Hunger & Poverty
As spring turns to summer in Louisiana, hundreds of thousands children lose access to nutritious school meals. This often leads to hardship as parents make hard choices about which bills to skip so their kids can eat.… Read more...
Federal pandemic relief dollars lessened the pressure on the state budget and allowed the Legislature to make important new investments in education, including a much-needed boost to the Go Grants program that will make college more affordable for low-income students and the creation of the M.J.… Read more...
Despite compelling evidence of high levels of food insecurity among college students, SNAP (formerly, Food Stamps) has long excluded full-time students from eligibility for food assistance benefits unless they meet certain narrow qualifications. During the pandemic, while college students have had an even harder time meeting their basic needs, two of the main qualifications that students have traditionally used for SNAP access — working at least 20 hours a week or receiving a work-study award — have become far less available, as the economy has slowed and campuses have transitioned to virtual instruction.… Read more...
The Covid-19 recession has driven hunger in Louisiana to unprecedented levels: More than 1 in 6 Louisiana adults and 1 in 5 adults with children reported that their households couldn’t afford enough food to eat each week during the pandemic, according to U.S.… Read more...