Page 17 - John Rivera News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

It has been almost a year since New Hampshire families received the last monthly Child Tax Credit payment of a few hundred dollars, and their advocates say the result of stopping the payments has been alarming. The families include some 217,000 children, and the number who report they "sometimes or often" did not have enough to eat in the previous week has increased by 50% in the past year. Michael Reinke, executive director of the Nashua Soup Kitchen and Shelter, said the change has been dramatic. ...

Families are being forced to stretch their SNAP dollars due to inflation, and advocates say they want Congress to tackle the issue in the 2023 farm bill. Lawmakers are expected to begin working soon on the legislation, which focuses primarily on food-and-farming. It is set to expire at the end of this year, and stands to be reauthorized every 5 years. ...

While the most extreme impacts of the pandemic have eased, the demand at Indiana food banks has not. Indiana pork producers and Feeding Indiana's Hungry have an ongoing Million Meals program to attempt to provide one million meals in a year to Hoosiers in need. The effort seeks to include protein with those meals in the form of fresh and frozen ground pork provided on an ongoing basis. ...

Some low-income shoppers might assume farmers markets, with their specialty products, are out of reach. But more of these markets in the Commonwealth are accepting public benefits such as SNAP for fresh produce, helping farmers earn a profit and families eat healthier. The state-run Healthy Incentives Program provides a dollar-for-dollar reimbursement when SNAP users buy healthy, local food directly from Massachusetts farmers. ...

HOLYOKE — City Councilor Wilmer Puello-Mota returned to his duties at Tuesday night’s council meeting, voting as a full member days after a Hampden Superior Court judge ruled he could not be removed from his seat while he faces child pornography and...