Utahns Against Hunger congratulates the U.S. Senate for passing S.3042: Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, otherwise known as the farm bill. The Senate farm bill passed 86 to 11, with Senator Hatch voting on the prevailing side.

Utahns Against Hunger is deeply disappointed in the passage of H.R. 2: The Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018, commonly known as the farm bill. If implemented this bill will fundamentally change the food assistance that will be available to working parents, seniors, and veterans.

UAH usually has a spring fundraiser with Love UT Give UT in March, but that event has been moved to the fall. So instead, we're having a party!

Being a college student can be a fun, but also challenging, time in adults lives. There are many stressors in a student's life that are normal. Stress over affording food is not. Despite the stereotype that exists of the "starving college student," higher education students should not have to skip meals or lack a nutritious diet to make ends meet. 

UAH recently had the pleasure of working with two student interns: Legislative Intern Melissa Bain from the University of Utah, who assisted during the 2018 legislative session, and Dietetic Intern Joelle Mittanck from Brigham Young University, who worked on Utah School Breakfast Week.

We are grateful for their excellent work and asked them to share about their experiences. 

Governor Gary Herbert proclaimed March 19-23, 2018 Utah School Breakfast Week. At Utahns Against Hunger we work to improve participation in the School Breakfast Program and promote alternative breakfast serving models. Research shows that students who eat school breakfast are more likely to maintain a healthy weight, drink more milk, and eat more fruit daily!

Over half of college students in the United States experience food insecurity, including students right here in Utah.

This goes far beyond the trope of the "starving college student" who subsists on Ramen noodles; many students have to skip meals to make ends meet, limit their work hours to qualify for financial aid, or make the choice between rent, books, or food. All of this is occurring while tuition costs and student loans rise.

This year’s legislative session held many disappointments for everyday Utahns, but for Utahns Against Hunger, one of the biggest was the failure to remove the sales tax on food.

Last Monday, the Senate Revenue & Taxation Committee, with the exception of Senators Deidre Henderson and Jim Debakis, voted down a tax cut for all Utahns.

There's only one week left in the legislative session!

To stay up to date on the latest legislative news, sign up for Hunger Action Alerts!

Changes are italicized.

Any optimism that the president’s fiscal year 2019 budget proposal would be an improvement over last year’s was quickly dashed when the budget was released this morning.

While Congress has to enact an official budget, the proposed budget lays out the priorities of the White House. It is clear from the proposed program changes and budget cuts that this administration’s priorities will make the lives of seniors, people with disabilities, children, and their working parents more difficult.

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