#SNAP

After a marathon 14-hour markup in the House Agriculture Committee, US Rep. Jill Tokuda (HI-02) voted against the Republicans’ reconciliation bill that she said would cut over $300 billion in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.

The UHERO second quarter forecast for 2025 reports: “sharp increases in US import tariffs, sweeping federal layoffs, and volatile fiscal and immigration policies are undermining consumer confidence, raising inflation expectations, and worsening the business outlook—both nationally and in Hawaiʻi’s visitor-dependent economy.”

Maui Economic Opportunity’s Head Start preschool program, which offers comprehensive early childhood education at no cost to income-qualifying families, continues to accept children for the 2025-2026 school year, which begins in August.

State Sen. Angus McKelvey and US Rep. Jill Tokuda are rebuking the administration of President Donald Trump for the loss of thousands of federal jobs as part of an effort to shrink government bureaucracy.

Members of the Legislature’s Hawaiʻi Working Families Caucus on Monday were joined by community advocates to present their 2025 Legislative Package, which aims to protect workers’ rights and address priority issues for Hawaiʻi’s families.  

The Maui Food Bank, in partnership with the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Hawaiʻi Nutrition Center, offers healthy food demonstrations at Da Market in Lahaina by incorporating products that neighbors in the program can access at Da Market.

Maui Economic Opportunity’s Head Start preschool program, which offers comprehensive early childhood education at no cost to income-qualifying families, will begin accepting applications Feb. 1 for the 2025-2026 school year.  

In 2024, US Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) helped secure more than $6 billion in federal funding for Hawai‘i as he led efforts to deliver resources to support Maui’s recovery from last year’s fires and advance a range of other priorities for the state.

Following calls for increased benefits for Hawai‘i families, US Sen. Brian Schatz today announced that the US Department of Agriculture has proposed updates to its Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in Hawai‘i to ensure they accurately reflect the cost of food across the state. The USDA has proposed a 2.3% increase in SNAP benefits for Hawai‘i, which would result in an estimated $40 monthly increase for a family of four. 

The Food Basket, Hawaiʻi Island’s Food Bank, today announced it has been awarded more than $8.4 million from the US Department of Agriculture to support Hawai‘i’s “DA BUX” Double Up Food Bucks program.

The changes mean that an extra 13,000 to 14,000 households will be eligible for an average of $3,200 a year in SNAP benefits, commonly known as food stamps.

In observance of the one-year mark since the Aug. 8, 2023, Maui wildfires, the Office of Recovery-West Maui in Lahaina Gateway will be closed on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. 

In addition to containing the recently-renegotiated Compacts of Free Association, the package includes the text of Sen. Hirono’s Compact Impact Fairness Act to restore access to a range of federal benefits for COFA citizens who reside in the US, including nearly 20,000 in Hawaiʻi. The package, which passed in the US House of Representatives on Wednesday, now heads to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.

Maui Economic Opportunity’s Head Start, which offers preschool at no cost to qualifying families, will begin accepting applications Thursday, Feb. 1, for the 2024-2025 school year, which begins in August. 

The lawmakers’ request for would help to alleviate burdens, providing thousands of students across the island with access to healthy, nutritious meals at no cost to their families as they deal with post-wildfire impacts.

The US Department of Agriculture announced that households impacted by wildfires in Hawaiʻi could be eligible for replacement of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP benefits. This step was taken to ensure those in need who were impacted by the Hawaiʻi wildfires have food to eat.

Food insecurity is when a household is worried about running out of food or money to buy food each month. The first 350 participants who complete the MNFA Food Security Survey will receive a $20 gift of local food from Maui Hub or Sustʻāinable Molokai’s Mobile Market.

Governor Josh Green, M.D. signed a sixth emergency proclamation to extend federal funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program emergency allotment benefits, in keeping with ongoing federal COVID relief efforts.

Effective Dec. 30, 2022, households receiving Social Security and/or Supplemental Security Income or SSI saw their benefits increase 8.7%.

Governor David Ige signed a third emergency proclamation to allow the continuation of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in line with the federal COVID emergency.