Free Republic

BERNE - A 21st-century Albany County initiative that combines farmers markets with online shopping is receiving extra funds to continue growth. State Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Paul Tonko announced Wednesday that FarmieMarket Online LLC, based in the town of Berne, is receiving $24,490 in federal funding. The SNAP’s monthly electronic benefit transfers (EBT) dollars, which 95,000 individuals and their families in the Capital Region currently receive, cannot be used in many online food stores, but only at authorized retail food stores. The new program will allow EBT users to order fresh food online with the benefit...

Fifty years after the “war on poverty” was first waged, there are signs a new offensive is needed. Newly released Census data reveals nearly 110 million Americans – more than one-third of the country – are receiving government assistance of some kind. The number counts people receiving what are known as “means-tested” federal benefits, or subsidies based on income. This includes welfare programs ranging from food stamps to subsidized housing to the program most commonly referred to as “welfare,” Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. At the end of 2012, according to the stats, 51.5 million were on food stamps, while...

Patricia Yurena, a two-time winner of her country’s national contest and a runner-up in last year’s Miss Universe competition, came out as a lesbian on Instagram this Tuesday.

Should the public know how much money Wal-Mart, or that convenience store down the street, takes in through the federal food stamp program? Or does that amount to a retail trade secret? Those are the questions at the heart of a request for public comment announced Monday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which runs the food stamp program. Here’s the background: Last year we spent $76 billion tax payer dollars on the food stamp program (officially known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP). That money goes to about 47 million low-income Americans, who use it to buy...

The nation’s food stamp program, formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), provided a record $74.6 billion in benefits to needy Americans in Fiscal Year 2012—paying out $2 billion too much, according to the annual quality control report for FY 2012, the most recent year for which data is available. And only in Washington could that $2 billion in overpayments be viewed as a good thing. […] The data show the payment error rate has declined over time, from 5.64% in FY 2007; 5.01% in FY 2008; 4.36% in FY 2009; 3.81% in FY 2010; 3.80% in FY...

The nation has seen an increasing trend among lawmakers, particularly those on the left, in utilizing the state to drive our consumer choices. Generally, these have come from punitive measures. In addition to added regulations on food producers, they have struck directly at the consumer, in the form of "sin taxes" on sodas and other foods high in sugar and cholesterol in an "altruistic" attempt to persuade Americans to eat healthier. While I tend to disagree with these tactics and believe that the usage of state power to drive our consumer choices is a form of tyranny, I do believe...

A new study by researchers at Stanford University is suggesting that making soda and other sugary drinks ineligible for purchase with SNAP funds could result in nearly a quarter million fewer diabetes cases in adults, and over 140,000 fewer obese children.

Aslam Khawaja, 48, of Iranistan Avenue, the owner of the SK Grocery at 856 Fairfield Ave., was charged Wednesday with first-degree larceny by defrauding a public community, a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison. From March through December 2013 Khawaja paid cash to 128 of his customers who are on the state's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for their SNAP benefits at 50 cents to a dollar of benefit, the arrest affidavit states. ... Khawaja is a Pakistani national. In December he was shot during a robbery at his store and at that time asked detectives to file...

Following a change in the rules incorporated in the new federal farm bill, Gov. Deval Patrick’s administration announced on Tuesday that the state would be investing $3 million in additional home heating assistance for families to avoid the potential loss of up to $142 million in food stamp benefits for 163,000 families. Under the initiative, the Department of Transitional Assistance will be partnering with the Department of Housing and Community Development to provide at least $20 in heating assistance to eligible families through the H-EAT programs. The subsidy will qualify those families for an additional $80 in monthly Supplemental Nutritional...

JESSICA DESVARIEUX, TRNN PRODUCER: On her day off from work, D.C. resident Kathy Burke heads to a local food pantry, Thrive DC. She works part-time, making $10 an hour, and she says she needs any help that she can get, even though she's on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps. KATHY BURKE, FOOD STAMP RECIPIENT: Boy. They probably sent me a letter about the food stamps. That's probably what this is. DESVARIEUX: With both a bachelor's degree and master's, Kathy says her food stamp payments usually don't last her the entire month. BURKE: Sometimes that's all...

