September 15, 2021 — New data on poverty came out this week and oddly enough, the news was pretty good. Though many aspects of 2020 were really stinky, this data on poverty is pretty sweet. In fact, after accounting for government relief payments, the U.S. poverty rate fell to its lowest rate ever – 9.1 percent. This good news […]
August 16, 2021 — A century ago, the iconic image of hunger was the bread line. Today, it is the line at a food bank, swamped by demand because of the pandemic. And for more than a decade now, the SNAP program has been inadequate for providing healthy nutrition to families facing food insecurity. But today, that will change. […]
June 27, 2021 — “I had a student this year when I was trying to explain the disincentive effects of unemployment insurance – and I was being a good economist and explaining moral hazard, and how this is going to discourage people from working. Student raised his hand and said, is it really moral to use the threat of […]
March 17, 2021 — It might seem surprising, but rising food insecurity may make public health issues with obesity even worse. Even before the pandemic, declines in food security seemed to be a factor in rising obesity prevalence. But now research is emerging to suggest that food insecurity might make obesity harder to shake. A new analysis in Annals […]
November 26, 2020 — We have come to an odd relationship with food, because we are full of contradictions. This American Thanksgiving holiday brings those contradictions into sharp view. While an increasing number of Americans are going hungry, we’re celebrating a national feast day that is a time to give thanks for abundance. Hunger Soaring with the Pandemic At […]
August 11, 2020 — Food insecurity may well be the next pandemic that results from COVID-19. But new research in JAMA Network Open tells us that the problem is already here. Candice Myers, Emily Mire, and Peter Katzmarzyk tell us food insecurity doubled between 2000 and 2016 in the U.S. Moreover, with this doubling, obesity rose in close correlation. […]
December 5, 2019 — Just in time for Christmas, the Trump administration has new rules for food assistance. They’ll tighten work requirements for single adults getting food stamps. The effect? Most likely, says USDA, they’ll be cutting SNAP benefits for 688,000 adults. According to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, however, this is not about cutting benefits. Rather, it’s about promoting […]
November 16, 2018 — The last few days at ObesityWeek brought us some fascinating insights relating to poverty, stress, and access to obesity care. Presentations here remind us that obesity has a complex relationship with social status. Food security plays a role. Veterans live with a higher risk. And yet, access to effective care is nothing short of bizarre […]
June 10, 2018 — Yesterday’s opening session of Nutrition 2018, the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition, tackled the long-enduring debate about restricting choice in SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as food stamps). Many arguments exist for – and just as many against – restricting choice for SNAP participants to healthy foods and beverages. […]
February 17, 2018 — It’s hard to know what to think about this week’s proposal for sweeping changes in SNAP from the White House. Once known as food stamps, SNAP is the cornerstone program for fighting food insecurity. Under this proposal, a Harvest Box of processed food would replace half of the food that SNAP recipients can presently choose […]
