The price of all food has skyrocketed into the stratosphere and the government is doing nothing about the drain on the wealth of the public.
But there is a Rep that is at least trying to bang some help through the House but she must contend with the pseudo-human Johnson.
Rep. Jayapal is using a Seattle program as a guide….
As Americans face rising grocery prices under President Donald Trump and rally behind progressive policies and primary candidates, US Rep. Pramila Jayapal on Thursday introduced a bill that shows what kind of proposals could become reality with more Democrats like her in Congress.
Inspired by a program in her own district in Washington state, the chair emerita of the Congressional Progressive Caucus introduced the Fresh Bucks for Fresh Produce Act, which would create a pilot program at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) that gives households earning 80% or less of their area’s median income $60 per month to buy fruits and vegetables.
The USDA pilot would be modeled on Seattle’s Fresh Bucks initiative, in which enrolled households “experience a 31% higher rate of food security and consume at least three daily servings of fruits and vegetables 37% more often than those assigned to a program waitlist,” according to University of Washington (UW) research published last August.
“I would classify both of those numbers as pretty large,” study co-author Jessica Jones-Smith a professor at UW and University of California, Irvine, said at the time. “We don’t routinely see interventions that work that well. It’s a pretty big impact on diet in terms of what we can do from a policy perspective and expect to make a difference in food insecurity.”
In Seattle—generally ranked as an expensive but livable metropolis—a single person living within city limits on a monthly income of $7,070, or $84,850 a year, can apply for the program. For a family of four, it’s $10,095 per month, or $121,150 annually. In January, the city the welcomed over 4,500 more local households off its waitlist and increased monthly benefits from $40 to $60.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/us-food-assistance
A good program but will probably go nowhere as long as the MAGA morons run the House….that could change come 2027….we can only hope that there will be some help for the people of this nation coming with the next election.
God knows we are not getting much from the slugs in power now.
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”
That seems like a good scheme, as long as they can be sure the money will be spent on the fruit and vegetables. And $60 a month is not that much given the ongoing price increases. Easy to imagine how many politicians will be against it though, including those that spend that much on a ‘light lunch’ in one day.
Best wishes, Pete.
60 dollars doesn’t sound like much but it is. I need that for fruits and vegetables. Who is going to pay for that?
I want top know where were the mainstream Dems? It was a progressive that brought up this plan….chuq
This is going to sound absolutely horrible.
Who is going to pay for my fruits and vegetables? Why am I paying for someone’s f and v who makes $84k in a year? That isn’t chump change. Vouchers that say this must be used for fruits and vegetables.
I have no problem with it as long as it helps children eat more good stuff. chuq
I agree if the children are fed fruits and vegetables. I have seen on vidoes and heard grumbling in person because WIC no longer covers the crap some people buy with it. Use your money ffs. Cheese poops and ding dongs are not real food and will rot your kid’s brain. Vouchers that specify fruits and vegetables are ok. Cash, no. You’re correct that it won’t go anywhere. According to rump and his brethren, everything is fine. Hope you have a great weekend.
The sad thing is the cheap food stuff is easier than good stuff….I agree no actual cash for it will be used for other stuff…..like rent or school….but the children need the healthy diet…..have a great Sunday…..chuq
With all due respect to Jayapal, this is just silly. It would make a heck fo a lot more sense to just expand the existing SNAP or WIC programs to include people in this new category. The bureaucracy for food assistance is already in place. There’s no need to create a whole new program.
Nothing like this is going to get traction, though. The GOP is already on record claiming that they believe people are struggling and starving because they are lazy and *like* being poor and starving, not because they genuinely need assistance, and a lot of Dems agree with them so even if the Dems take control of Congress and the White House this would never pass.
I’d like to get some of these bastards who claim that to come out here and follow us around working with the people we see every day who come to us for help, who come to our food banks or to get clothes and shoes for their kids. I’d like to see them tell a single mom with four kids who’s working three jobs and getting 4 hours of sleep a day to try to feed and keep a roof over the heads of her kids that she’s lazy and likes being poor.
That was my thought as well….GOP will die before they help children eat healthier….I have heard that insult many times down here….because you are poor you are lazy….I like to see ideas even if they suck at least someone is thinking and trying to help. chuq