By Tara Kavaler | Arizona Republic
U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema met recently with Arizona stakeholders to talk about food insecurity and other aspects of the nutritional aspects of the new farm bill.
In Arizona, one in nine adults and one in six kids face food insecurity.
The 2018 farm legislation is set to expire Sept. 30. The law authorizes programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, formerly known as food stamps; the food distribution program in Native American communities; and the Emergency Food Assistance Program, or TEFAP.
During a roundtable discussion Friday at St. Mary’s Food Bank in Phoenix, Sinema, I-Ariz., asked representatives from various agencies to prioritize the flexibilities within the programs that they wanted to have included in the bill, which enjoys support from both sides of the aisle.
Ideas included the ability for kids to take meals home from programs that provide food after school and to take enough to last multiple days.
Other suggestions included easing the bureaucracy required to enroll in nutrition-related initiatives by having applications for various food assistance programs streamlined into one form, making it easier for people in need to access benefits.
