Fighters' Network

PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: U.S. agriculture secretary critical of Pa. plan to tie food stamps to assets

Summary: 

"Do we really want to reduce access [to SNAP benefits] for senior citizens?" Vilsack asked.

January 27, 2012


By Alfred Lubrano

Inquirer Staff Writer

The federal official in charge of the U.S. food stamp program said Thursday that Pennsylvania's plan to tie food-stamp benefits to people's assets will save the state nothing and create more problems than it solves.

Secreatary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, in Philadelphia to discuss President Obama's State of the Union message, said the asset test, "is not going to save the commonwealth a single dime," and would, in fact, cost the state money to implement.

PATRIOT-NEWS EDITORIAL: This test is no asset

Summary: 

It is hard to imagine the problem warrants a change that will penalize people who are working hard to get back on their feet.

January 24, 2012


In 1997, the federal government revamped our national welfare system.

Under the new rules, people were given better ways to get job training and chart a course off of welfare.

One of the most significant changes from AFDC to TANF, as the new program was called, allowed people to keep more assets; for example, own a car worth more than $1500.

It had become painfully clear over the previous decades that the kind of financial limits placed on families who needed assistance simply continued to suck them into the welfare system.

ASSOCIATED PRESS: Food stamp families to critics: Walk in our shoes

Summary: 

"If they had a chance to sit in my shoes, they would be happy to have a program to help people who did work all their life."

January 19, 2012


By Jesse Washington, AP National Writer

Some have advanced degrees and remember middle-class lives. Some work selling lingerie or building websites. They are white, black and Hispanic, young and old, homeowners and homeless. What they have in common: They're all on food stamps.

PITTSBURGH POST GAZETTE OP-ED: The food stamp asset test would be a disaster for poor Pennsylvanians

Summary: 

My own small savings is set aside for my funeral and burial expenses, and I was terrified that it would disqualify me for the food stamps I need to pay for groceries.

January 18, 2012


By Mary Elizabeth McCarthy

Imagine having to choose between buying food or paying medical expenses in order to maintain the meager savings you've put together for your own funerals.

Just this feeling of dread -- something that no senior citizen should have to experience -- washed over me last week when I read about the Corbett administration's proposed asset test for food stamps.

PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: Annette John-Hall: Food-stamp crackdown is no way to celebrate Dr. King

Contact: 
Summary: 

"It's a disgrace," Irene says of the asset test. "Every single woman I know is scraping by. How do they expect us to exist?"

January 17, 2012


Annette John-Hall, Inquirer Columnist

Oh, the irony of it all.

On Monday, I tried to get someone in Harrisburg to explain why, in the name of all that's fair and just, low-income Pennsylvanians who have managed to build up a modest savings are slated to have their food stamps - now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - cut off.

When I called the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, the office was closed - for the Martin Luther King holiday.

Say what?

PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: Pennsylvania to impose asset test for food stamps

Summary: 

Antipoverty advocates say the Pennsylvania decision is unusual because there is a trend across America, favored by both Republicans and Democrats, to eliminate the asset tests.

January 10, 2012

By Alfred Lubrano

Inquirer Staff Writer

Pennsylvania plans to make the amount of food stamps that people receive contingent on the assets they possess - an unexpected move that bucks national trends and places the commonwealth among a minority of states.

Specifically, the Department of Public Welfare said that as of May 1, people under 60 with more than $2,000 in savings and other assets would no longer be eligible for food stamps. For people over 60, the limit would be $3,250.

PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: Thousands in Philadelphia eligible for food assistance never sought it, group says

Contact: 
Summary: 

In hard times, it seems unthinkable that people would miss out on millions of dollars to which they're entitled.

January 5, 2012


By Alfred Lubrano
Inquirer Staff Writer

In hard times, it seems unthinkable that people would miss out on millions of dollars to which they're entitled.

But that's precisely what's been happening with food stamps in Philadelphia.

An estimated 180,000 city residents who were eligible for food stamps in 2010 never enrolled in the program, known as the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, according to new calculations by the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger.

GENEROCITY.ORG: Cash Not Cans: Stretch Your Food Dollar This Season

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Summary: 

Dropping off cans is something tangible, a way to feel like you've really contributed to your community. But here's something you may not know: your money may do more to help than cans.

January 4, 2012


Shannon Collins, Generocity Writer (Photos courtesy of the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger)

12/26/11 Food drives are popular, especially at this time of year. Dropping off cans is something tangible, a way to feel like you've really contributed to your community. But here's something you may not know: your money may do more to help than cans.

It may seem counter-intuitive, but hear us out. We talked to a range of food banks and pantries around the region, and they all told us the same thing. Cash is king.

Here's why:

PRESS RELEASE: Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Out of Reach for Many PA Residents

Summary: 

More than 1 in 10 people in Philadelphia struggle to get affordable fruits and vegetables, according to a new report. 

December 20, 2011

New report shows more than 1 in 10 people in Philadelphia struggle to get affordable fruits and vegetables.

PECO Crown Lights - Walk Against Hunger

Event Date: 
Monday, April 9, 2012 (All day)
Summary: 

The Walk + Run Against Hunger will be featured on PECO's Crown Lights.


This year the Walk + Run Against Hunger will be featured on PECO's Crown Lights

Check it out from Monday, April 9 - Wednesday, April 11.

For more information about the Walk + Run Against Hunger visit www.hungerwalk.org