OMAHA, Neb. -- The number of Nebraskans not sure where their next meal would come from was on the decline in 2019, but that was before the coronavirus pandemic upended the nation's economy, sending millions of Americans into unemployment lines.

Mike Hornacek, president and CEO of the group Together Omaha, said September was the busiest month on record for his Omaha-based food pantry. Since March 16, Together has provided food to 127,000 visitors.

"The hunger and food-insecurity need has continued to skyrocket," Hornacek observed. "It is worse now than at what we thought was the peak of the pandemic back in March, April and May."

Hornacek's group is marking National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week with a virtual fundraising event at togetheromaha.org.

In previous years, Hornacek encouraged people to come out and volunteer, but for health and safety reasons, he said financial support is the most effective way for Nebraskans to help their struggling neighbors.

Together also has provided $830,000 in rent and utility assistance to some 2,000 households since the onset of COVID-19. Hornacek said families in places such as Omaha and Lincoln can turn to nonprofits for emergency assistance, but that's not always the case in rural parts of the state.

"We've seen people driving from very far distances to get food from us, farther than we've ever seen before," Hornacek explained. "The pandemic is exposing the limitation on resources when you get outside of the metropolitan areas."

Together currently serves some 250 cars per day, Monday through Friday, at their converted drive through pantry, but Hornacek warned working outside can only last so long.

The group recently purchased a building next door, an unexpected expense, to expand to 10,000 square feet for safe indoor service when winter arrives.

"While we did the big pivot to the drive-through pantry, we've been working ridiculously fast to hit a January 4th deadline," Hornacek explained. "And we're crossing our fingers and toes that Nebraska weather is really nice to us between now and then."


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Three weeks into state Senate Republicans' walkout from the Oregon Legislature, concern is growing the move could sink action on important issues such as addressing hunger in the state.

Susannah Morgan, CEO of Oregon Food Bank, said rates of hunger are still above pre-pandemic levels, and it is anticipated the food assistance system in the state will serve more than a million people this year.

"This is a crisis that so many of us need help feeding our families," Morgan pointed out. "In order to meet that crisis we need our government to work."

Republicans walked out on May 3 in part because of a bill which would expand abortion rights and further protect transgender health care. Senate Republicans have pledged to come back on the final day of the session, scheduled for June 25, to pass bipartisan bills. Morgan argued one day does not give the Legislature enough time to pass a number of important bills.

She said one important measure is Senate Bill 610, which would ensure people who are undocumented can receive food assistance. It is estimated more than 62,000 Oregonians are excluded from federal food aid.

"This would really, really, really help us address this deep hunger crisis," Morgan explained. "And that is stuck because nothing is moving in the Oregon Legislature right now."

Morgan added she is asking Republican senators to go back to Salem.

"This is not intended as a partisan statement," Morgan cautioned. "This is intended as a statement about what our communities need to ensure that their food needs are met right now."

More than 17,000 Kentuckians could lose food assistance when pre-pandemic SNAP work requirements go back into effect this summer, for adults between ages 18 and 49.

That's on top of a proposal House Republicans are pushing in the debt-ceiling bill in Congress that would implement work requirements for people up to age 55.

Groups working to fight hunger say the combination could trigger a food insecurity crisis.

Cassidy Wheeler, advocacy coordinator for the nonprofit Feeding Kentucky, said the Commonwealth ranks second nationwide for food insecurity among people in their 50s.

She said rural communities left behind in the tech era have made finding employment difficult.

"We have a lot of blue-collar workers here in Kentucky," said Wheeler, "who maybe have worked in factories their whole lives, farmed, or they've done some sort of physically intensive job that they're not able to do anymore. And they may not have the skill set now, to transition into a different field."

Backers of work requirements say it's one way to reduce fraud and trim the budget by providing aid only to those who need it most.

Anyone concerned about their eligibility should call the Department of Community Based Services at 1-885-306-8959 or visit the Kentucky SNAP Benefits website through 'kynect.ky.gov.'

According to an American Economic Association study, work reporting requirements could mean more than half of a state's SNAP participants losing assistance - and are most likely to affect people without stable housing.

Wheeler added that many older Kentuckians are living with conditions that make it challenging to meet work requirements, but they don't qualify for disability benefits.

"Taking away someone's SNAP benefits is not going to make them find a job faster or easier," said Wheeler. "They will just be hungry while they're doing it."

The Kentucky Center for Economic Policy estimates more than 9,000 people in 39 counties, largely in eastern Kentucky, would be exempt from reporting work hours due to higher-than-average unemployment rates.

Groups working to fight hunger in California are praising Gov. Gavin Newsom's proposed changes to the state budget regarding food assistance for undocumented people, but say they do not go far enough.

The governor's "May Revise" would allow undocumented immigrants over age 55 to participate in food assistance programs two years earlier than planned, starting in 2025 instead of 2027.

Tia Shimada, director of programs at Nourish California, said the state should not exclude people from CalFresh or the California Food Assistance Program because of their age or immigration status.

"Those inequities, they're written into our policies," pointed out. "They're a choice, and California can do better. Gov. Newsom and the California state Legislature should end the unjust exclusion of immigrants from food assistance."

Senate Bill 245 and Assembly Bill 311 would expand the food assistance programs to include from 580,000 to 670,000 low-income undocumented people under age 55. Opponents cited cost concerns.

Food insecurity is associated with negative physical and mental health outcomes and has been shown to impair cognitive development in children.

Ali Ahmed, a student at the University of California-San Diego, said it is tough for immigrant students who struggle to afford basic necessities.

"This is the case for many of my friends at school," Ahmed observed. "These immigrants are left to rely on food pantries or have to make hard choices between paying for school materials or buying food to keep them nourished and ready to learn."

Advocates have organized under the banner of the "Food4All" campaign, a coalition of 100 groups around the state. They say 46% of undocumented immigrants under age 55 experience food insecurity.


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