LINCOLN, Neb. – New legislation making its way through Congress aims to keep food on the tables of people struggling to find steady employment.

Since 1996, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) strips childless adults between ages 18 and 49 of benefits after three months if they don't work or enroll in job training for at least 80 hours a month.

Elizabeth Lower-Basch, who directs the Income and Work Supports Team at the Center for Law and Social Policy, says current rules ignore challenges faced by low-wage workers.

She cites one common example: "If you work at a retail store, they may schedule you for 20 hours one week, but then only 8 hours the next week. So, if you don't hit that 20 hours a week, you could lose your nutrition benefits even though you're working."

SNAP helps make food affordable for nearly 40 million low-wage workers, children, seniors and people with disabilities, including more than 175,000 Nebraskans.

The Trump administration has argued that increasing work requirements will help people escape poverty. In February, the administration proposed a rule to limit a state's ability to waive time limits in areas of high unemployment, which could lead to an estimated 755,000 people losing benefits.

CLASP filed comments objecting to the rule.

Lower-Basch believes time limits and other requirements for SNAP are frequently based on false stereotypes that perpetuate the myth that recipients aren't working and don't want to work.

She points to research showing that access to SNAP actually increases the likelihood of employment and self-sufficiency.

Approximately 58% of SNAP recipients work, and 82% were employed immediately prior to or after receiving benefits.

"Not being able to eat doesn't make anyone more able to find a job," she observes. "But also, the reality is, most SNAP recipients either are working while they're getting SNAP, having low wages, or [they] worked in the recent past or will soon."

Known as the Improving Access to Nutrition Act, House Resolution 2809 was introduced his month by U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., and has been assigned to the House Agriculture Committee.

According to Lower-Basch, the measure would give more than 3 million Americans more time to find employment with predictable hours and better wages, instead of leaving them to find a job on an empty stomach.



get more stories like this via email

Supply-chain issues, inflation and job loss during the pandemic have put many families' food security at risk.

In New Hampshire, food insecurity remains higher than pre-pandemic levels, and recent census surveys show 7% of households are considered food insecure, and the number jumps to 8% for households with children.

Jessica Gorhan, deputy director of New Hampshire Hunger Solutions, said the Granite State could do a much better job at utilizing federal nutrition dollars for programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and the one for Women, Infants and Children.

"For WIC, we only serve about 44% of those who are eligible," said Gorhan. "And for SNAP, we rank 39th in the country. For SNAP participation, New Hampshire misses overall 18% of independent individuals who are eligible but not enrolled."

Gorhan added that among the state's older population, that number is closer to 60%.

She noted there's a bill before the New Hampshire General Court to increase SNAP outreach, SB 404, that would help let more people know they could be receiving benefits.

Gorhan noted that even with more people enrolled in SNAP, some residents still might struggle to get enough food on the table. She said SNAP covers roughly a $1.40 per meal per person, whereas the average cost of a meal is almost $3.50 per meal per person.

"We need to expand at the federal-level eligibility so that more people have access to SNAP, but we also need to expand the benefits," said Gorhan. "So some of that has been happening through the pandemic, which has helped to offset the costs, but we know that those things need to be permanent."

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, food prices overall have increased 6.8% since November 2020.

Prices for meat, poultry, fish and eggs have gone up more than 12% and 4% for fresh fruits and vegetables.

Gorhan said two more bills could help - a WIC farmers market incentive bill, and a farm-to-school reimbursement program.

Advocates in the battle against food insecurity are urging lawmakers to find room in the upcoming Utah state budget to increase aid to food banks and other nutrition programs.

When the Utah Legislature's 2022 session opens, state agencies and social-service groups are hoping to make an ad hoc task force formed during the pandemic permanent, and that its recommendations will result in new policies in the battle against poverty and hunger.

Alex Cragun, food security advocate for the group Utahns Against Hunger, said the committee brings like-minded entities together to fight food insecurity.

"It is a working group of people that lead out on various federal nutrition programs like SNAP, WIC and others, where they come together and talk about how they can better work together to address issues," Cragun explained.

Cragun noted Sen. Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, is planning a bill to turn the informal Task Force on Food Security into a permanent entity. He said the coalition aims to find another $1.3 million for food banks, and to bolster state and federal nutrition programs.

Cragun pointed out Gov. Spenser Cox has left the door open in his budget proposal to find additional funds to make infrastructure improvements to dozens of Utah food banks, as well as help to feed more families.

"While the Legislature is still looking at an income tax cut, which Utahns Against Hunger opposes, the governor's budget provides certain alternative paths to better utilizing some of that funding, rather than simply cutting it," Cragun emphasized.

Cragun added the governor's budget also calls on lawmakers to either mitigate or eliminate the state's "food tax," which, depending on local options, added between 2% and 5% to Utahns' grocery bills. He thinks those resources should be aimed at families who fall outside the current benefit programs.

"Investment in working Utahns and those that needed help, and especially those that haven't benefited from federal programs," Cragun outlined. "I would mention members of the undocumented community, who don't have access to federal programs, depending on their household circumstance."

The 2022 session of the Utah Legislature opens January 18th and is scheduled to run 45 days.

A new online mapping project is helping connect local growers to regional markets in the state's Upper Coastal Plain.

Planning and Development Services Director at the Upper Coastal Plain Council of Governments Ron Townley explained the region's small farmers want to expand as a food source for more populated urban areas such as the Triangle - where fresh, local produce and meat are in demand.

"What we learned is that a lot of our small farmers and farmer's markets and local food suppliers are having trouble scaling up," said Townley. "Distributors are located outside the region. A lot of processing is outside the region, and a lot of the demand is outside the region."

He said anyone can submit new information on grocery stores, farms and gardens, Community Supported Agriculture opportunities and other aspects of food infrastructure in Edgecombe, Nash, Halifax, Northampton and Wilson counties.

The Healthy Food Access Mapping Project (Healthy FAM) is being led by the Upper Coastal Plain Council of Governments with support from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust.

The Upper Coastal Plain is currently designated by the North Carolina Department of Commerce as economically distressed.

Townley noted that healthy-food advocates are working to help secure more food-processing facilities, commercial kitchens, and cold-storage facilities to increase resources for growers.

"The local food movement in short really hasn't taken as big a root in this area as it has in some other areas," said Townley. "Grocery stores, banks and other things are shutting down in some areas. And it's creating food deserts."

Kendrick Ransome comes from generations of Black landowners in the region and owns Golden Organic Farm LLC. He said the map has helped him forge relationships with institutional buyers and find new resources.

"Being able to get connected to the earth, connected to the land, has helped shape me as a new-generation Black farmer," said Ransome. "So it's been a great tool to help farmers, especially beginner farmers like myself."

He added that he sees new interest in local food production, especially over the last two years of the pandemic and its affect on the supply chain and food insecurity.

Ransome said next year he has big plans to continue engaging with the community.

"A lot of education courses around teaching the community how to grow their own food organically," said Ransome. "As well as, we'll be building the infrastructure to be an incubator site for Edgecombe and Nash counties."

Black and Hispanic households are more than twice as likely as white households to report uncertainty in knowing where their next meal will come from, and the number of residents who rely on SNAP to purchase food jumped by 29% in 2020, according to the North Carolina Justice Center.