food insufficiency

The Trump Administration is asking states to more closely watch the citizenship status of people receiving benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. But some advocates for immigrant families worry the messaging could hurt people who are eligible for the food assistance.

This month, Kansas received a letter from the federal government that demanded "unfettered access to comprehensive data from all State programs that receive federal funding," including Social Security numbers and personal addresses of SNAP recipients.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins gave a first-ever approval for a state to restrict what's covered by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program during a visit to Nebraska this week. Other states, including Kansas, Iowa and Indiana, are seeking similar waivers.

People are flocking to backyard chickens this year, in part due to the sky-high cost of eggs at the grocery store. Some first-timers have turned to chicken rentals to try out ownership for a few months.

Thousands of schools, farmers and food pantries in the Midwest and Great Plains planned on federal dollars over the next year to support local food purchases. And then the U.S. Department of Agriculture cut the programs.

Efforts to keep junk foods from being paid for by Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, are increasing at the federal and state level. Lawmakers proposing such bills say they want to encourage healthy habits, but some food advocates say the restrictions would have harmful effects.

Harvesters, the food bank that serves the Kansas City area and helps supply food to local pantries and shelters, says that thousands of cases of canned food, eggs, milk and more were called off by President Trump's U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Texas is one of about a dozen states that won't be participating in a federal program that provides families with $120 per eligible child to buy groceries while school is out.

More states in the Midwest and Great Plains are trying to support rural, independent grocery stores through tailored grant programs. Advocates say these businesses are vital for rural communities to thrive.

During a Friday visit to Junction City that included a stop at a food pantry site, U.S. Rep. Roger Marshall said he would work to maintain funding for...