skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, October 11, 2024

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

Florida picks up the pieces after Hurricane Milton; Georgia elected officials say Hurricane Helene was a climate change wake-up call; Hosiers are getting better civic education; the Senate could flip to the GOP in November; New Mexico postal vans go electric; and Nebraska voters debate school vouchers.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Civil rights groups push for a voter registration deadline extension in Georgia, federal workers helping in hurricane recovery face misinformation and threats of violence, and Brown University rejects student divestment demands.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Hurricane Helene has some rural North Carolina towns worried larger communities might get more attention, mixed feelings about ranked choice voting on the Oregon ballot next month, and New York farmers earn money feeding school kids.

Deadline for summer food benefits for WA kids approaching

play audio
Play

Monday, August 26, 2024   

The deadline is approaching for families to apply for food benefits in Washington state.

The national program known as SUN Bucks is the U-S Department of Agriculture's summer EBT program, which was created during the pandemic and made permanent this year. Most families were automatically eligible for the program, which provides a one-time payment of $120 per child in a household. Families who did not receive the benefit and believe they are eligible can apply through Saturday.

Norah West, assistant director of the Office of Communications and Government Affairs for the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, said many students get meals through school.

"Having kids be out of school during the summer months makes it a little harder to get access to that nutritious food, and the price of groceries are not going down," West pointed out. "We're pleased to be able to offer even a small amount of assistance to folks."

Kids were automatically enrolled in the program if they are at a school in the National School Lunch Program and qualified with a meal application or Family Income Survey, or they're between age eight and 18 and in a house qualifying for benefits like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

Families meeting the National School Lunch Program's income eligibility guidelines for free or reduced-price meals can apply for SUN Bucks. In Washington state, more than 580,000 kids have received benefits this summer, totaling nearly $69 million. West noted the USDA has other summer meal programs as well.

"The federal government also offers two other programs called Sun Meals and Sun Meals to Go through school districts, and those are on site meal programs or in some rural areas," West outlined. "People may have the option to go to a site and pick up food and take it with them."

This summer, 37 states chose to participate in the SUN Bucks program.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A 2022 University of Indiana report concludes recent studies on voucher programs show that students attending private schools through voucher programs have experienced "large, negative impacts" on their achievement. (sheilaf2002/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Nebraska is one of four states with measures about state funding of private-school vouchers on the ballot this year. Referendum 435 asks voters to …


Social Issues

play sound

As Ohio heads into a pivotal election season, the divide between rural and urban voters might seem deep - but one expert says the gap isn't as wide …

Social Issues

play sound

After 17 years, the state of New York is re-evaluating its school funding formula. The state budget agreement calls for the Rockefeller Institute to …


Eric Greenlee, a student from Georgia Tech, installs water-level sensors in lakes at Lac du Flambeau to help monitor wild rice beds. (Photo courtesy Naomi Blinick)

Social Issues

play sound

By Spoorthy Raman for Mongabay.Broadcast version by Mike Moen for Wisconsin News Connection reporting for the Solutions Journalism Network-Public News…

Environment

play sound

Savannah's leaders are pointing out the ways federal dollars are being used to boost the area's resilience against climate change. In the aftermath …

A recent report gave Wyoming low marks for its efforts to reduce exposure to lead in K-12 schools. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Groups that advocate for clean water are applauding the Environmental Protection Agency's new rule on replacing lead pipes - but they warn that the dr…

Environment

play sound

Neighborhoods across New Mexico and other states will soon be cleaner and quieter as the U.S. Postal Service rolls out its new electric mail-delivery …

Social Issues

play sound

Voting may be a bit more confusing than expected in Utah this year, as two of the four amendments on the ballot have now been voided. The Utah …

 

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