JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Hundreds of thousands of Missourians who receive food-stamp assistance have found themselves in the center of the political wrangling over the farm bill. The House version failed last week. A small group of House Democrats had been ready to compromise and vote yes, even with more than $20 billion in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program known as SNAP. But they changed their minds when Republicans last week added amendments that would allow states to require assistance recipients to take drug tests and work training.

Jeanette Mott Oxford, executive director, Missouri Association for Social Welfare, said those amendments were based on false assumptions.

"There does seem to be an assumption that anybody on food stamps has something wrong with them. Often, people who are receiving food stamps actually are working," she pointed out, "but it's not enough income to lift their family out of poverty."

Oxford said she was glad the House version failed, because it would have eliminated nearly 2 million people from the SNAP program, and close to 2 million more nationwide would have had their benefits reduced. The Senate version of the bill cut just under $4 billion from the SNAP program over 10 years, compared to more than $20 billion in cuts in the failed House bill.

So now Congress faces choices. The House could work from the farm bill approved by the Senate, or come up with a new version of its own.

More than 900,000 Missourians received food stamps last month, Oxford said, and to require drug tests for every person who needs this assistance seems to mischaracterize a whole group of people as potential drug abusers.

"People who receive food stamps are a very diverse school of people," she pointed out, "some working poor, some people with disabilities, some people who are elderly, some who are newly unemployed."

Republicans who offered the drug testing and work amendments said they were trying to prevent fraud. All the Missouri Republicans in the House voted for the Farm Bill. The Missouri Democrats voted no. House leaders on both sides blamed each other for its failure. Republicans said Democrats who had agreed to a deal pulled out at the last minute. Democrats said Republicans added "poison pill" amendments that killed the bill. The President had threatened to veto the House version.

More information is available from the Food Research and Action Center at www.frac.org, from St. Louis Area Foodbank at www.stlfoodbank.org and from the Missouri Association for Social Welfare at http://masw.org.




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Alabama is one of 14 states opting out of the 2024 summer electronic benefit program.

As summer rolls around, there will be no programs in place to help low-income families with grocery costs.

LaTrell Clifford Wood, hunger policy advocate for the group Alabama Arise, said as a result, more than 500,000 children who usually receive free or reduced lunch could go without meals. She noted while summer feeding programs will be available, they will not reach everyone in need.

"Ninety-four percent of Alabama children who rely on free and reduced-price meals won't have access to them over the summer," Wood reported. "That means that only 6% of the children who rely on those meals during the school year are going to be fed through summer feeding programs."

Wood warned limited hours, transportation and strict program rules will hinder many families from benefiting from such vital programs. The Alabama Legislature did not allocate the necessary $15 million for the program by the end of the last session. However, Wood noted there is a chance the program will be funded in the summer of 2025.

As legislators focus on next year's budgets, Wood stressed the need for funding next summer's EBT program. She pointed out Alabama Arise is calling for lawmakers to allocate funds from the general fund or Education Trust Fund to combat child hunger, affecting one in four children in the state.

"This is a program that's been tested for 13 years," Wood emphasized. "It's had three rigorous evaluation periods, and it was shown to improve the diet of children and decrease children's food hardship by a third."

Wood believes prioritizing children's needs and addressing food insecurity is a form of preventive care and serves as an early investment in the state's overall wellness.

The Food Research and Action Center said funding the e-benefits program would also benefit the economy - adding anywhere from $98 million to $117 million. The Alabama Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee is expected to vote on the budget next week.

California's program helping low-income families buy fresh fruit and vegetables is on the chopping block and health care advocates are asking legislators to save the Market Match program.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed cutting most of the program's $35 million budget to help close the state's budget shortfall.

Sophia Vaccaro, a participant in Market Match from Echo Park, said she depends on Market Match in more ways than one.

"It helps people being able to stretch their budget further," Vaccaro explained. "Then, I think it helps the community, in that it creates a sense of camaraderie at the farmers' market and makes people more invested in the community itself."

The program matches every dollar CalFresh customers spend on fresh fruits and vegetables at a farmer's market up to between $10 and $20 per day. It is active at 294 sites across the state and is partially paid for through federal matching funds.

Dr. John Maa, surgeon at Marin Health Medical Center and board member of the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the American Heart Association, said Market Match promotes healthy eating and boosts the local farm economy.

"An improved diet really will have long-term meaningful impacts on health, and also reduce health care costs," Maa explained. "It really helps to sustain the growers and the merchants. I guess it's a win-win-win."

Siu Han Cheung, outreach coordinator for the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation and board member of the Heart of the City Farmers' Market, argued the program is vital to residents across the state.

"If the Market Match will be cut, that is terrible," Cheung stressed. "That means they have less money to buy their food. So, Market Match is very important for the low-income families and the seniors."

Legislators and the governor are working toward the May budget revisions, and must pass a balanced budget by June 15.

South Dakotans face high prices at the grocery store and some are working to ease the burden.

A new report from the Federal Trade Commission finds some grocery retailers used the supply-chain disruptions of the pandemic to raise prices and collect bigger profits, even after supply chains regulated.

One South Dakota group is trying to reduce sticker shock by targeting the state sales tax on groceries. Dakotans for Health is sponsoring a citizens ballot initiative to repeal the 4.2 % tax.

Rick Weiland, co-founder of the group, said lower food bills would make a meaningful difference for some.

"People of modest means, or low income hardworking families, disproportionately spend upwards of 30% on food," Weiland pointed out. "This is going to be helpful."

South Dakota is one of only two states in the country to apply its full state sales tax rate to groceries with no exemptions, Mississippi being the other. More than 9% of South Dakotans are considered food insecure, meaning they do not always have access to enough healthy food.

The grocery tax has been a popular topic among state legislators in recent years. Republican Gov. Kristi Noem even campaigned on the promise to repeal it. Critics have said proposing a tax cut without a way to finance it is irresponsible.

Weiland pointed out Gov. Noem had a formula spelled out when she brought forward her bill in 2023, which was voted down.

"She had no problem defending her position in front of the Legislature, in terms of how much revenue the state was going to lose and where they could make it up," Weiland recounted.

The initiative needs about 17,500 signatures by next month to appear on the November ballot.