Even as we struggle with the health and economic impacts of COVID-19, our nation could face additional challenges from hurricanes that typically arise in the Atlantic Ocean during late summer and early fall. Federal action now to boost SNAP benefits and to allow for administrative flexibilities can address hardships due to potential hurricanes as well as those hardships caused by COVID-19.
Senate Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) took to the Senate floor yesterday, July 1, to lead speeches on the urgency for the Senate to take up a COVID-19 recovery package that must include boosts to SNAP. Watch the speeches starting at the 10:27:42 mark. Senator Stabenow was joined by Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Bob Casey (D-PA) in amplifying the urgent need to boost SNAP in the next COVID-19 recovery package. Other senators joined in on social media.
Struggling with food insecurity and the associated health risks well before the COVID-19 public health crisis began, older adults have been hit particularly hard by the pandemic, especially those who are 65 and older, older adults of color, and older adults with underlying medical conditions. Many are at disproportionate risk of contracting COVID-19, and struggle to put food on the table, let alone stockpile enough for sheltering in place.
A recent report released by the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice, an action research center focused on advancing changes to meet real college students’ needs, focuses on the experiences and basic needs of students parenting while in college. The purpose of this report is to draw attention to the reality for most parenting students and promote policy changes and practices that can offer the best support.
In this #FRACTurns50 blog, FRAC’s Founding Executive Director, Ron Pollack, shares the organization’s critical role in the expansion of the Food Stamp Program, known today as the Supplemental Nutrition Program (SNAP). Millions of households rely on SNAP as the first line of defense against hunger. As the fallout of COVID continues to deepen, the number of SNAP applications is skyrocketing. It is crucial to protect and strengthen SNAP during this time.
