Tensions Ease
after Protests
Police keep peace
by isolating
dueling groups
‘City
of
Roses’
Volume XLVIII • Number 31
See Local News, page 3
Black Voices
Ring with Clarity,
Integrity
Inspired by cast of
Oregon Shakespeare
Festival play
See Opinionated Judge, page 2
www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday • August 21, 2019
Established in 1970
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Bracing for Food Stamp Cuts
Advocates for
the hungry
decry proposal
D anny p eterson /t he
p ortlanD o bserver
Kenneth Green of the Salvation Army
collects food donations for distribution
to needy families from the Oregon Food
Bank in northeast Portland, Advocates
for the hungry are bracing for a rule
change from the Trump Administration
that could kick three million people off
of food stamps, including over 60,000
in Oregon.
photo by
D anny p eterson /t he p ortlanD o bserver
Shannon Long, Multnomah County Library programming assistant, welcomes kids for free lunches as part of a summertime
Meals 4 Kids program at the county library system’s Midland location near Southeast Stark Street and 122nd Avenue, one of
15 locations served by the new program.
photo by
Summer program fills a hunger gap
To help stave off summertime food in-
security for families that would normally
receive free or reduced lunch for their kids
during the school year, more than 1,200
children are receiving nutritious lunches
daily as part of the Meals on Wheels Peo-
ple’s popular Meals 4 Kids program.
Launched this summer as part of a con-
tract with United States Department of Ag-
riculture and other partners, the meals pro-
vide lunches to Portland’s children in need
of nutritious food at 15 locations through-
out the Portland area.
More than 21 million children in the
U.S. rely on free and reduced-priced meals
at school, and food insecure children are
at higher risk of hunger when they are out
of school in the summer. To address this
need, Meals 4 Kids offers an expanded
summertime lunch service for children and
families who have a hard time affording
nutritious meals.
“The Meals 4 Kids summer lunch pro-
gram helps to fill the gap when the USDA
free and reduced lunch program that op-
erates during the school year is not avail-
able,” said Meals 4 Kids Director Jessica
Morris. “We’re honored that the USDA
Summer Food Service Program contract-
ed with Meals 4 Kids to further reduce
food insecurity by serving areas where
C ontinueD on p age 5
D anny p eterson
t he p ortlanD o bserver
Advocates for the hungry are bracing
for the impacts while fighting against a
proposed rule change from the Trump
Administration that could kick more than
three million people off of food stamps, in-
cluding over 60,000 in Oregon.
Under new regulations that are sched-
uled to take effect after a Sept. 23 public
comment period, qualified recipients of
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
(TANF)—a form of cash welfare--will no
longer automatically be enrolled in food
stamps, also known as the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program or “SNAP.”
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Per-
by
C ontinueD on p age 4