More than 40 million Americans are facing an increased risk of going hungry starting this weekend as the Trump administration cuts off Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) amid the ongoing government shutdown. The New York Times’ Emily Cochrane visited food distribution centers in rural northeast Louisiana, where rates of food insecurity is among the highest in the nation.
The crisis could be particularly acute in northeastern Louisiana. Nonprofit and social services groups say that poverty and hunger rates there are often higher than those in the rest of the state. Calls to 211, which connects people with social services, spiked by 40 percent this week in connection with the shutdown, according to the United Way of Northeast Louisiana. “You have a perfect storm happening even in the absence of this shutdown,” said Jan Moller, the executive director of Invest in Louisiana, a policy research group. “When you add the uncertainty now created by the shutdown, you have a recipe for a real disaster.”
In Baton Rouge, The Advocate’s Claire Grunewald reports that food pantries and other charities are gearing up to meet rising demand for their services.
Feeding Louisiana Executive Director Pat Van Burkleo said the statewide organization is in discussions with the Louisiana Department of Health to help prevent any shortfalls. It is hoping to work with the department and private donors to get funds to supply food boxes for residents in need. “There is no way food banks can cover this 100% without government support,” Van Burkleo said. “It’s just not possible for food banks to fill that entire void.”
Losing SNAP benefits could be especially harmful for pregnant women and their babies, as Kelcie Moseley-Morris reports for the Louisiana Illuminator.
Many studies have shown adequate nutrition is essential for a developing fetus, and a January study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found food insecurity in pregnancy is associated with medical complications. The researchers defined food insecurity as being worried about running out of food before there’s money for more. Risks include preeclampsia, preterm birth and NICU admission.
The state Legislature agreed this week to use state emergency reserves to pay November SNAP benefits. But the plan doesn’t cover everyone: About 53,000 “able-bodied” adults without children would lose their benefits, Gov. Jeff Landry has said.
Building Black wealth in the South can’t wait
More than half of America’s Black population (56%) lives in the South, where the gap in household wealth between white and Black families remains staggering. As Alex Camardelle outlines in a new report for Kindred Futures, the median white household in the South has a net worth that’s 24 times greater than the median Black household.
These divides aren’t about individual life decisions; they result from structural barriers and deliberate policy choices. Chronic neglect by major funders and institutions isn’t just a statistical quirk; it has real consequences. In the face of rising autocracy and continual systemic injustice, this lack of investment is both amoral and a strategic failure.
In a new essay for Nonprofit Quarterly, Camardelle outlines some policies states can adopt to help build Black wealth.
People need a voice in redistricting
The six-day special legislative session that wrapped up on Wednesday was meant to set the stage for Louisiana’s political lines to be redrawn in ways that shift political power away from Black people and communities. Public Service Commissioner Davante Lewis and Power Coalition CEO Ashley Shelton, in a guest column for The Times-Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate, call for the upcoming redistricting session to be guided by transparency and opportunities for public input:
From the delta to the bayou, congressional lines in Louisiana will determine what federal dollars are invested in Louisiana’s communities and the policy decisions that will shape opportunities for generations to come on topics from education to housing, foreign policy to our domestic economy. The Legislature holds incredible power over how any potential midcycle redistricting process would proceed in the state. No matter how opinions may vary on the ultimate configuration of districts and the values reflected in the state’s maps, we all should be able to agree on a set of values to guide the process.
Head Start threatened by shutdown
The federal government shutdown is threatening to cut off funding for some Head Start programs. The Times-Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s Mark Ballard reports that about 10% of Head Start programs will not receive expected funding starting Saturday, which will affect programs serving families with young children in New Orleans and Acadiana.
“We know that the affected grantees will likely stay open as long as they can using the revenue funds or other resources. But the longer the shutdown continues, the harder it’ll be for them to be able to hold on,” said Libbie Sonnier, chief executive officer at Louisiana Policy Institute for Children, a New Orleans-based research nonprofit. Head Start serves about 13,800 of the 100,000 Louisiana children who live in households at or near the federal poverty line. “We also know that, when centers are forced to close, parents will have to make impossible choices of either going to work to sustain their family or not making an income and staying home with their children,” Sonnier said.
Number of the Day
$1,426 – Monthly cost of a “moderate” grocery budget for a family of four consisting of two adults, one older child and one female teen (Source: Instacart)