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Judge pauses deadline for federal workers to accept Trump's resignation offer; CA state lawmakers take action to enact safeguards against federal immigration enforcement; Study shows air quality disparities from industrial ag in NC.

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Attorney General Pam Bondi strikes a Trump tone at the Justice Department, federal workers get more time to consider buyouts, and an unclassified email request from the White House worries CIA vets.

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During Black History Month, a new book shares how a unique partnership built 5,000 schools for Black students, anti-hunger advocates say ag communities would benefit from an expanded SNAP program, and Americans have $90 billion in unpaid medical bills.

Oregon SNAP users no longer protected from theft

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Thursday, January 30, 2025   

People who receive food benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will no longer be reimbursed if their benefits are stolen.

Sarah Weber Ogden, executive director of Partners for Hunger-Free Oregon, said losing these protections will harm Oregon families. She said skimming, when a device on a card reader steals personal information, is the main way benefits are stolen.

Ogden emphasizes that even though rates of skimming are very low, it can be devastating to victims.

"I don't think that people who haven't experienced it really understand what it's like to suddenly find out you don't have any money for food," she said. "It really is just a feeling of absolute helplessness."

President Joe Biden signed the protection into law in 2022 as part of the Farm Bill, but it was excluded from the latest version signed last year. Ogden added that when protections like this end on a federal level, it places the burden on the state to pick up the tab. Currently nearly 700,000 Oregonians, or one in six, receive SNAP benefits.

Ogden observed that since the Farm Bill has been extended, the door is still open to push for a more inclusive SNAP and other nutrition programs. More than half of SNAP participants in Oregon are in families with children, and Ogden said ending the theft reimbursement program is taking a step backwards.

"We remember how bad it was for families before the replacement benefits program was available," she noted.

If you have had benefits stolen before December 20, 2024, Ogden explained you may be able to get them replaced if you act quickly. She suggested people can protect themselves from theft by blocking out-of-state and online spending, freezing their card between uses, and changing their PIN regularly.

To find food, visit OregonFoodBank.org to locate free groceries or meals nearby.


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