"“This is a very targeted, well-thought-out plan of dismantling the Snap program that federal policy makers won’t take responsibility for"

"Poverty and hunger will rise as a result of the Trump administration’s unprecedented cuts to the US federal “food stamps” program, according to experts. Low-income workers who rely on the aid are braced for dire consequences.

Katie Giede, a single mother and waitress in Conyers, Georgia, is one of the 42 million Americans who use the supplemental nutrition assistance program (Snap). Even with the maximum benefit permitted, she struggles to afford food for her and her child.

Low-wage workers reeling over Trump’s
looming Snap cuts as food prices rise

She makes $3 an hour plus tips at the fast-food chain Waffle House, where she has worked for 11 years. The company deducts meals from workers’ pay check per shift, regardless of whether they eat one or not.

“Our pay is already so little that we’re struggling with everything,” Giede told the Guardian. “Single mothers like myself are reliant upon the benefits like Snap and Medicaid. So when you go and you cut that as well, now you have mothers out here that are not only worried at night because they already can’t afford housing or a vehicle, but we’re also worried what is our kid is going to eat? Because we no longer have help.”

Continue reading the article -> https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/01/snap-food-stamps-trump-cuts?CMP=share_btn_url

NY Times: "A New Era of Hunger Has Begun"

By Tracy Kidder:

NY Times: "A New Era of Hunger Has Begun"

"Parts of Easthampton, an old mill town in western Massachusetts, look like relics of industrial New England — the old workers’ rowhouses, for instance. In other parts, it seems like a place in renaissance, with converted factory buildings spruced up and reinhabited by art galleries, restaurants, shops. Pedestrians fill the sidewalks on Friday and Saturday nights, especially during monthly art walk evenings. But on Monday mornings, when the downtown feels shuttered, another sort of crowd, one in search of food, not art and entertainment, gathers on a side street outside a 19th-century brick building. A sign out front identifies it as the Easthampton Community Center and Food Pantry.

The center distributes free groceries on Mondays and Wednesdays, but Monday is usually busier, because many people it serves have run out of food by then. By 9 a.m. on a Monday in June, a line of people with shopping bags extended from the sidewalk across the parking lot to the first of the food stations alongside the old building. There, clients are greeted by volunteers with friendly faces and helpful voices, offering milk and eggs, a selection of breads and pastries, frozen meat, fruit and vegetables. Inside, another team of volunteers assembles bags of canned and packaged food, some for adults, others for children."

Gift article link -> https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/14/opinion/america-safety-net.html?unlocked_article_code=1.WU8.7Ufx.sJO5TyPQMr2k&smid=url-share

MassBudget: Statement on the Impacts of Reconciliation bill on MA

On July 4, 2025, the President of the United States signed an extensive budget reconciliation bill that will bring extraordinary pain upon millions of families across the nation. This bill will take health coverage and food access away from millions of the most vulnerable people across the country in order to give the wealthiest people massive tax cuts. The bill signed by the President will be detrimental to the economy and will bring the most direct harm to low- and middle-income families, including Massachusetts residents.

MassBudget President Viviana Abreu-Hernández, PhD, issued the following statement:

“This Billionaire Bailout Bomb bill targets millions of individuals and families already struggling by eliminating their healthcare and food support in order to help the rich get richer. Not only is it inhumane but it is also fiscally irresponsible, raising the national debt limit by over an estimated $3 trillion dollars over the next decade.

The bill signed by the President on July 4th also extends tax cuts that overwhelmingly benefit the wealthiest in the country. According to an analysis of the bill from Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), the wealthiest top 1% by income will receive $1.02 trillion dollars in tax cuts over the next decade. During that same period, there will be $930 billion in cuts to Medicaid, which provides health care access to low-income individuals and families. 

MassBudget: Statement on the Impacts of Reconciliation bill on MA

It is important to put this bill in context because it is part of a larger national agenda, commanded by the President, that intentionally targets the most vulnerable people. Current estimates forecast that around 300,000 in Massachusetts could lose health coverage due to changes in Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. Our partners at Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI) estimate that 150,000 Massachusetts residents are at risk of losing some or all of their household’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) due to the changes in this bill, leaving families unable to afford groceries.  "

Continue reading the statement -> https://massbudget.org/2025/07/07/statement-on-reconciliation-bill-signed-by-the-u-s-president/

SNAP action day - contact your Congressional legislators

SNAP action day - contact your Congressional legislators

SAVE THE DATE! 

