Tag: SNAP

Food insecurity grows in RI as prices rise

Despite a strong economy, more Rhode Islanders are worried about food than they were 10 years ago.

Rhode Island’s economy is doing well, but one in 8 Rhode Islanders are still nervous about having enough food on the table, according to the Rhode Island Food Bank’s 2018 Status Report on Hunger. The Food Bank released the report in November.

“The R.I. economy is thriving, unemployment is at 3.8 percent, which is remarkably low, and wages are beginning to grow, and that’s all good,” Food Bank CEO Andrew Schiff told the Providence Journal. “But wages have not kept up with the real cost of living in terms of housing and energy and food.”

Among them are more than 36,000 households receiving SNAP benefits. The households represent 55,000 Rhode Islanders, mostly children.

The report notes that food prices – partly driven by gas costs – rose significantly for low-income families over the past three years.

The Providence Journal explained that Food Bank workers identified 71 items that a family of four would need for one week. Over three summers, the costs of those products increased 15 percent. Wages, on the other hand, had increased only 5 percent during the same period.

Some proof of the problem may be seen in the Food Bank’s growing service. Over the past 10 years, its member agencies went from serving an average 37,000 people every month to 53,000, the ProJo noted.

Trump food tariffs may worsen the situation, but a newly-elected Democratic House majority may avert previously proposed cuts in SNAP and other agricultural programs.

Low-income families spend $123k in SNAP benefits at farmers markets

When eligible families buy fruits and vegetables at farmers markets with their SNAP benefits, everyone wins.

It’s great news for everyone. Families are able to buy and eat homegrown and the freshest, healthiest food available. Local farmers have a new group of consumers to whom to sell. Economic development has another boost.

We’re talking about the $123,000-plus that low-income individuals and families spent in SNAP benefits at Rhode Island farmers markets and Food on the Move trucks in 2016, described in the November 2017 Rhode Island Monthly.

Yes, farm-grown food can be more expensive than the mass-produced fat- and salt-heavy offerings at the supermarkets and fast food joints. But organizations like Farm Fresh Rhode Island are working with farmers and the state to make it much more affordable.

RI Monthly describes one such case:

“Because she is enrolled in Healthy Foods, Healthy Families, every time Angela swipes her SNAP EBT card at the Farm Fresh RI welcome desk, she also gets a double bonus, which means she gets 80 percent extra in Bonus Bucks to spend on fresh fruits and vegetables. Last week she exchanged $20 in SNAP benefits on her card for $20 in tokens and she gained an additional $16 in tokens to spend specifically on fruits and vegetables. Other SNAP recipients get a 40 percent bonus in tokens to spend on local produce.”