- India passes massive program to feed 800 million in poverty, By Mark Magnier, September 2, 2013, Los Angeles Times: “India passed into law Monday an ambitious program to provide nearly free food to some 800 million Indians. Supporters hailed it as a long-overdue fix for the nation’s rampant poverty, while critics slammed it as a shameless and electoral ploy the country can’t afford that will encourage more waste and corruption. The National Food Security Bill gives two-thirds of India’s population the right to buy 12 pounds of rice, wheat, millet or other cereals each month at no more than 3 cents per pound. It also provides food free to pregnant women, lactating mothers and children under 6 years old…”
- India aims to ease poverty, malnutrition by expanding grain subsidies to reach 800 million, Associated Press, September 3, 2013, Washington Post: “India plans to subsidize wheat, rice and cereals for some 800 million people under a $20 billion scheme to cut malnutrition and ease poverty. The Food Security Bill, sent this week by India’s parliament to the president for approval, guarantees citizens a legal right to food…”
Tag: Hunger
Food Bank Use in the UK
Number of people turning to food banks triples in a year, By Patrick Butler, April 23, 2013, The Guardian: “More than 350,000 people turned to food banks for help last year, almost triple the number who received food aid in the previous year and 100,000 more than anticipated, according to the UK’s biggest food crisis charity. The Trussell Trust said the dramatic increase in the use of its food banks was set to continue in the coming months as poorer families struggle financially as a result of the government’s welfare reforms…”
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
- Study: Food stamps aid children, By Jens Manuel Krogstad, January 22, 2013, Des Moines Register: “An Iowa State University economist hopes a new method to measure how food stamps affect hunger and health will influence Congress this year as lawmakers decide funding for a program used by more than 46 million people. A study using the new technique found that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps, reduces hunger among eligible children by at least 20 percent and poor health by at least 35 percent. It also found that food stamps don’t increase obesity rates, and may even decrease them…”
- Report questions food stamps’ nutritional value, Reuters, January 17, 2013, Chicago Tribune: “A report by a panel of experts released on Thursday questioned whether the U.S. government’s food stamp program adequately provides for healthy diets for the more than 47 million low-income people who rely on the benefit. The report by the National Academy of Sciences found that the aid for families to pay for groceries, officially called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, does not factor in many barriers to finding affordable, nutritious food by inner-city shoppers…”