Blog / Public Benefits

The Public Benefits team at Bread for the City’s Legal Clinic is working virtually to help people and families during the Pandemic. The Coronavirus has led to changes with DC’s benefits programs. Below is information about these changes, and if you have further questions or need assistance, please reach out to our Legal On-Call line at 202-386-7616.

Bread for the City is disappointed in the Trump Administration’s decision to appeal the lawsuit for making a change in the Agriculture Department’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as Food Stamps, that would cut more than 13,000 DC residents and 700,000 individuals nationally from relief.

Allison does amazing work in our Legal Clinic, specializing in Family Law, Public Benefits, and Language Access. I had the opportunity to speak with Allison about her work in the community and being a 2020 Legal Services Award Recipient.

In a case we brought in partnership with Alston & Bird on behalf of Bread for the City and two individual Legal Aid clients (and consolidated with a case brought by almost two dozen state and local attorneys general), the federal District Court of the District of Columbia vacated a Trump Administration rule that would have cut off food stamps for nearly 700,000 Americans.

Bread for the City won a recent lawsuit against the Trump Administration, barring the implementation of a harmful change in the Agriculture Department’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as Food Stamps, that would cut more than 13,000 DC residents and 700,000 individuals nationally from relief. This lawsuit was filed by The Legal Aid Society of DC and the law firm Alston & Bird LLP on behalf of Bread for the City and residents of D.C. who receive food stamps. In March, the District Court issued a decision that temporarily stopped the government from implementing its new restrictions. Yesterday, the Court issued a final decision on a summary judgment motion in our favor.

When the Trump Administration threatens the lives of our neighbors, we couldn’t sit quietly. We’re suing the administration. Read on for the details.

Language barriers, long wait times, and a lack of communication often prevent our clients from accessing benefits in a timely manner. Today, we took our concerns directly to the DC Council.

We raised our voices about an offensive food stamps campaign. DHS listened.