Month: August 2026

Food assistance is one of the most effective tools for fighting poverty in America. New federal rules are testing that reputation.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as SNAP, helps low-income people afford groceries. The program’s benefits reach far beyond the grocery bill, with research linking the program to better outcomes for K-12 students and improved overall health among participants.

However, new federal policy changes are making the program harder for many families to use, and participation is shrinking.

In Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County, the number of people who get SNAP benefits has decreased by about 12% since 2025. SNAP enrollment rates vary widely across the Greater Pittsburgh metropolitan area – from 31% of residents in Fayette County to just 13% in Butler County.

In Allegheny County, where Pittsburgh is located, approximately 17,000 people have already lost their benefits. That’s the second-highest total of any county in Pennsylvania. Roughly 162,000 Allegheny County residents receive SNAP, or about 14% of the county’s population.

Across the country, states like Arizona and Florida are seeing similar effects from these SNAP changes. The specifics vary by state, but the underlying pressures on food assistance are shared nationwide.

As a food economist and clinical dietition working in western Pennsylvania, I have seen how SNAP policy changes affect real people firsthand. Many of my patients are having more trouble making ends meet over the past few years, especially as grocery prices have risen roughly 25% in nominal terms since 2022 – a jump that has outpaced wage growth for many low-income households.

New SNAP work requirements

In November 2025, Pennsylvania began implementing the federal government’s expanded work requirements. The rules previously applied to adults ages 18 to 54 without a disability or dependent children, but they now reach up to age 64. Under these rules, these adults must work, volunteer or take part in education or training programs for at least 20 hours a week to keep receiving SNAP benefits.

Certain groups are especially likely to be affected by this rule change, including early retirees, first-time moms, children and people with disabilities who haven’t applied or been approved for disability benefits.

Stricter and more expansive work requirements increase SNAP benefit denials and reduce the number of people who get benefits, including among women who may become pregnant.

The new work requirements could also worsen food insecurity, which occurs when people cannot obtain enough safe and nutritionally adequate food for an active and healthy life.

Up to 5.4 million people nationwide could lose some or all of their SNAP benefits under the expanded work requirements, including 1.5 million children.

In Allegheny County, 43% of food-insecure children were likely ineligible for SNAP and similar benefits in 2025 because their household incomes exceeded 185% of the federal poverty line – US$61,050 for a family of four in 2026.

Stricter rules for SNAP retailers

Supermarkets and other stores that sell food must be certified to accept SNAP benefits for payment. Beyond helping individual households, SNAP spending boosts local economies, as those benefits get spent at grocery stores and other retailers.

Retailers that sell food are now required to offer seven varieties of foods in each of four staple food categories: grains, vegetables and fruits, dairy, and protein. Stores could meet the new requirements for grains, for example, by offering corn tortillas, whole wheat bread, white bread, brown rice, white rice, oats and infant cereal for sale.

In the 12th and 17th congressional districts that make up Allegheny County, 10.4% and 8.7% of people, respectively, live in areas where it is difficult to get healthy foods. According to data from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, there are 191 grocery stores in these districts, about 28% of which are either small chains or independent stores that may have a harder time complying with the new requirements.

Between 2017 and 2023, the number of SNAP-authorized stores in Allegheny County increased by 13%, but this trend could reverse under the new rules.

While the stated goal of the new rules is to increase the availability of healthier foods, simply requiring stores to stock them doesn’t mean that customers will eat a better diet. Whether these new retailer policies ultimately improve diets is an open question.

Additional restrictions on purchases

Some states are placing additional restrictions on what people can buy with benefits. Purchasing hot prepared foods, alcohol, vitamins or diapers with SNAP benefits was already prohibited, but 23 states are now restricting the use of benefits to buy sugar-sweetened beverages and some other items that contribute to nutritionally inadequate diets.

While Pennsylvania has not adopted those additional restrictions, some of its neighboring states, such as Ohio and West Virginia, have.

