COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio's largest hunger-fighting network says it is deeply concerned about the potential impacts of President Trump's federal budget outline.
The lights would be shut off at 19 federal agencies, including the Corporation for National and Community Service, which runs AmeriCorps VISTA in Ohio. Maureen Allen. who oversees the program for the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, said VISTA members work on programs that fight hunger and poverty, including summer meal service for children and teens.
"The sites that request those resources have said unequivocally that they could not run these summer feeding programs without the help of the summer VISTA members," she said. "So, they would not be able to reach as many children, they would not be able to operate as many sites, especially in the rural areas. So if they had to close down some of those sites, those children would be going hungry."
Trump's proposal, released Thursday, called for $54 billion to be slashed from parts of programs and other areas of government to counterbalance a boost in military spending.
VISTA members in Ohio work on projects that foster community change, said Allen, from developing nutrition education for low-income families to mapping food deserts and social-service capacity for counties. She added that it's a win-win for the communities and VISTA members.
"They make a very modest living allowance and, at the end of their service term, they get the education award," she said. "They can use that to pay off student-loan debt or go back to school, and pursue higher education. So, it's a very low-cost program that has a three-to-one return for the community."
Trump's budget blueprint also would eliminate the Community Services Block Grant, the main source of funding for Community Action Agencies. Allen said these are among the few places where struggling rural Ohioans can get basic assistance with food, shelter and other resources.
The budget proposal is online at whitehouse.gov.
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Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer.
Federal officials have approved the Badger State's plan to join a new program that includes dozens of other states. Gov. Tony Evers has said Wisconsin is the first state to get the green light for the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer program, and 36 other states are poised to launch this summer. Eligible households will receive pre-loaded debit cards that families can use to buy groceries.
Shelly Fortner, executive director of The Hunger Task Force of La Crosse applauded the move, noting that half of kids in the local school district already qualify for free and reduced-price lunches during school.
"We've got families with low incomes - most of them working, by the way - but just not able to put that extra meal on the table for kids who are home during the summer months," she said.
This new permanent program, authorized by Congress, is similar to the enhanced meal access the federal government provided during the pandemic. Throughout Wisconsin, there are separate meal sites for these kids when school isn't in session, but supporters of the new effort say it provides more flexibility, especially for households with limited transportation options.
State officials have pointed out that most families already enrolled in the National School Lunch Program will automatically receive the summer benefits.
Fortner said meal access aids kids in their learning. For the summer, she said, the additional access will keep them active.
"We've had a lot of information about sedentary activities like video games and TV and all of that," he said, "but our kids are now getting outdoors more, and they need to have that energy to be able to keep that up."
She added that this should help foster healthy lifelong habits for kids and prevent them from starting the next school year feeling sluggish. For each eligible child, the state will provide a one-time summer benefit of $120. It's anticipated the money will be available in late June.
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Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online tool could help more school districts participate.
The effort is a key component of the Healthy School Meals for All initiative approved by voters in 2022.
Taylor Frederick - culinary programs manager with Nourish Colorado - said over the past couple of years, school meal operators have identified best practices that can be adopted by other school districts, including how to work with local farms and ranches.
"How you can find your local producer," said Frederick, "and even how to put out specific bids for specific local items, and how to work these sorts of things into your menus."
The new Colorado Local Food Program Guidebook, available online at 'guidebook.nourishcolorado.org,' offers tips and tools for launching and sustaining farm-to-school programs.
The guide also offers ways for parents and community members to engage with their local school district, to encourage them to opt into the voluntary program or make menu recommendations.
Frederick explained that the guide begins with a short quiz that helps direct users to the right resources.
For example, food producers who want to sell their produce to reliable kiddo customers can learn how school district cafeterias operate and purchase food.
"To better understand the school market channels," said Frederick, "the bid process, the price points that school districts are working with, their timing, and a little bit about their menus and products that they are looking for."
He said school meal operators can also get tips on how to transition from serving canned and processed foods to preparing meals with fresh ingredients through a series of training videos.
"Some different types of kitchen equipment that might be in the schools, we have training videos on those," said Frederick. "Some vegetable cookery techniques. Those were the big things that school districts and school meal authorities were really saying that they wanted."
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During National Nutrition Month, groups like Virginia Fresh Match are providing people with healthy fresh food options.
Since 2009, the coalition of farmer's markets and mobile food stores has been helping people on SNAP or EBT get access to healthier foods. Some groups have found almost 24% of the benefits are used for healthy foods, while more often they are spent on sugary snacks, premade foods, and meats.
Elizabeth Borst, director of advocacy for Virginia Fresh Match, said everyone should have the opportunity to access healthy foods.
"Just making sure that people both have access to high-quality food and that quality food is affordable to them," Borst explained. "Fresh fruits and vegetables can often be the last thing that people will choose when they are on a really limited budget, so we want to make sure that is accessible to people."
The Consumer Price Index showed food prices drastically increased between 2022 and 2023, but prices have slightly declined in 2024.
Food insecurity has been a long-standing issue for Virginians. Hunger Free America's 2023 Annual Hunger Survey found almost 774,000 people in Virginia are food insecure. Borst emphasized her group is focusing on its "food is medicine" work to ensure no one goes hungry.
While Virginia Fresh Match has been able to accomplish a lot during its multiyear history, there have been some challenges. Borst observed one long-term challenge has been funding sustainability. Like the rest of the world, the pandemic presented a significant hurdle for them, though it created some interesting changes.
"We just had a huge bump in our redemptions and usage of the program," Borst stressed. "That really didn't taper off even though there's been a 40% decrease in SNAP benefit allotments once the pandemic emergency benefits ended."
Emergency allotments provided all SNAP recipients with an additional $95 per month, affecting 470,000 families across the state.
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