Nutrition

Lack of transparency about SNAP benefits leaves students confused, unable to take advantage of resources

As summer approaches, the West Virginia Department of Education is looking to partner with organizations in an effort to provide meals and activities for children while schools are out of session.

The U.S. territory needs to urgently tackle issues such as "widespread informal housing" and "the exorbitant amount of abandoned spaces" as it rebuilds after Hurricane Maria.

Under the continuing resolution (CR) that provided the funding to reopen the government for three weeks, SNAP (food stamps) now is fully funded at least through March, even if the government shuts down again on February 15.

The firearm, obesity, and opioid epidemics are among the most important public health crises of our time. Each epidemic has a complex etiology that challenges efforts at mitigation.

“Families are borrowing from already-limited food budgets to keep a roof over their heads”

When the school day ends, far too many children return home to empty refrigerators and bare cupboards. The federal Afterschool Nutrition Programs provide healthy meals and snacks to children to ensure they are fed after school (and on weekends and during school holidays).

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey on Tuesday announced $3 million in grants to 13 community organizations that address things like housing, hunger and other societal factors that affect someone’s health.

These programs, available at 10 Wichita middle and high schools so far, include extended serving times in cafeterias, grab-and-go breakfasts from carts or kiosks, and “second-chance breakfast,” in which students are offered breakfast after homeroom or first period.

The federally funded School Breakfast Program is critical to addressing childhood hunger and food insecurity.