SNAP helps people pay for groceries, but the benefit amount is typically less than what a household would spend on food. SNAP covers some of what a family would’ve spent on groceries anyway, leaving that money for other needs – rent, diapers, utility bills and the like. As a result, research shows the program doesn’t significantly change what or how much people eat, on average.

In my view, as food insecurity remains high in Allegheny County, policies that make it harder for local residents to get SNAP benefits risk weakening one of the nation’s most effective economic support programs.

Read more of our stories about Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania.

Amelia B. Finaret does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

​Politics + Society – The Conversation

Funding and planning for the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence fell largely to two nonprofits with similar names: America250 and Freedom 250.

That similarity has sowed a lot of confusion over who was in charge of which celebrations. And according to a report House Democrats released on July 2, 2026, one of the groups, Freedom 250, has allegedly engaged in some fraudulent fundraising practices that took advantage of that confusion.

A Freedom 250 spokesperson, Danielle Alvarez, has denied the allegations. But the allegations have piqued my interest because I’m an accounting professor who researches charitable fraud.

America250

America250 is a bipartisan initiative established by Congress in the Semiquincentennial Commission Act of 2016 to encourage nationwide participation in 250th anniversary events. Because it’s a charitable nonprofit with 501(c)(3) status, that organization does not have to pay any taxes, and its donors may be able to deduct their gifts from their taxable income.

America250’s stated mission is to “inspire our fellow Americans to reflect on our past, strengthen our love of country, and renew our commitment to the ideals of democracy through programs that educate, engage, and unite us as a nation.”

It has hosted several major events, including the American Block Party events held July 3-4, 2026, in Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, Boston and other cities. Its funding comes from money appropriated by Congress, as well as donations from corporations and individuals.

American250’s events are ongoing and throughout the country – both in both Democratic- and Republican-leaning states.

Freedom 250

Freedom 250 is much newer.

It was founded through an executive order President Donald Trump signed in January 2025. The National Park Foundation oversees and owns Freedom 250 LLC, a limited liability company formed at the request of the National Park Service, and it receives federal funding for use at events approved by the park service.

There is no statement on the tax-deductibility of donations on the Freedom 250 website or on the National Park Foundation site. But the law firm Skadden released tax guidance stating that Freedom 250 essentially borrows its tax-exempt status from the National Park Foundation, which is a 501(c)(3) organization eligible for tax-deductible donations.

The White House has described Freedom 250’s purpose, in part, as to “ignite a spirit of adventure and innovation to help our nation succeed for the next 250 years, and invite Americans to pray for our country and our people and rededicate ourselves as One Nation Under God.”

After Congress appropriated US$150 million for 250th anniversary events in the big tax, spending and immigration bill Trump signed into law on July 4, 2025, much of that money flowed to Freedom 250’s coffers. The Trump administration is now asking lawmakers to provide $10 million more in federal funds, citing “elevated security threats against high-profile events in Washington, D.C.”

The White House has actively promoted Freedom 250 events, including the Great American State Fair on the National Mall and the UFC fight on the White House grounds. Up next: The 2026 Patriot Games, a national competition for high school athletes, Aug. 9-11, followed by a Grand Prix, Aug. 22-23 – a 1.66-mile (2.67-kilometer) temporary street circuit around the National Mall. Drivers will complete 125 laps.

Trump has played a central role at Freedom 250 events, giving a keynote speech at the Great American State Fair that emphasized his “Make America Great Again” agenda and a long political speech before the July 4 fireworks display.

Many performers, including country singer Martina McBride and rock musician Bret Michaels, declined to participate in Freedom 250 events due to their political overtones. They said they opted out after finding out the events would not be the nonpartisan celebrations they had originally been led to expect.

Alleged wrongdoing

The House Committee on Natural Resources has oversight responsibilities for the National Park Service. House Democrats on the committee began investigating Freedom 250 to understand why it was created after Congress had established America250.

