy to help families make ends meet, in addition to direct cash payments. She noted WIC and SNAP funds cannot be used for diaper purchases. The bill has already advanced to the House Ways and Means Committee.

Mary Marte, housing program director for North Shore Community Action Programs, said it is encouraging news, as parents have reported the challenge of paying rent and going without diapers at the end of the month.

"The clients and the families that we work with, they cannot afford to pay $3,000 rent in the north shore," Marte emphasized. "I think that people really appreciate the help."

Marte added she thinks of a young mother and her one-year-old daughter who have benefited from the diaper distribution program, who told Marte the diapers have brought her a sense of security as she attends college and the confidence to keep going.


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Student-loan borrowers in Mississippi and nationwide could have their debt reduced or eliminated through a new one-time adjustment by the U.S. Department of Education.

This summer, the Department will gives you credit towards loan cancellation through this adjustment if your loan is federally managed.

Cora Hume is an attorney with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and said this adjustment is designed to count more of the payments made - so they can be added to the payments required for cancellation.

The adjustment counts your loan payments made after July 1, 1994 - and in some situations your deferments, economic hardship allowances, and forbearances.

"Historically, borrowers of all ages have struggled to access this Income Driven Repayment benefit," said Hume. "It's really important that they do because it can lower their monthly payments based on their income and family size. This April 30 deadline applies to some loans."

In Mississippi, 145,000 borrowers aged 25 to 34 owe an average of more than $31,000.

Hume said those with nonfederal loans need to consolidate them into a direct consolidation loan with the U.S. Department of Education by the end of April to potentially benefit from this adjustment.

Hume emphasized that student loan debt does not discriminate, and their data shows that 2.7 million older borrowers owed an average of $41,000 in federal student loans in 2023.

She said between 2004 and 2022 there was a nine-fold increase in the number of older borrowers with student loan debt.

"Thirty-two percent of these older borrowers are struggling to pay their bills," said Hume. "In terms of this adjustment, we know that 62-plus borrowers are more likely to need consolidation to maximize the benefit of this one-time pay count adjustments. "

Hume pointed out that more than one million senior citizens are not in the direct-loan program and hold an average of more than $29,000 in debt from their college days.

She encouraged borrowers to visit StudentAid.gov/loan-consolidation to find out if they are eligible for the significant adjustment.




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