SNAP

Only about 30% of people 65 and up who are eligible for food assistance through SNAP are getting it.

As part of last year’s debt ceiling showdown, lawmakers agreed to raise the age under which SNAP participants are required to fill out paperwork on their employment status — from 49 to 54 for adults without dependents or disabilities.

Despite wage gains, lower-income families have been hit hard by inflation and the expiration of pandemic-era benefits.

The number of Americans facing food insecurity has increased. People are turning to food pantries, soup kitchens and each other.

In more than a dozen states, less than 80% of SNAP applications are being processed on time. Before the pandemic, the numbers were much better.

The upper age limit for SNAP recipients (able bodied, without dependents) who have to prove they’re working or looking for work at least part time has just risen from age 49 to age 50. Eventually it'll go up to age 54.

Millions of people have had their benefits cut by at least $95 a month, at a time when food prices are up almost 10%.

Here's why it took a pandemic to make it happen, and why the practice is probably here to stay.

Congress will be debating food aid programs covered by the bill, just as pandemic-era funding increases for food aid expire while grocery costs remain high.

Advocates for everything from nutrition programs to tribal food sovereignty to climate and sustainability initiatives will be keeping an eye on the bill next year.