Nothing to love about food deserts

Nothing to love about food deserts

Gazette Column
Trump administration budget aims to slash SNAP by $213 billion It’s Valentine’s Day, and I hoped to write a column appropriate for a love and indulgence holiday, however contrived. But that’s mentally difficult when new Trump administration proposals promote food deserts and scarcity. On Monday, the administration announced its plan to slash food assistance for low-income families and replace it with a “Blue Apron-type program.” “What we do is propose that for folks who are on food stamps, part — not all, part — of their benefits come in the actual sort of, and I don’t want to steal somebody’s copyright, but a Blue Apron-type program where you actually receive the food instead of receive the cash,” said Office of Management and Budget director Mick Mulvaney during a policy briefing. The Trump administration plans to cut…
Read More
Disability isn’t so easy, even for the desperate

Disability isn’t so easy, even for the desperate

Gazette Blog
As much as I need to stop thinking about the Washington Post story on Social Security disability benefits reprinted in The Gazette on Sunday, I’m having trouble letting it go. As the youngest child of elderly parents — my mother went to the doctor for concerns about menopause only to discover she was pregnant with me — I grew up on Social Security dependent benefits. So, in addition to my parents’ Social Security retirement checks, our family received a little more than $200 each month earmarked for me. In order to better make ends meet, my father and mother worked odd jobs. Until bone cancer made it impossible, my mother took in sewing projects. My dad mowed lawns and did handyman or mechanic work when he could find it. During…
Read More