Food insecurity

The federal government shutdown could start affecting food benefits in November, when the program known as SNAP wouldn’t be paid out, leaving many low-income families scrambling.

Now in its fourth week, the ongoing federal government shutdown will likely delay food benefits for millions of Californians — prompting Gov. Gavin Newsom to set aside $80 million in state support and deploy the California National Guard to assist food banks.

A federally funded program that centered on small-scale and socially disadvantaged farmers is coming to an end.

Whether federal cuts are legal is still undecided. But local health departments have closed clinics, stopped programs, cut immunization appointments, and laid off workers anyway.

State agency in charge of food benefit payments still currently assessing any potential changes.

A majority of California’s college students experience food insecurity. Some campuses, including Cal Poly Humboldt, are stepping up with innovative free meal programs.

The USDA recently cut more than $1 billion in funding for food banks and schools.

Oregon food banks face sharp cuts in federal food deliveries, as need for food assistance rises.

Senate Bill 611 would establish the Food for All Oregonians program, with the goal of helping people who can’t get federal food assistance through SNAP because of their immigration status.

As people gather for the holidays, sharing meals and gifts, a hunger crisis in the Pacific Northwest is getting worse.

Hunger rates plummeted in Oregon in the years leading up to the pandemic, but then COVID hit and during the following two years, the number of Oregonians struggling to put food on the table rose, a recently released Oregon State University study found.

The number of people struggling to afford food more than doubled in some rural areas.