On Wednesday, April 30, 2025, join advocates and individuals across the Northeast region in a powerful SNAP Day of Action. 

More details to come!

Shared from ->   https://www.instagram.com/p/DI_8lKmRd4r/

Download the PDF ->   https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FfYE2afA_Qj08azRVSJfQ-H3TqrWHYKr/view?usp=drive_link

Project Bread has additional info -> https://projectbread.org/events/snap-day-of-action

Franklin Food Pantry responds to questions on changes to Federal nutrition programs

Many of our supporters have asked about changes to federal nutrition programs and the impact on the Franklin Food Pantry. While we can’t predict the future, we want to reassure you that thanks to our dedicated staff, committed Board, and incredible volunteers, we are confident that we are in a position to adapt and find solutions to whatever comes our way. 

Franklin Food Pantry responds to questions
on changes to Federal nutrition programs

Your continued support is as important as ever. 

Together we will make sure our neighbors continue to receive the care and resources they need. 

Together, we’re stronger — and together, we’ll keep making a difference. 

❤️ #FranklinFoodPantry #CommunityStrong #TogetherWeCan #EndHunger

Shared from -> https://www.facebook.com/share/18qpoSEUCq/

For more information about The Pantry (including contributing to the cause) visit->    https://www.franklinfoodpantry.org/

Protect your SNAP benefits from illegal card skimmers

Protect your SNAP benefits from illegal card skimmers By Ari Lazarus With SNAP benefits, you use an EBT card to buy food at the store. But we're hearing about scammers using illegal skimmers to steal card information, then grabbing your benefits for themselves.    Here's how to spot and avoid these scams.  Read more ->  https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2024/05/protect-your-snap-benefits-illegal-card-skimmers?utm_source=govdelivery

Protect your SNAP benefits from illegal card skimmers

Franklin Farmers Market accepts SNAP benefits

"We are delighted to share that The Franklin Farmer's Market now accepts SNAP benefits! We are excited that the Franklin Community is working together to help combat food insecurity and provide our neighbors with healthy fruits and vegetables.

Visit the Franklin Farmer's Market on Fridays from June 3 - October 29 from 2 - 6 PM (except for 4th of July weekend).

Thank you to Dean Bank for sponsoring a match program." 

Updated:  "Thank you for everyone's patience with our SNAP equipment not working this past Friday. The issue has been resolved and we are excited to get the program up and running! "

Shared from Instagram -> https://www.instagram.com/p/CegVeHqsEQV/ 

Franklin Farmers Market accepts SNAP benefits

"Food insecurity is a silent problem"

"The number of Massachusetts households lacking enough food to get by doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent study from Project Bread.

More than half a million residents, more than a quarter of them children, who are eligible for SNAP, or food stamps, don’t receive benefits for the nation’s No. 1 anti-hunger program, according to the research by Project Bread, a Boston nonprofit that works to end hunger in the state.

“The cycle of hunger, it definitely is real,” said Erin McAleer, president and CEO of Project Bread, which surveyed more than 800 Boston residents in partnership with the city’s Office of Food Access and UMass Boston’s Center for Survey Research."

Continue reading the article online (subscription maybe required)

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/08/22/metro/hungry-mass-households-doubled-during-pandemic/

Direct link to the Project Bread study updated in Aug 2021

https://www.projectbread.org/research/barriers-to-snap

"Food insecurity is a silent problem"

A related article from The Washington Post based upon census data

"Hunger around America is improving, compared with a month ago, according to the most recent U.S. census data. But food insecurity has a long way to go before returning to pre-pandemic levels.

Self-reported food insecurity for the week ending Aug. 2 was at its lowest levels since the start of the coronavirus pandemic for households with children, according to the census data. That dovetails with strong jobs numbers, stronger economic growth and other bright spots in the economic recovery.

But food stamps enrollment is still way up, 2 million more than last year and 6 million more than in 2019. And food banks are still seeing dramatically more need than during pre-pandemic times." 

Continue reading the article online (subscription maybe required)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/08/23/hunger-pandemic-food-stamps/