Free Republic

Forty-two million Americans are days away from losing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, including more than 1.1 million people in Minnesota and Wisconsin.The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Services recently notified states that if the government shutdown continues, “there will be insufficient funds to pay full November SNAP benefits.”More than 440,000 Minnesotans — roughly 8% of the population — use SNAP benefits.In Wisconsin, nearly 700,000 people — or 12% of the state’s population — rely on SNAP through the state’s FoodShare program.RELATED: Food shelves brace for expected lapse in SNAP benefitsOpen Cupboard Executive Director Jessica Francis...

Missouri hunters have been credited with donating over 300,000 pounds of venison to local food banks and pantries to help provide a quality protein food source to people in need. The Missouri Department of Conservation and the Conservation Federation of Missouri released a statement thanking everyone involved in the state’s “Share the Harvest” food donation program. In addition to the hunters who participated this year, over 100 meat processors participated, turning the game into tidy and ready-to-use packages of meat. The program was started by hunters in 1992 as a way to alleviate food scarcity in their local communities. “Hunters...

About 50,000 Cook County residents who receive food stamps are going to have to find jobs next year — or risk losing their benefits. Starting Jan. 1, food stamp recipients in Cook County who are able-bodied, under the age of 50 and not living with children or other dependents will be restricted to three months of food assistance in a three-year period unless they work at least 80 hours a month. They can also meet the requirement by participating in a work-related activity, such as job training or volunteering. The vast majority of Illinois’ 1.8 million SNAP recipients — most...

At the beginning of July, more than 2,000 families with undocumented immigrants stopped receiving food stamp benefits due to a change in Utah’s rules. Now a growing number of them are showing up at emergency food pantries confused and needing help. “But, of course, I have to feed my family,” said an undocumented mother of five who works as a housekeeper at a nursing home. She is among those who recently lost food aid. Earlier this year, the state announced it would begin to fully count the income earned by all members of a household when determining food stamp eligibility....

MORRISTOWN, N.J. — Cindy Dreeszen and her husband live in one of the wealthiest counties in the United States. They have steady jobs, his at a movie theater and hers at a government office. Together, they earn about $55,000 a year. But with a 17-month-old son, another baby on the way, and, as Ms. Dreeszen put it, “the cost of everything going up and up,” the couple went to a food pantry this month to ask for some free groceries. “I didn’t think we’d even be allowed to come here,” said Ms. Dreeszen, 41, glancing around at the shelves of...