Pennsylvania began issuing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in 1998, changing the way thousands of Pennsylvanians provide food for their families. Ken Regal, executive director of Just Harvest, said although […]
News Items Archive
Serve the needy: Another report shows DPW falling short
You can’t serve the public without public employees. That’s the reality confirmed in a report by the Service Employees International Union on caseworker understaffing at the Department of Public Welfare. […]
Who Fills Post-Thanksgiving Plates in Pennsylvania?
Now that the Thanksgiving spread has been cleared in homes and soup kitchens around the state, what’s next for Pennsylvanians who face food insecurity on a daily basis?
SEIU decries Pa. welfare understaffing
The state is “chronically understaffed” in terms of caseworkers who process benefits like food stamps and Medicaid at local county assistance offices, according to a report issued last week by […]
Letter to the Editor: SNAP cuts real, painful
Regarding the editorial “The SNAP ‘cuts’: Food for thought”: If opponents of America’s food stamp program “focused more attention on helping benefit recipients become breadwinners,” they wouldn’t be stomping their […]
Anti-hunger group’s report details poor service at Pa. welfare department
It’s bad enough when you call the cable company and can’t get through to a human being. But that hardly compares with a new report by the anti-hunger group Just […]
Right for the job: The welfare secretary wants a responsive agency
Beverly Mackereth’s background as a caseworker, supervisor, administrator and state lawmaker means she understands, from the ground up, the complicated Pennsylvania Welfare Department that she now leads.
Pennsylvania welfare department urged to improve its methods
Despite notifying the state several times that she was now working a second job — which could impact her food stamp benefit eligibility — Tammy Toth said she never heard […]
Allegheny County Residents to DPW Head: Fix the Department!
Lost paperwork, benefit delays, being hung up on or treated rudely – those are just some of the problems faced by some residents of Allegheny County as they try to […]
Pennsylvania considering repeal of asset test used in food stamps
State officials are signaling they could repeal or revise a controversial asset test for food stamp recipients — a measure instituted last year that barred thousands of families from receiving […]
