- Legislation would allow food stamps to be used at farmer’s markets, By Stephen Rickerl, April 26, 2010, The Southern: “Proposed legislation seeks to make locally grown fresh produce and meats available to food stamp recipients. House Bill 4756 introduced by state Rep. LaShawn Ford, D-Chicago, would create the Farmer’s Market Technology Improvement Act, which would create a fund to assist vendors at USDA approved farmer’s markets in purchasing equipment needed to process Electronic Debit Transfers. The equipment is necessary to process electronic debits because recipients receive their food assistance in the form of a LINK card, which is used to receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. The purpose of the proposed legislation is to increase access to fresh foods by SNAP recipients…”
- Farmers markets run by city of Chicago will start accepting food stamp cards, By Monica Eng, April 19, 2010, Chicago Tribune: “If you want to buy a meal of doughnuts, chips and soda with food stamp benefits, you’ll have no problem in Chicago. But if you want to use them for fresh fruits and vegetables at a farmers market, it’s been impossible. That’s about to change. In a pilot program announced Monday by the Mayor’s Office of Special Events, five city-run farmers markets – Lincoln Square, South Shore Bank, Daley Plaza, Division Street and Beverly – will accept LINK cards, Illinois’ debit cards for food stamp purchases…”
- Farmers market to take food stamps, By Anna Webb, April 19, 2010, Idaho Statesman: “A certain cliche hounds farmers markets: that they serve an affluent clientele willing to pay high prices for arugula and artisanal cheeses. But last year, growers at one Capital City booth – Global Gardens, a community garden project run by the Idaho Office for Refugees – started quietly undermining that idea by accepting food stamps at their produce booth. The idea caught on, and this year most produce booths at the market will be food stamp accessible, said Katie Painter, refugee agriculture coordinator with the agency. Though the market opens Saturday, the EBT, or ‘electronic benefits transfer’ machines, will be up and running June 5, just as harvest season is picking up. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare staff has actively recruited Idaho farmers markets to accept food stamps. Seven markets across Idaho have tentatively signed on, said Health and Welfare spokeswoman Emily Simnitt. A record number of Idahoans are using food stamps – 180,000 in the most recent count, an increase of 106 percent in the last two years…”
Day: April 26, 2010
Food Stamp Application Process – Texas
Food bank workers are helping Texas ease its backlog of food stamp applications, By Robert T. Garrett, April 25, 2010, Dallas Morning News: “Last year, food banks had to step up to help hundreds of families when the recession and a meltdown of Texas’ food stamp application process caused them to miss out on months’ worth of benefits. Now, food banks and pantries in Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio are doing it again as the state works, under federal orders, to reduce backlogs and improve service at the offices where it determines if Texans are eligible for aid. The need is still evident. Hungry, desperate people are flocking daily to Metrocrest Social Services, a food pantry in Carrollton’s central business district…”
Report: Affordable Housing
- Many Americans struggling with rising rental housing costs, By Tony Pugh, April 21, 2010, Miami Herald: “The gap between the cost of renting a modest apartment and the wages of working families continues to widen, according to a new report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition. ‘Out of Reach 2010’ paints a gloomy picture for the nation’s nearly 38 million renters, who make up a third of U.S. households. On average, a family must earn $38,355 a year, $18.44 an hour, to afford a simple two-bedroom apartment at the 2010 national average fair market rent of $959. However, the average wage for U.S. renters is $14.44 an hour, down from $14.69 last year. Further, more than 60 percent of U.S. renters live in counties where even the average one-bedroom fair market rent of $805 isn’t affordable for average wage earners, the study found. Minimum wage earners are at the greatest disadvantage. Under the standard measure of affordability – housing costs should account for no more than 30 percent of income – full-time minimum wage earners can’t afford one-bedroom apartments in any county in the country, even though Congress hiked the minimum wage from $6.55 an hour to $7.25 last year…”
- Some renters in Utah are still struggling, By Lesley Mitchell, April 21, 2010, Salt Lake Tribune: “After years of hefty rental increases, rates are stabilizing and in some areas falling. But affordable-housing advocates say rents are still too high for many low- to moderate-income families. The general rule is that housing costs — either in the form of rent or a mortgage — shouldn’t account for more than 30 percent of a family’s income, leaving enough money for food and other necessities. ‘But in Utah, there are many families paying more than 50 percent,’ said Tara Rollins of the Utah Housing Coalition. The coalition on Wednesday released “Out of Reach,” a report that compares incomes in the state with rental rates. It shows that a person or family would have to earn $2,560 monthly, or about $30,700 annually, to afford a two-bedroom apartment that runs $768 per month — without paying out more than 30 percent of their income on housing. Rollins said many don’t make that much money but still pay that level of rent…”
- Hawaii rents, already least affordable in nation, get worse, By Mary Vorsino, April 22, 2010, Honolulu Advertiser: “At a time when Hawai’i families are weathering pay cuts and job losses, here’s more gloomy news: The income needed to afford a modest two-bedroom rental in the Islands rose by nearly $3,000 this year to $64,396 annually – $26,000 more than the national average, a report on housing affordability shows. The National Low Income Housing Coalition’s 2010 Out of Reach study, which was released yesterday, again ranks Hawai’i as the least affordable state in the nation for renters – a spot it has held since 2005. The study puts Hawai’i’s ‘housing wage,’ a calculation of the minimum hourly pay needed to rent a two-bedroom home, at $30.96 in 2010, up from $29.53 (or $61,428 annually) the year before. Those figures are based on fair market rents, which in 2010 rose to $1,610 a month for a two-bedroom in the Islands, up from $1,536 a month the year before…”