State
BY HANNAH NORTON & JESSICA SHORTEN
More than 60 Community Impact journalists across the state cover wide-ranging issues for local readers, delivering news to over 2 million mailboxes monthly and more than 100,000 inboxes daily. The stories below were curated for this community because of their impact in Texas.
Texas food banks face growing need amid inflation
Senate passes private school savings bill Texas senators approved a bill Oct. 12 that would set aside $500 million in taxpayer dollars to help families pay for private school tuition. The controversial proposal is a top priority of Gov. Greg Abbott. He directed lawmakers to tackle “education freedom” and other topics during the third special legislative session of the year, which began Oct. 9. Senate Bill 1 would allow families to apply to receive $8,000 per child to pay for private school tuition, books and other educational expenses.
As a number of pandemic-era supplemental food programs were discontinued in early 2023, food banks have struggled to meet demand. “There’s even some people who weren’t on [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] benefits and weren’t benefiting from those extra allotments who we’re now seeing in our lines because they’re simply not able to make ends meet,” said Celia Cole, executive director of Feeding Texas, a statewide nonprofit that works to address food scarcity. Several bills went into effect in September providing additional thresholds for those in need of assistance.
2023 Texas SNAP benefits applications
SOURCE: TEXAS HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES/COMMUNITY IMPACT
GIFTS THEY’LL NEVER RETURN BOXES CANDY • PARTY CAKES • DIPPED TREATS • CARAMEL APPLES
BUY ONE SLICE OF FUDGE SAVE $5 ON $50 FREE GET ONE Expires 12/31/2023
Expires 12/31/2023
Kilwins Sugar Land Town Square 16029 City Walk • 281-201-2841 Kilwins
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SUGAR LAND - MISSOURI CITY EDITION
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