El gobernador de Colorado, Jared Polis, convocó a una sesión legislativa especial después de que votantes rechazaran los planes para brindar una reducción del impuesto sobre bienes inmuebles.

Polis también quiere que los legisladores ayuden al estado a cumplir un plazo federal para un nuevo programa de asistencia alimentaria que podría lanzarse el próximo verano.

Anya Rose de Hunger Free Colorado dice que el estado tiene la oportunidad de ayudar a unos 300,000 niños de bajos ingresos después de las cafeterías escolares cierran en verano.

"Reducir el hambre infantil, y llevar los recursos necesarios a las comunidades durante el verano," dice Rose, "eso ayudara a las familias a disminuir algo de la presión sobre sus presupuestos en este estado con un costo de vida realmente alto."

El nuevo programa EBT de verano ofrece a las familias que cumplan los requisitos de 40 dólares por niño al mes para alimentos comprados en establecimientos que atienden a beneficiarios del SNAP.

Los críticos de los programas de asistencia, incluidos los aumentos de las prestaciones del SNAP y los créditos fiscales por hijos durante la emergencia de salud pública, afirman que impiden que la gente se reincorpore a la fuerza laboral y puede conducir a la dependencia del gobierno.

Para poder optar al programa, las familias deben ganar menos del 185% del nivel federal de pobreza, unos $55,000 al año para una familia de cuatro miembros.

El verano es una época en la que el hambre infantil suele aumentar, y Rose cree que el programa ayudará a los trabajadores de Colorado a garantizar que sus familias reciban la nutrición que necesitan para volver a la escuela en otoño listos para aprender.


"Muchas de las familias que se beneficiarían de este programa trabajan muy duro para llegar a fin de mes," asegura Rose. "Muchas tienen varios empleos, pero no es suficiente para hacer frente al aumento del costo de la vida y alimentos."

Se espera que Summer EBT traiga $35 millones de dólares de impuestos federales a Colorado cada verano.

Rose dice que los productores de alimentos locales deberían obtener su parte en los mercados de agricultores que aceptan SNAP, y las tiendas de comestibles familiares en todo el estado también pueden beneficiarse.

"Es una inyección muy útil para nuestras economías locales, subraya Rose. "Sabemos que con los dólares del SNAP, cada dólar genera entre $1.50 y $2 dólares de actividad económica. Y esperamos un beneficio similar de Summer EBT."




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Now that President Donald Trump's big budget bill has been signed into law, Arkansas nonprofits that rely on federal funding to help people in need are trying to figure out how they will continue to serve their clients.

The legislation calls for cutting billions of dollars from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Lance Whitney, advocacy director with Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, said it would cost food banks across the state almost $46 million a year to continue to help those who face food insecurity.

"That does not include the cost of increased capacity needed to serve those individuals," said Whitney, "like in warehouse space, the vehicles the staffing to hand out that, the refrigeration. With those included it would ramp it up to an additional probably $10 million."

Whitney predicted that children, veterans, caregivers, and older adults in Arkansas will suffer the most because of the cuts. Arkansas has the highest food insecurity rate in the nation.

The federal government will start cost-sharing with states for SNAP benefits in 2027. The amount the government contributes to administrative costs will be cut from 50% to 25%, leaving states responsible for 75% of the total cost.

Whitney said state and local governments will have to divert money from other essential services to cover SNAP benefits.

"It can't be ignored when you have people who can't eat, health care that's going down, school lunches that can't be provided for," said Whitney. "So every community, every person in the state of Arkansas - whether you're a SNAP recipient or a Medicaid recipient, or just a community person - you're going to have a challenge with this."

The legislation expands work requirements for older adults and parents with children age seven and older.

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, that could take food assistance away from more than three million adults a month.





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Oregon lawmakers would have to find an extra $850 million in the state budget starting in 2028 to cover cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill just signed by President Donald Trump.

Alex Aghdaei, policy analyst and outreach coordinator with Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon, said the bill is projected to cause an estimated 100,000 Oregonians to lose SNAP coverage by 2034.

He said policymakers will face some hard choices going forward.

"We believe that there is no other option than to find the funding," said Aghdaei, "because our state simply cannot abandon the one-in-eight of all Oregonians that rely on this program to feed their families."

Aghdaei added that the bill makes more people subject to a work requirement, even though 83% of Oregon Trail Card users are already employed.

It also requires people to verify their eligibility more often, and it cuts the amount the federal government reimburses for the administrative costs of SNAP.

Aghdaei said low-income families will face similar paperwork obstacles to maintain coverage under the Oregon Health Plan because of huge cuts to Medicaid.

"Make no mistake, this bill will kill," said Aghdaei. "The level of cuts that the SNAP program will experience, in addition to Medicaid and other essential services, is frankly unheard of, and the impact in Oregon will stretch far across the state."

The legislature just concluded its 2-year session, but lawmakers will begin to address these issues in the short session next February.





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When North Dakotans head to farmers markets this summer, they might want to see which ones accept SNAP benefits, as the state is enhancing a search tool so that those eligible can stock up on fruits and vegetables.

EBT cards distributed through SNAP are now accepted at thousands of farmers markers across the country. North Dakota's agriculture department has updated its online Local Foods Map to indicate which locations within the state are part of the SNAP network.

Keith Knudson, executive director of the North Dakota Farmers Market and Growers Association, said it is another way to improve access to healthy food.

"We're seeing a lot more of those farmers markets in rural areas where we have issues with not having enough fresh vegetables in the community," Knudson explained.

He pointed out small town grocery stores have struggled to stay open and if those new rural farmers markets accept SNAP, program recipients have a dedicated source of fresh food for the season. Knudsen note it has been hard for some operators to implement SNAP payment systems but added the program is making improvements. On the updated map, a yellow star shows which markets are SNAP sites.

EBT users visiting farmers markets can stretch their benefits further through incentives. The "Double Up" option provides a dollar-for-dollar match for purchases of fruits and vegetables, meaning low-income residents can load up without depleting their account.

Doug Goehring, North Dakota's agriculture commissioner, hopes the feature boosts awareness and activity.

"Once they know that, maybe they'll seek them out, and it'll encourage more and more people to consider going down that road," Goehring stressed.

Agriculture leaders said increased program activity not only helps the SNAP recipient but also the local vendors by expanding their customer base.


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