In their report, those lawmakers said they received incomplete answers from Department of Interior officials, including Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.

In the 55-page interim report, released on July 2, the lawmakers allege that some donors who intended to support America250 were instead given directions to wire funds to Freedom 250’s bank account.

Additionally, the report says that some corporate sponsors and other donors were targeted for donations. Some sponsors allege that they were pressured to support Freedom 250 instead of America250.

This report may appear partisan because a group of Democrats released it. Even so, in my view, these allegations of misleading donors and wire fraud could be grounds for legal charges.

I believe that if these allegations are proven true, Freedom 250 has committed a crime called charitable solicitation fraud.

Charitable solicitation fraud

This kind of fraud occurs when a charity asks for donations using false or misleading claims about who is asking for a gift, where the money will go or what the donated funds will be used for.

Both Freedom 250 and America250 operate and are registered in the District of Columbia. As a result, they are subject to the District of Columbia laws dedicated to charitable solicitations, which can be used to stop unlawful fundraising, dissolve nonprofits or freeze their funds.

The D.C. government can challenge the spending of funds that is not in line with the charitable purpose of nonprofits like these.

The D.C. attorney general’s office has previously used these laws to stop fraudulent solicitations as well as other kinds of charitable wrongdoing.

Additionally, federal law prohibits deceptive charitable solicitation, and it’s up to a government agency, the Federal Trade Commission, to investigate consumer claims of fraudulent fundraising.

The FTC, for example, shut down a massive fraudulent operation in 2021 that raised more than $110 million from 1.3 billion deceptive fundraising robocalls for a variety of charitable causes, including support for homeless veterans, cancer patients and children with autism.

The IRS could potentially get involved as well if there is evidence that Freedom 250, a tax-exempt organization, has violated federal tax laws that apply to nonprofits with that status. And if authorities investigate the wire fraud allegations for Freedom 250, the Department of Justice, and possibly the FBI, may get involved in the investigation.

Even if the Democrats’ allegations don’t lead to lawsuits and official probes by government agencies, it is likely that Freedom 250 will continue to be subject to scrutiny as additional events celebrating America’s founding take place.

The University of Dayton is an academic partner of The Conversation.

​Politics + Society – The Conversation

Inspired by Automatticians James Kemp and Dave Smith, I’ve been thinking a lot about how much of our discord in the design of WordPress stems from the differences of our two big tribes: Bloggers and Builders.

Many of the OG developers of WordPress, including myself, tend more towards the blogging side. Writers, photographers, podcasters, journalists, the people for whom a reverse chronological stream on the homepage is the most obvious thing in the world. We link out a lot, love comments, social features and think a lot about the editor as a writing environment.

Builders are the site shapers, webmasters, the agencies, the companies, the content managers that think in a more page-first rather than post-first way. Tagging? Blogroll? Date-based permalinks? Who needs them. Give me custom fields, rich templates, a site editor, to craft beautiful sturdy pages that will stand the test of time. A store with a catalog of items where what changes is the inventory and ratings, not the content.

The Builders right now dominate our core development discourse, which makes sense. They hold a lot of the economic share with merchants and rich websites. They’re also more loyal. The Bloggers love their WordPress as the place they truly own and call home, but Bloggers have an account on every channel where there’s an audience, they syndicate out with an ephemerality mindset, because that reader/listener/follower connection is the spark that keeps their flame alive. A Builder would never be a digital sharecropper on someone else’s domain.

Dave Smith has been doing some very interesting explorations of a simpler site editor, and you hear his Builder bias around 3:20 in how obvious a static homepage as default seems to him.

The good news is we can coexist as we have at least since WordPress 1.5. We just need to give a little more love to the Blogger side, there’s so much cool stuff we could do in the Fediverse with RSS, ActivityPub, ATProto, blogrolls (link manager is still in wp-admin!), pingbacks…