Food banks are serving 55% more customers now than before the pandemic and expect to distribute even more meals this year than in 2020, according to Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization. Some 41.4 million people were receiving food stamps in November, up from 36.9 million in February, before the pandemic began, according to the most recent data from the US Department of Agriculture.Īmericans are also flooding food pantries in order to feed themselves and their families. The coronavirus pandemic and accompanying economic upheaval sparked a hunger crisis in the US. What you need to know about the new stimulus child tax credit.Debt collectors can seize stimulus checks.IRS plans to delay this year’s tax filing deadline to mid-May.Stimulus payments hitting some Americans’ bank accounts.About 40% of these have children, 20% have an elderly member and 15% include someone who is disabled. Some $29 billion in additional benefits have been distributed so far under this provision.īut about 40% of households that were already receiving the largest benefit possible saw no bump up in their payments due to the Trump administration’s implementation of the relief provision. It raised households’ food stamp allotment to the maximum amount for their family size. The issue dates back to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which Congress passed in March 2020. “People will have a greater opportunity to afford the basics that they need,” said Ellen Vollinger, legal director for Food Research & Action Center, an advocacy group. The move stems from an executive order that President Joe Biden issued just after taking office and will add about $1 billion to the benefits distributed each month.
The Biden administration has changed the guidance so households that had not received an increase of at least $95 in monthly benefits through emergency allotments will be eligible to get a boost from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. These Americans, who are among the lowest-income food stamp recipients, were left out of a benefit increase last year because of how the Trump administration implemented an early federal coronavirus relief provision. The United States Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Meg and Ago Gurung.An estimated 25 million people will get a boost in their food stamp benefits starting this month, the Biden administration announced Thursday evening. Pending sentencing, the court continued Meg and Ago Gurung on bond.Īssistant United States Attorney Karen Gal-Or is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
The law provides for a total sentence of not more than 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Judge Hornak scheduled sentencing for Meg Gurung on March 29, 2022, and for Ago Gurung on June 30, 2022. The Gurung brothers received benefits from the USDA totaling $5,000 or more for these unauthorized purchases. In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that during June 2019 and continuing through February 2021, the defendants, Meg and Ago Gurung, were engaged in exchanging food stamps for ineligible, non-food items and cash at their store, Gurung Brothers LLC, located at 2950 Brownsville Road, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Meg Gurung, age 35, and Ago Gurung, age 35, both of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to one count before Chief United States District Judge Mark R. PITTSBURGH - Two residents of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of food stamp fraud, United States Attorney Cindy K.
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