A New York City nonprofit is helping communities fight food insecurity.

Rethink Food began in 2017 with the mission of taking excess food from top restaurants such as Eleven Madison Park to be redistributed to food-insecure communities across the city. Despite declines, post-pandemic food insecurity in the city remains high as one in nine families doesn't often have enough to eat.

Matt Jozwiak, founder and CEO of Rethink Food, said the organization filled a unique niche during the pandemic.

"There's not a lot of nonprofits that are working with, like, a soul-food restaurant in Harlem and a community center down the street," Jozwiak pointed out. "We were really ready and prepared even before the lockdown. We put together a plan to basically grant capital resources to small businesses to make meals for local community centers."

As beneficial as the group's work is, Jozwiak acknowledged some neighborhoods do not care for certain meals. He noted some areas might not care for couscous while others are not big on dairy-based dishes. The feedback has helped guide Rethink Food's work. He added they are branching out to work in other areas, such as developing medically tailored meals.

Beyond food excess, Rethink Food is looking to see how it can improve food procurement in New York City. The city has been seeking out ways to diversify its food procurement systems.

Ken Baker, culinary director for the group, said Rethink Food and the coalition of primarily independent, minority, women-owned restaurants they work with can do it.

"We know restaurants run on tight margins; us being the primary cudgel that holds that capacity in place, and then we subcontract out that capacity to restaurant partners," Baker explained. "(It) gives them a meaningful way to have a stakehold in their community and demonstrate their ability to compete with your big players."

The challenge in doing it is lacking trust in getting paid on time by the city. Reports showed the number of procurement contracts registered late has grown since 2021. For the first half of 2024, 77% of contracts were registered late, resulting in payment delays for numerous businesses.

Now that President Donald Trump's big budget bill has been signed into law, Arkansas nonprofits that rely on federal funding to help people in need are trying to figure out how they will continue to serve their clients.

The legislation calls for cutting billions of dollars from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Lance Whitney, advocacy director with Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, said it would cost food banks across the state almost $46 million a year to continue to help those who face food insecurity.

"That does not include the cost of increased capacity needed to serve those individuals," said Whitney, "like in warehouse space, the vehicles the staffing to hand out that, the refrigeration. With those included it would ramp it up to an additional probably $10 million."

Whitney predicted that children, veterans, caregivers, and older adults in Arkansas will suffer the most because of the cuts. Arkansas has the highest food insecurity rate in the nation.

The federal government will start cost-sharing with states for SNAP benefits in 2027. The amount the government contributes to administrative costs will be cut from 50% to 25%, leaving states responsible for 75% of the total cost.

Whitney said state and local governments will have to divert money from other essential services to cover SNAP benefits.

"It can't be ignored when you have people who can't eat, health care that's going down, school lunches that can't be provided for," said Whitney. "So every community, every person in the state of Arkansas - whether you're a SNAP recipient or a Medicaid recipient, or just a community person - you're going to have a challenge with this."

The legislation expands work requirements for older adults and parents with children age seven and older.

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, that could take food assistance away from more than three million adults a month.





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Oregon lawmakers would have to find an extra $850 million in the state budget starting in 2028 to cover cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill just signed by President Donald Trump.

Alex Aghdaei, policy analyst and outreach coordinator with Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon, said the bill is projected to cause an estimated 100,000 Oregonians to lose SNAP coverage by 2034.

He said policymakers will face some hard choices going forward.

"We believe that there is no other option than to find the funding," said Aghdaei, "because our state simply cannot abandon the one-in-eight of all Oregonians that rely on this program to feed their families."

Aghdaei added that the bill makes more people subject to a work requirement, even though 83% of Oregon Trail Card users are already employed.

It also requires people to verify their eligibility more often, and it cuts the amount the federal government reimburses for the administrative costs of SNAP.

Aghdaei said low-income families will face similar paperwork obstacles to maintain coverage under the Oregon Health Plan because of huge cuts to Medicaid.

"Make no mistake, this bill will kill," said Aghdaei. "The level of cuts that the SNAP program will experience, in addition to Medicaid and other essential services, is frankly unheard of, and the impact in Oregon will stretch far across the state."

The legislature just concluded its 2-year session, but lawmakers will begin to address these issues in the short session next February.





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When North Dakotans head to farmers markets this summer, they might want to see which ones accept SNAP benefits, as the state is enhancing a search tool so that those eligible can stock up on fruits and vegetables.

EBT cards distributed through SNAP are now accepted at thousands of farmers markers across the country. North Dakota's agriculture department has updated its online Local Foods Map to indicate which locations within the state are part of the SNAP network.

Keith Knudson, executive director of the North Dakota Farmers Market and Growers Association, said it is another way to improve access to healthy food.

"We're seeing a lot more of those farmers markets in rural areas where we have issues with not having enough fresh vegetables in the community," Knudson explained.

He pointed out small town grocery stores have struggled to stay open and if those new rural farmers markets accept SNAP, program recipients have a dedicated source of fresh food for the season. Knudsen note it has been hard for some operators to implement SNAP payment systems but added the program is making improvements. On the updated map, a yellow star shows which markets are SNAP sites.

EBT users visiting farmers markets can stretch their benefits further through incentives. The "Double Up" option provides a dollar-for-dollar match for purchases of fruits and vegetables, meaning low-income residents can load up without depleting their account.

Doug Goehring, North Dakota's agriculture commissioner, hopes the feature boosts awareness and activity.

"Once they know that, maybe they'll seek them out, and it'll encourage more and more people to consider going down that road," Goehring stressed.

Agriculture leaders said increased program activity not only helps the SNAP recipient but also the local vendors by expanding their customer base.


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