skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Food Stamp Cuts Will Land On AR Working Poor

play audio
Play

Thursday, August 15, 2013   

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - A cut in food stamps coming this fall is expected to land especially hard on Arkansas's working poor. A temporary boost to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) enacted to stimulate the economy is set to expire in ten weeks.

Critics charge that food stamps are too generous, but supporters say it's a lifeline for low-income workers and their children.

According to the Reverend Bobbie Woodard-Jones, food pantry assistant at St. James Missionary Baptist Church in Fort Smith, every day they see working families that run out of food at the end of the month, even with help from SNAP and food banks.

"We give out enough food portions for maybe three to four days," she said. "And sometimes the family goes maybe up to eight days without enough food in the house; no staples, no milk, no nothing."

According to Brett Kincaid, outreach director for Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, the program here has very low overhead and very little waste. He said almost all of the benefits - about $1.40 per person per meal - ends up on the dinner table. And Kincaid added that the federal General Accounting Office found about two percent waste nationwide, which would be the envy of most private companies.

"They would love to know that they only had two percent inefficiency in all their expenditures," he said. "And any reduction is going to be felt directly by those that are already struggling every day just to make ends meet."

Half a million people in the state get food stamps, about one in six. Kincaid said almost all are either children, retired, disabled, or low-wage workers. He said that's why it's effective as economic stimulus, because the beneficiaries spend every dime they get, immediately.

"The overwhelming majority of SNAP recipients who can work do work," he said. "And it translates to less revenue going into grocery stores in Arkansas that serve that community."

The coming cut in food stamps will amount to about $30 a month for a family of three, a total of $52 million statewide.

More information is at goo.gl/NHfXKb.





get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …


A 2022 report finds failing to speed up transmission beyond the current pace will increase 2030 U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions by 800 million tons per year. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …

Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021