We thank Governor Kehoe for taking swift action to support Missouri families during the ongoing federal shutdown. We appreciate the expedited transfer of $10.6 million to Missouri’s Area Agencies on Aging to ensure continued meal access for seniors, as well as the early release of $5 million in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funding...Lee mas

On Monday, October 20th, the Missouri Department of Social Services announced that Missourians will not receive their November Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. According to guidance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), funding for November benefits is unavailable due to the ongoing federal government shutdown. However, the USDA currently has between $5 and...Lee mas

Update: In the Governor’s press release about the waiver submission he mentioned welcoming stakeholder input into the process and plan as it moves forward.  In light of that, the Department of Social Services has opened a 30 day public comment period in which they are accepting comments on the waiver submitted via this email address:...Lee mas

On July 31, 2025, more than 30 cross-sector partners gathered in Columbia, Missouri, meeting inside the incredible new Food Bank Market at The Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri. Convened as the Missouri Rural Food Access Partnership, our charge was clear: to understand how the newly-passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) is reshaping...Lee mas

Tonight, I’m catching a flight to Washington, D.C. to meet with staffers of Missouri’s congressional delegation and express Missourians’ opposition to the $300 billion in proposed cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in Congress’s “one big, beautiful bill.” Empower Missouri’s focus has traditionally been on state-level policy, but the proposed cuts to Medicaid...Lee mas

This week, committees in the U.S. House of Representatives released major reconciliation proposals with cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and other programs. As the title suggests, these proposals will have big impacts for Missouri families, our healthcare, our nutrition, and our state budget. The federal government controls the budgets for most major anti-poverty programs. Unfortunately, many...Lee mas