WOWK - On this week’s Inside West Virginia Politics, we discuss how the state prepared to reopen West Virginia schools, procedures schools will follow, and how schools will feed school children attending school remotely. Listen to the full segment here. In segment 4, Seth DiStefano, policy outreach director for West Virginia Center on Budget and…
Economic Security
More than five months after the declaration of a national emergency due to COVID-19, legitimate concern is growing that the burden placed on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients to comply with the excessive paperwork needed to maintain their food assistance benefits could be heightening food insecurity in West Virginia. Passed in March, The Families…
The Dominion Post- Dear Senators Capito and Manchin, Food for All is a broad and diverse coalition of individuals and organizations across West Virginia who believe that no West Virginian should ever go without access to adequate, nutritious food. Our coalition has dedicated itself to improving food security outcomes for our friends and neighbors across…
West Virginia MetroNews - A plan that “meets the moment” was what advocates for all kinds of issues in West Virginia, the organizations that make up the Food For All Coalition, said was needed out of the next COVID-19 pandemic stimulus package. Read full article here. As of Friday, national reports indicated negotiations were stalled on Capitol…
As the United States Senate reconvenes to negotiate what may well be the final COVID-19 relief package, addressing food insecurity must be a top priority. The lasting negative impacts of hunger, especially for children, are widely known. Congress has not only the opportunity, but the duty to act to avoid those consequences and support families…
USA Today - Jessica Smith lives with her family in the small town of Belle, about six miles from a high school where nonprofits provide free meals to families in need. Read full article here. But, like several other families who qualify for the program, Smith, a 39-year-old mother of two, does not own a car, making…
Mountain State Spotlight - Jennifer Boyle-Hempel eats just once a day so she can save her limited food for her kids. She and her husband run an art studio in Elkins, but they are out of work because of the COVID-19 pandemic. At times, she hasn’t had enough food to feed everyone in her house,…
Since the end of March, when unemployed West Virginians began receiving Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (PUC) payments – the $600 per week enhancement to unemployment benefits that were part of the CARES Act – West Virginia has received at least $753 million through the federally funded program. However, that aid is set to expire at the…
Beckley Register-Herald - Across our state, West Virginians are continuing to bear the brunt of the COVID-19 public health and economic crisis. Food insecurity is spiking, families are facing eviction from their homes because they can’t afford rent, parents are struggling to balance child care and work, and officials are scrambling to figure out how…
In order for West Virginia to successfully address food insecurity during the response to COVID-19 and throughout the economic fallout of the pandemic, Congress should immediately increase the maximum SNAP allotment by 15% for all SNAP households. While the House of Representatives’ recently introduced HEROES Act includes this increase in food assistance, it stops short…