Budget cuts aimed at weaning Americans off of public assistance may make the start of 2014 lean for many African-Americans. Last month, after much debate, Congress began implementing it’s budget cut plan to reduce funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program otherwise known as SNAP. The program provides monetary help for families in poverty and alleviates food insecurity. SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is used by approximately 47 million Americans. But with funding reductions and bans for convicted felons many people wonder how Americans will finally be able to climb out of poverty. Who needs SNAP? The...

"Economists say having a job may no longer be enough for self-sufficiency in today's economy."

(CNSNews.com) -- A record 20% of American households, one in five, were on food stamps in 2013, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The numbers also show that there were a record number of individuals on food stamps in 2013 and that the cost of the program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), was at an all-time high.

A pair of University of Maryland economists actually found themselves channeling supply side-icon Jack Kemp although they might be loathe to admit it. At a Brookings Institution conference, associate professor Melissa Kearney and assistant professor Lesley Turner noted thtat today’s SNAP [the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program]requirements have a “secondary earner penalty.” In layman’s terms, that meant that if both married spouses in a couple worked, they would be taxed or penalized for having both spouses work. Both Kearney and Turner proposed that the tax code be reformed to cut out taxes on these secondary earners in order to boost...

As budget negotiators lurch toward their December 13 deadline for funding the government, another conference committee is struggling to reach an agreement over the farm bill. Unsurprisingly, the dispute is not over the bill’s completely unjustifiable subsidies for agribusiness (both parties support those) but food stamps. House Republicans passed a bill calling for $39 billion in reductions in the planned budget for food stamps (technically known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP) over the next ten years. A bipartisan Senate bill included just $4 billion in cuts. A couple of weeks ago it looked like negotiators were ready...

Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) told the Rev. Al Sharpton of MSNBC on Wednesday that Sharpton and the pope are "on the same wavelength." McDermott's observation on what he perceives as the similarity between Sharpton and the pope came up in a discussion of food stamps. McDermott noted that when Jesus fed five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish, “he didn’t charge food stamps.”(VIDEO-AT-LINK) “When Jesus had those five loaves and two fishes, he didn't charge food stamps. He didn't ask anybody how much money they had. He fed them because they were hungry, and that's really...

Those who are eligible for food assistance under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (“food stamps”) can still collect their benefits if they’ve killed or raped someone, but if they have a drug felony on their record, the government will cut them off. This obscure policy is an often-overlooked provision of President Bill Clinton’s 1996 welfare reforms, known as the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act. The main provisions of the bill limited the amount of time recipients could receive food stamp benefits, required them to get work within two years, scaled back the federal government’s responsibility for the program (letting...

From a Zero Hedge reader: My company, based in California, employs 600. We used to insure about 250 of our employees. The rest opted out. The company paid 50% of their premiums for about $750,000/yr. Under obamacare, none can opt out without penalty, and the rates are double or triple, depending upon the plan. Our 750k for 250 employees is going to $2 million per year for 600 employees. By mandate, we have to pay 91.5% of the premium or more up from the 50% we used to pay. Our employees share of the premium goes from $7/week for the...

Five-year-old cancer survivor Miles Scott recently delighted America when his wish to become Batman was granted by the Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area Foundation. Social media exploded and the adventures of "#SFBatkid" were followed by millions of people as he saved a damsel in distress and rescued the mascot of the San Francisco Giants. Over 12,000 volunteers helped make Miles' wish come true, and numerous articles were written about how faith in humanity seemed to be restored. San Francisco city supervisor Eric Mar seems to have missed the heartwarming lesson behind the day, and instead decided to politicize the event....

Obama Steals Food From The Poor To Pay For Michele’s ‘Let’s Move’ Program Posted 6 hours ago by Dave Jolly Filed under Entitlements, Ethics, Government Spending, Liberalism, Politics Millions of food stamp recipients are finding their government supplement smaller this month. The federal government made sizeable cuts to the Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) otherwise known as food stamps. This cut will affect 47.6 million Americans or about 1 out of every 6 people. Under the new guidelines, a family of 4 will see their food stamps drop from $668 a month to $632 a month. While $36 dollars doesn’t...