Stories on food stamp benefits

It’s Friday, which means it's time for our Reporter Roundtable when Idaho Matters gets you up to date on all the news that made headlines this past week.

The declines were felt across the Mountain West. In Idaho, SNAP participation fell nearly 8%. Nevada saw a drop of more than 14%. In Arizona, participation fell by nearly 34%. New Mexico saw a decrease of about 6%, while Wyoming dropped by more than 11%.

Starting Feb. 15, Idaho's new SNAP rules will ban candy and soda purchases, forcing thousands of shoppers, and the stores that serve them, to rethink how they buy and sell groceries.

Just days before Thanksgiving, SNAP benefits are back but food assistance is still in high demand.

The first ever disruption to the nation's largest anti-hunger program came as a shock. It's shaken trust in the program for some and stoked concern that it could happen again.

Boise State students have turned to the campus food bank for support since benefits stalled Nov. 1.

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare reports SNAP recipients in Idaho should receive a portion of their benefits as soon as Wednesday.

Connecticut Department of Social Services Commissioner Andrea Barton Reeves talks about the court battles that have upended Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program food benefit payments during the government shutdown.

The administration's appeal to the high court over the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program comes despite new efforts to end the federal shutdown, which would render the issue moot.

In failing to fully fund the food assistance program that covers 42 million low-income Americans, the judge said the government "failed to consider the harms" to people who rely on the benefits.