The Latest Breaking News from Celia Cole

Texas SNAP participation drops to a 17-year low as the feds tighten eligibility

The state health agency is also processing 64% of food benefits applications in a timely manner — within 30 days — even though the required rate is 95%.

The Texas Tribune · 23h ago

1 in 5 Texans experience food insecurity as food banks struggle to keep up with demand

More Texans have become food insecure due to a rise in natural disasters and less qualifying for SNAP benefits. Rural food banks in particular face additional pressures.

The Texas Tribune · Sep 3

500,000 fewer Texans are on SNAP as participation slips nationally

Advocates say the federal government’s new work requirements and immigration crackdown has limited food stamp participation. The state says the recent decline is part of normal fluctuations in enrollment.

The Texas Tribune · May 20

How RFK Jr., Democrats and Republicans found common ground over food labels in Texas

Texas is poised to lead the country in an initiative to inform denizens of what’s in their food. Food industry experts say it’s going too far.

The Texas Tribune · Jun 2, 2025

Texas is silent on whether it will offer summer food assistance for students

After the state missed the Jan. 1 deadline, lawmakers still have time to approve administrative costs before applying for $400 million in federal summer meal assistance.

The Texas Tribune · Jan 9, 2025

Squeezed by inflation and politics, a Texas food bank gets creative to keep people fed

To help raise money, the Lubbock-area food bank recruited a Michelin-recognized chef.

The Texas Tribune · Aug 27, 2024

How the looming government shutdown will affect Texans

A federal shutdown would put thousands of Texans in financial precarity. Congress has less than a week left until the end of the fiscal year on Oct. 1, and a shutdown appears imminent.

The Texas Tribune · Sep 27, 2023

Texas lowers barrier for food stamps, but many still won’t qualify

A new state law increases what SNAP applicants’ vehicles can be worth before they’re disqualified for federal food assistance. But most states don’t take car values into consideration at all.

The Texas Tribune · Jun 23, 2023

More Texans would qualify for food stamps under a bill heading to Gov. Greg Abbott

The value of a household’s vehicles disqualified nearly 55,000 people seeking federal food assistance in 2022. House Bill 1287 increases the threshold of car values that lead to SNAP applicants being denied aid.

The Texas Tribune · May 26, 2023

Lawmakers steer toward food stamp clash on work requirements

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers, as they work on the 2023 farm bill, are staking out positions on nutrition and food stamps — the Agriculture Department’s biggest single program and a perennial source of contention.

Tribune News Service · Apr 18, 2023