U.S. expands healthy food assistance to women, infants and children, Reuters, February 28, 2014, Chicago Tribune: “Some 9 million poor women and young children who receive federal food assistance under the U.S. government’s so-called WIC program will have greater access to fruits, vegetables and whole grains under an overhaul of the program unveiled on Friday. The U.S. Department of Agriculture hailed the revamping of its Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children as the first comprehensive revisions to WIC food voucher allowances since 1980…”
Tag: Women Infants and Children (WIC)
Government Shutdown and Affected Services
- State worries over WIC program grow, By Jake Grovum, October 10, 2013, Stateline: “By early next week, millions of women could learn whether benefits to help feed them and their young children will end on Nov. 1. As the government shutdown continues, states face the possibility that they’ll run out of funds for the federal nutrition program for Women, Infants and Children, commonly known as WIC. Federal guidelines typically require states to give 15 days’ notice to those enrolled in the program before benefits expire, and Nov. 1 could be the day funding dries up nationwide…”
- Government shutdown: Cuts to social services would affect thousands of vulnerable Oregonians, By Yuxing Zheng, October 10, 2013, The Oregonian: “In a bustling office west of downtown Hillsboro far from the divisive halls of Congress, the federal government shutdown has left some of the most vulnerable Oregonians fretting over how they’ll pay rent, heat their homes or simply eat…”
- Pa. focuses on social services, not federal parks, By Marc Levy (AP), October 10, 2013, Philadelphia Inquirer: “A partial federal government shutdown could eventually force the state to mothball social services programs that serve women and children, top aides to Gov. Tom Corbett said Thursday, dismissing the possibility that Pennsylvania would spend its own money to reopen shuttered national parks like Independence Hall. It was the 10th day of a partial federal government shutdown, with no end in sight. For the Corbett administration, that means putting off payments and guarding cash reserves with the goal of maintaining vital services for children and families who normally receive federal money…”
- Unemployment claims surge, partly due to shutdown, By Annalyn Kurtz, October 10, 2013, CNNMoney: “First-time claims for unemployment benefits suddenly jumped last week, marking the biggest one-week rise since Superstorm Sandy left thousands of people temporarily out of work. The rise was partly due to the government shutdown, as well as other temporary factors, the Department of Labor said…”
Government Shutdown and Affected Services
- Government shutdown jeopardizes low-income families, Associated Press, October 4, 2013, Patriot-News: “Jacob Quick is a fat and happy 4-month-old with a big and expensive appetite. Like millions of other poor women, Jacob’s mother relies on the federal Women, Infants and Children program to pay for infant formula — aid that is now jeopardized by the government shutdown. Pennsylvania and other states say they can operate WIC at least through the end of October, easing fears among officials that it would run out of money within days. But advocates and others worry what will happen if the shutdown drags on beyond that…”
- More than 5K Ariz. families denied welfare checks, By Ronald J, Hansen, October 3, 2013, Arizona Republic: “More than 5,000 low-income Arizona families failed to get their welfare checks Thursday in one of the more tangible early effects of the federal government shutdown. The group included people who had been approved for cash assistance, which averages $207 per person, but were not paid because money for the federally funded, state-run program had run out. About 11,000 other families already had received their aid this month, but their benefits could be affected if the political stalemate in Washington stretches into November…”
- If government shutdown persists, N.H. social services could start to run short, By Ben Leubsdorf, October 3, 2013, Concord Monitor: “Despite the government shutdown, the federally funded safety net for low-income New Hampshire residents appears intact for now. But if the shutdown continues into late October or beyond, state officials and local agencies are worried they’ll begin to run out of money for programs that help supply poor people with food, fuel and child care…”
- No government reports in shutdown; economists left in limbo, By Ann Belser, October 4, 2013, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “On the first Friday of every month, a host of people are ready at 8:30 a.m. to click into the Bureau of Labor Statistics website. It is at that moment that the bureau releases some of the most economically sensitive data it has: the monthly report on national employment, which includes the unemployment rate, the number of jobs created and the averages of wages and numbers of hours worked. The information regularly moves the financial markets…”
- U.S. government shutdown claims latest victim: September unemployment report, By Ed Beeson, October 3, 2013, Star-Ledger: “Those who keep watch on how many jobs the U.S. adds each month will have to wait longer for September data. The U.S. Labor Department announced today that its monthly report on the country’s employment situation won’t be released Friday as scheduled, thanks to the federal shutdown. A new release date hasn’t been scheduled, the agency added…”