Latest news with #HealthyIncentivesProgram
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
In new budget, Mass. Senate Democrats to propose $25M for healthy food program
Bay State families struggling with their food bills could get some extra help if a western Massachusetts lawmaker has anything to say about it. The budget plan that majority-Senate Democrats are expected to unveil Tuesday will fully fund the state's Healthy Incentives Program, which allows qualifying people to buy locally grown fruits and vegetables from participating farmers. The language, backed by Sen. Joanne M. Comerford, D-Hampshire, Franklin, and Worcester, would provide some $25 million in funding for the new fiscal year that starts July 1, up from the current $15 million. 'It really speaks to this critical moment,' Comerford, of Northampton, said of shifting federal winds that affected social services programs across government. The 'HIP' program, as it's known in legislative shorthand, traces its roots to 2017. It is intended as an adjunct to the federal government's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), sometimes referred to as 'food stamps.' With that federal program potentially on the chopping block on Capitol Hill, Comerford and her allies exclusively told MassLive that the expanded state support is even more critical. 'It is urgent and timely and necessary,' Comerford, the vice chairperson of the budget-writing Senate Ways and Means Committee, said. If it's finally approved, the additional money would also restore the maximum benefit under the program to $80 a month for a family of six or more. Right now, that benefit is flat-funded at $20, irrespective of the size of the household. The state was forced to trim support for the program after huge demand, which meant that an initial round of funding that was supposed to last three years was exhausted in 10 months, Rebecca Miller, the policy director for the Massachusetts Food System Collaborative, said. The advocacy group has been pressing the case for full funding for months, arguing that it provides a critical lifeline to hungry families and the farms that serve them. 'It's been devastating for farmers,' she said. 'A lot of farmers grew products to serve folks [in the program],' she said. 'Anecdotally, we've heard about people going to food pantries and having less options. Seniors have had to rely on other sources for food.' At the same time, 'we've seen a lot of chaos from the federal government,' as it's cut other programs that support access to fresh fruits and vegetables, including one that allowed schools to buy farm-fresh foods. That, too, rolled downhill on farmers. 'A lot of folks are scrambling, trying to figure out what they are going to do,' she said. If the new Senate language is approved, the infusion of additional taxpayer cash means families can buy 'tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, apples, strawberries and blueberries,' from local growers to augment the food they purchase through SNAP, Comerford said. And that also matters because every county in Massachusetts experienced some degree of food insecurity in 2023, according to the Greater Boston Food Bank. All told, that came out to 1.9 million adults, or 34% of the state's total population. In Bristol, Hampden and Suffolk counties, 45% of adults reported food insecurity in 2023, data show. The number is even higher among families with children, with 1 in 3 households with children statewide reporting food insecurity in 2023, the same data shows. The issue is particularly pressing in western Massachusetts, where the prevalence of child-level food insecurity hit 43% in 2023, data show. As a practical matter, that means a child went hungry, skipped a meal, or didn't eat for an entire day because there wasn't enough money for food. It also comes as families in Massachusetts and nationwide continue to contend with high prices on supermarket shelves, while the Trump administration says it's working to bring them down. 'Food insecurity is real. It's happening to people all over the state,' Nicole McKinstry, of McKinstry Farms, which participates in the program, told MassLive. McKinstry told MassLive that she's seen families with children come into her shop on Montgomery Street and heard them turn down their kids' pleas for strawberries and raspberries because they need to buy such longer-lasting produce as potatoes. 'It's hard for them to understand why they can't get those fresh fruits and vegetables,' she said. McKinstry said she's had to make financial adjustments, trimming staff to account for that reduced state funding. The program also helps her through the leaner winter months when there's not as much fresh produce at hand. While the Senate plan that's expected to be unveiled on Tuesday is one voice in the annual budget derby, it is far from the final one. Democratic Gov. Maura Healey included $18.8 million for the program in the $62 billion spending bill she filed earlier this year. The $61.4 billion budget proposal approved by the majority-Democrat state House last week sets aside $20 million for the program. That means the final amount, like nearly everything else surrounding the state's final budget, will have to be ironed out in closed-door talks that could stretch well into early summer. Comerford, the veteran of more than a few budget battles, is hoping for the best. 'It has been a win-win kind of program,' she said. More political news Read the original article on MassLive.
USA Today
30-01-2025
- Business
- USA Today
U.S. Rep. McGovern expresses doubts about President Trump's funding cuts, Cabinet picks
U.S. Rep. McGovern expresses doubts about President Trump's funding cuts, Cabinet picks McGovern made comments while visiting Growing Places' new food processing facility in Gardner A Massachusetts lawmaker is expressing concerns about the Trump Administration's proposed budget cuts and prospective Cabinet picks. In Gardner on Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Worcester, said that he is worried that President Trump's proposed cuts to programs like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) could have a negative impact on the state's families in need. 'I do a lot of work on hunger and food insecurity, and they're proposing up to $300 billion in cuts to SNAP, and they're talking about taking the benefit, which is now on average about $2.80 per person per meal, and reducing it to $1.40,' McGovern said during a visit to see Growing Places unveil its new food processing facility in the future Gardner Senior Center on Waterford St. 'And then you hear Robert Kennedy talking about how we want our nation to be healthier? Well, the bottom line is, you know, crappy food is cheaper. If you're going to cut people's food benefits, how the hell do you expect that to result in people making better choices.' McGovern said this is no time to change what is already working, and cited the state's Healthy Incentives Program as a way to get extra money to people already collecting SNAP benefits to find fresh produce from local farmers. 'And people are utilizing it,' he said. 'The state cut it, unfortunately, but we're trying to get it made whole again. But farmers love it, the people who benefit from the program love it, and that's how you do this.' More: Trump's second term: Gardner area supporters optimistic before historic inauguration "If you give kids a choice between crummy food and healthy food that is fresh and tasty and looks good and smells good, kids will make the healthier choice," McGovern added. "Everybody will, right? But to do that, we can't retreat on our nutrition programs – we need to make sure that the funding is there for schools to be able to purchase healthier food." McGovern on Trump's Cabinet picks McGovern said he is 'terrified' that Trump's incoming administration might have a 'devastating' effect on the programs that millions of American families rely on to survive. 'I'm terrified,' he said. 'The people that he's nominating for his Cabinet are not qualified to do the jobs. Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense, and Robert Kennedy Jr. as the secretary of HHS, who is encouraging people not to be vaccinated? Who says that if you drink tap water your kids will become gay? It's ridiculous.' Growing Places unveils new food processing center in Gardner: What to know As for Linda McMahon, the World Wrestling Entertainment co-founder who Trump has tapped to become the next Secretary of Education, McGovern expressed doubts that she is up to the job. 'I guess you could make the case that most schools have wrestling teams, but other than that, really?' he said. McGovern: Trump prioritizing rich friends over American families McGovern said he felt President Trump is prioritizing the well-being of his wealthy friends and associates over that of the average American family. More: Gardner Community Action Committee just received a $115K grant: how they will use it 'I think government should be there to make sure that everybody's life gets better, not just people who are millionaires and billionaires, and the big corporations,' he said. 'We see hunger rising in this country, we see middle-class families being squeezed more and more, and we see lifestyles of the rich and famous being entertained at Mar-a-Lago and the White House.' McGovern noted that wealthy celebrities, including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg, had front-row seats at President Trump's inauguration. 'It was the richest people in the world, ahead of his (own) family,' he added. 'But the one thing in common for everybody in his Cabinet is that they're all extremely wealthy millionaires and billionaires, and that's about it.'
