pandemic aid

USDA is ending two pandemic-era programs that provided more than $1 billion for schools and food banks to purchase food from local farmers and producers.  About $660 million of that went to schools and childcare centers to buy food for meals through the Local Foods for Schools program.  A separ...

Most Oregonians who receive food assistance through the SNAP program will again see a larger allotment this month; but it’s the last time emergency food benefits will go out.  Around 416,000 Oregon households will share an additional 71-thousand dollars in payments in February.  March will be...

There are several reasons behind the USDA forecasting a 21% drop in net cash income for farmers this year, but one of the more obvious reasons is the roughly 34% drop in government payments.  USDA chief economist Seth Meyer said 2023 will mark a couple of years in a row of direct government payments declining.  Meyer s...

Congress narrowly averted a government shutdown late last week, passing another stop-gap funding measure that continues farm disaster and pandemic aid. This came amid a Republican fight over the president’s vaccine policies. The new funding lasts only until February 18th, when lawmakers must again wrestle with funding for the rest of the current fiscal year. But ...