Today, a single mom makes her way through the grocery store, loads her cart onto the conveyor belt, exchanges small talk with the cashier, and swipes her Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) card. It’s a normal event. Except, this time, the card doesn’t work. She tries again, and again. Only to learn the horrifying reality that her account is empty.
On Tuesday, December 17, over 150 supporters, including funders, foundations, and advocates, came together for the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) Benefit Breakfast at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. This annual event is critical in supporting FRAC’s mission to end poverty-related hunger in America.
SNAP recipients will receive their January 2025 payments, even if a government shutdown occurs.
More than 23 million children attending high-poverty schools had access to healthy school meals at no charge through the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) during the 2023–2024 school year, according to FRAC’s latest report, Community Eligibility: The Key to Hunger-Free Schools.
Utility costs are rising across the country at a rate that many find unsustainable.1 For many households with low incomes, this means making tough decisions, choosing between putting food on the table and other essential household needs such as heating their homes during the winter months. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a critical program for lifting households out of poverty through a monthly benefit dedicated for food and beverage purchases, accounts for this decision by allowing households to deduct part of their utilities costs through a standard utility allowance, which varies from state to state. A new regulation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) makes an update to that allowance that will impact SNAP households.
