By Leann Ray | Editor-in-chief
Happy Sunday! Here's a roundup of this week's stories in case you missed them.
NEWS
An employee at Cubby’s Childcare Center in Bridgeport, West Virginia, plays with two infants on July 6, 2026. The center serves 450 infants and young children. (Photo by Amelia Ferrell Knisely/West Virginia Watch)
COMMENTARY
The Aitken Bible sits on a desk in the Senate at the West Virginia state capitol in Charleston, West Virginia, on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (Photo by Will Price/West Virginia Legislative Photography)
Stories from the States
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump a year ago, imposed stricter work requirements in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
With some exceptions, recipients must do at least 80 hours per month of work, training or volunteering. The law also increased the upper age limit for work requirements from 54 to 64.
About 2.5 million Americans lost food benefits in the six-month period following the Republican-passed law.
In West Virginia, the Department of Human Services said late last year the expanded work requirements would affect 36,000 residents.
Among them is 62-year-old Helen Comer. She started receiving SNAP benefits after she quit her job at a bank to care for her ailing parents full time. But earlier this year, her benefits were cut to $24 a month because she’s under 65 and not working.
In Episode 37, you’ll hear from Comer about how SNAP’s rules don’t leave room for nuance and why that hurts beneficiaries across the country.
Click here to listen to Episode 37, “How SNAP’s work requirements is hurting one West Virginia woman.”
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