food-insecurity

Pa. announces second round of emergency food assistance funding for food banks, pantries

BY: - October 17, 2023

Qualified food banks, pantries, shelters, and soup kitchens are invited to apply for the $2.5 million in funding available through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) Reach and Resiliency Grants.

Fetterman introduces legislation to cancel school lunch debt

BY: - September 25, 2023

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) has introduced legislation, along with Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) that would cancel school lunch debt nationwide. The bill would apply to all “debt,” incurred under the National School Lunch Program, which operates at public and nonprofit private schools. “‘School lunch debt’ is a term so absurd […]

Food benefits for low income families at risk in a government shutdown, White House says

BY: - September 25, 2023

WASHINGTON — As Congress barrels toward a partial government shutdown, the White House Monday warned that a program that helps millions of low income families afford healthy food could see substantial cuts. The White House released a state-by-state breakdown, estimating that nearly 7 million people who rely on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, […]

Campus food pantries are seeing greater demand — and more state dollars

BY: - August 31, 2023

SOUTH BRONX, New York City — In the South Bronx, one of the nation’s poorest communities, Hostos Community College has long positioned itself as an educational pathway out of poverty. But to make that journey, many Hostos students must contend with more than their schoolwork. Without the school’s child care center, students who are single […]

As Pa. sees record number of SNAP recipients, advocates call for a minimum wage increase

BY: - July 21, 2023

Pennsylvania recorded its highest-ever number of food-assistance recipients — nearly 2 million Pennsylvanians — in June, alarming already strained charitable food pantries and increasing concern among researchers and anti-hunger advocates. The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services reported that in June 5,000 additional residents had enrolled in SNAP, the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, bringing the […]

Pa.’s Fetterman, U.S. Senate Dems seek answers from USDA on SNAP program changes

BY: - June 26, 2023

'We remain concerned about the changes to eligibility and increases to work requirements overall,' the lawmakers wrote.

COMMENTARY
Customers shop for fresh fruits and vegetables at Campbell’s Market, April 24, 2023, in McArthur, Ohio. Campbell’s has worked to provide healthy food options to the McArthur community. (Photo by Graham Stokes for the Ohio Capital Journal).

Pa.’s food assistance programs need legislative support | Opinion

BY: - June 9, 2023

There isn’t a single county in Pennsylvania without a family experiencing food insecurity.

Customers shop for fresh fruits and vegetables at Campbell’s Market, April 24, 2023, in McArthur, Ohio. Campbell’s has worked to provide healthy food options to the McArthur community. (Photo by Graham Stokes for the Ohio Capital Journal).

Dollar stores, giant grocery chains push healthy food out of reach for many, activists say

BY: - June 6, 2023

Walmart, Amazon, and Kroger already control a huge amount of the nation’s grocery business.

Pa. food policy council aims to improve food security, accessibility

BY: - June 1, 2023

The Pennsylvania Food Policy Council was created by an executive order from former Gov. Tom Wolf in December 2022 in the wake of soaring food prices and the dissolution of pandemic-era nutrition programs.

SCHOOL LUNCH ART GETTY

More states line up to serve free school meals to all kids

BY: - May 30, 2023

Universal free meals during the pandemic removed the ‘free-lunch kid’ stigma.

COMMENTARY

A debt ceiling deal can’t come on the backs of Pennsylvanians in need | Opinion

BY: - May 18, 2023

We should be supporting families — not imposing work requirements that don’t work.

SCHOOL LUNCH ART GETTY

A pandemic experiment in universal free school meals gains traction in the states

BY: - April 24, 2023

'When we feed our children, we’re feeding our future,' New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said.