food insecurity

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is a flashpoint in Congress yet again as members work to renew the farm bill. And the debate comes in the midst of rising food insecurity across the U.S.

As some states wrap up this year’s summer food aid program, Missouri is still distributing last year’s benefits for children. The state also declined tens of millions in federal aid for low-income kids in part because officials lacked confidence they could disperse those benefits by the deadline.

Chef Shanita McAfee-Bryant started The Prospect KC in 2019 to address systemic inequitality on Kansas City’s east side through food. Now, the nonprofit is launching a culinary training program that will teach valuable skills in the kitchen.

During the pandemic, SNAP rules were relaxed so students weren’t required to participate in state or federally funded work programs such as work-study. Those temporary pandemic rules allowed 3 million more students to qualify for food stamps, but now many are no longer eligible.

Religious pilgrims have been visiting a monastery north of Kansas City to see the well-preserved remains of an exhumed nun, who is drawing claims of sainthood because of her “incorrupt” body. Plus: Congress made SNAP work requirements stricter, shortly after Kansas made similar changes.

A 1975 protest at a McDonald’s restaurant in Kansas City emerged from years of escalating tension — between Black community members and their city, and between McDonald’s and the neighborhoods it inhabited. But this particular location was also one of the first Black-owned fast-food franchises in the country, an accomplishment born from its own struggle for inclusion.

After two years of free meals, students had to pay for lunch after starting this school year. Now, fewer students are buying lunch and meal debt is piling up for Kansas City area schools.

It’s Ramadan, and Muslims around the Kansas City metro are marking the holy month with daylong fasts. Residents say there are joys and struggles to fasting in an area where many people don’t share their faith. Plus: Why some counties in the Great Plains and Midwest are losing their grocery stores.

After the end of pandemic-era free meals, schools are reporting rising school meal debt and fewer kids in their free and reduced price programs.

While food prices won’t rise as sharply in 2023, they could still increase about 8% over last year’s rates, according to forecasts from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The lawsuit alleges Missouri is wrongly depriving thousands of low-income residents access to food assistance and violating federal SNAP rules. It also argues that the state’s overburdened call center particularly affects those with disabilities.

Pete’s Garden, founded in 2019 by Tamara Weber, partners with caterers, restaurants and food service organizations to save unserved, prepared food that would otherwise be thrown out. Last year, they distributed 65,000 meals to families in Kansas City.