News on SNAP and federal hunger policies from FRAC

This update on SNAP Access, Free School Meals & Summer EBT is from the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) News Digest, dated December 2

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) 

Could a Grocery Delivery Site Help Get More People Signed Up for SNAP?, Marketplace, November 27, 2024 
While over 42 million people currently receive grocery assistance through SNAP, there are many more who are eligible but not enrolled. A new screening tool launched by grocery delivery app Instacart hopes to help people find out if they could be eligible, and connect them to state resources. “We think that’s fantastic,” says FRAC SNAP Director Salaam Bhatti. “We’re really hopeful that a lot of other corporations and organizations will also follow suit.” 

SNAP Falls Short. Congress Should Stand Up and Make Benefits Match the Cost of Food, Rhode Island Current, November 28, 2024 
About 14 percent of Rhode Island’s population is enrolled in SNAP, receiving an average monthly benefit of $200 per person to shop for food. According to Rhode Island Community Food Bank CEO Andrew Schiff, SNAP benefit allotments fall short due to the high price of food. Rhode Islanders are turning to food pantries and meals sites to pick up the slack in ever greater numbers. Schiff says Congress must tackle this problem in the upcoming Farm Bill by increasing SNAP benefits to match the real cost of food.  

SNAP Braces for Cuts Under Trump, Policy Analysts Say, Grocery Dive, November 26, 2024  
Families with low incomes are being hammered by food inflation, says Salaam Bhatti, director of SNAP at FRAC. “Hunger affects every single congressional district,” according to Bhatti. “It affects all types of people, everybody, everywhere. No zip code is not affected by hunger.”  

Food Stamp Fraud Forces Georgia Families to Go Without This Thanksgiving, Fox5 Atlanta, November 26, 2024 
Georgia’s Department of Human Services has logged over 14,000 claims of SNAP fraud since October 2023; over 12,000 of those claims have been approved for replacement benefits. The state has issued $6.4 million in replacement benefits to make SNAP recipients whole. One Atlanta-area woman says she was robbed to the tune of $1,500 this November, leaving her with no options for Thanksgiving dinner.  

Healthy School Meals for All 

How Trump Could Roll Back Access to Free School Lunches, EducationWeek, November 26, 2024  
The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) allows schools in high-need areas to provide school meals to all students at no charge. Around 20 million children attend schools that have adopted CEP. Yet some Republican lawmakers have taken aim at CEP, hoping to restrict the program under a second Trump presidency. “Our message is: We can’t go backwards,” said    FRAC Interim Director of Child Nutrition Programs and Policy Alexis Bylander, who noted that eight states have passed laws that provide state-level funding to implement Healthy School Meals for All policies. 

Proponents Say Universal School Meals Could Fill in the Gaps for Wisconsin Students, Wisconsin Examiner, November 28, 2024 
Since the end of federal waivers allowing schools across the country to offer school meals at no charge to all students, eight states have passed their own Healthy School Meals for All policies. Wisconsin may be next. Last month, Jill Underly, the state’s Department of Public Instruction superintendent, proposed a budget including $290 million per biennium so students in the state could receive free breakfast and lunch, regardless of household income.  

Kansas Advocate Hopes Lawmakers Join Fight Against Child Hunger by Embracing Free School Meals, Kansas Reflector, November 25, 2024 
Haley Kottler, the campaign director for Kansas Appleseed, believes most Kansans would support further investments to end childhood hunger in the state. While Kansas may be far from enacting a statewide Healthy School Meals for All policy, Kottler says smaller steps could help, including encouraging more schools in high-need areas to adopt CEP. Childhood food insecurity is rising in Kansas, from one in seven two years ago to one in five this year.  

Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) 

Texas Health and Human Services Celebrates 50 Years of WIC, Victoria Advocate, December 1, 2024  
WIC connects eligible individuals (including infants, children up to 5 years old, and pregnant and postpartum individuals) to essential nutrition resources and support, including healthy foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding support, and health care referrals. The Texas Department of Health and Human Services is celebrating WIC’s 50th anniversary. The first WIC clinic in Texas opened in 1974 in Montgomery County.   

Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (Summer EBT) 

USDA Rejects Iowa’s Food Box Plan, and Anti-Hunger Advocates Ask Reynolds to Accept Summer EBT, Iowa Public Radio, November 25, 2024 
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ plan to send families with low incomes boxes of food, instead of cash on EBT cards, has been rejected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Now, anti-hunger advocates are calling on Gov. Reynolds to opt in to the Summer EBT Program for 2025. Reynolds declined to participate in 2024, and back in August, said she would forego the state’s participation for 2025. Iowa has until January 1 to notify the USDA if the state will participate.  

FRAC Chat 

Enhancing Food Access for Washington, D.C.’s Homeless With an Improved SNAP System, November 21, 2024 
“SNAP is a crucial resource in reducing food insecurity across communities, but for those without stable housing, SNAP’s impact is limited,” writes D.C. Hunger Solutions AmeriCorps VISTA Fellow Sydney Lawson.  

All States Must Adopt Summer EBT to Address Childhood Summer Hunger, November 8, 2024 
The deadline for states to opt in to Summer EBT for summer 2025 is fast approaching. FRAC Senior Child Nutrition Policy Analyst Kelsey Boone reviews key dates to operate Summer EBT next year.