The effects of obesity account for a large share of the nation's health care spending, but funding for obesity prevention and control has been inadequate for decades, and the pandemic has thrust longstanding racial and economic health disparities into bold relief.... Read more»
Poverty declined even though fewer people were employed because the government stepped up, strengthening the safety net - but the way the government measures poverty is outdated - and the share of Americans experiencing food insecurity rose to an estimated 13.9% in 2020.... Read more»
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is set to permanently increase the value of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits by 25%, but to solve America's food insecurity problem, SNAP should be reconfigured as a universal basic income program.... Read more»
For some Indigenous communities, the historic amount of federal funds allocated to tribes through the CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan Act was beneficial - for others, the pandemic highlighted deeper systemic complexities that federal funding cannot fully address.... Read more»
The Biden administration today announced a 25% increase in food stamp benefits, the largest jump in the history of the program which will increase the average monthly benefits under the program now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to $157.... Read more»
Experts at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities outline how states can remove restrictive requirements placed on Black families to receive cash assistance for food, bills or rent, after research found that Black women with children were repeatedly excluded from the programs.... Read more»
For many Americans, buying fresh local food at one of the estimated 9,000 farmers markets across the U.S. is one of summer’s pleasures, but farmers markets aren’t just nice amenities: Over the past 18 months, many have filled food supply gaps caused by COVID-19 shutdowns.... Read more»
In addition to killing 600,000 in the United States and afflicting an estimated 3.4 million or more with persistent symptoms, the pandemic threatens the health of vulnerable people, exacerbating the discrepancies already seen in the country between the wealth and health of Black and Hispanic Americans and those of white Americans.... Read more»1
In Oracle, metal lockers have been converted into little pantries that serve one big purpose: to fight food insecurity in the unincorporated community of about 4,000 north of Tucson. Community members launched the project in September as a part of the Little Free Pantry movement, one of several efforts worldwide in which people donate food and goods and house them in a neighborhood space to be used by anyone who needs help.... Read more»
Advocates fear that years of steady improvements in the level of “food insecurity” among Arizona children could be reversed this year by the economic toll of COVID-19, a shift that could have long-lasting effects.... Read more»
Bertha spent 17 days in her bedroom after testing positive for COVID-19.... Read more»
Nearly 15% of Arizona households were considered food insecure four years ago. But a report last year from the U.S. Department of Agriculture says that figure has dropped to 12.4%.... Read more»
Arizona ranks third nationally for 50 to 59 year olds at risk of hunger, with roughly 12 percent of people in this age group experiencing what is known as food insecurity, according to a report released in August by AARP.... Read more»
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