SNAP

The longtime religious charity Salvation Army, known for providing clothing and shelter, is trying a new tactic to help low-income residents in Baltimore — offering them access to healthy food.

For some, the USDA's plan to deliver SNAP benefits as canned, shelf-stable food is painfully familiar. The agency has long given this type of aid to tribes, with devastating health effects.

The proposed changes to food stamps, now called SNAP, would be drastic: About half the benefits would be boxed-up, nonperishable foods. Recipients would lose a lot of their ability to pick their food.

The USDA says it will give states more flexibility in how they deliver federal food benefits. That could potentially include requiring drug testing or imposing time limits for adults with children.

Jeffs, a leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, was indicted last year on charges of food stamp fraud and money laundering. He gave the FBI the slip last June.

Some 55 percent of families with kids on SNAP have jobs — they just don't earn enough to live on. Many states where reliance on SNAP is heaviest voted overwhelmingly for Trump last November.

About 23,000 military families rely on food stamps, according to Census figures. But advocates say that number is only a partial picture of the need among people who are currently serving.

Groups that help low-income families get food aid report a big drop in the number of immigrants seeking help. Some are canceling government benefits for fear it will affect their immigration status.

In 2012, Saint Francis High School put up $15,000 in seed money for the founders of a fledgling Snapchat. By the time the company went public Thursday, the school turned it into a $24 million return.

After pricing its initial public offering of 200 million nonvoting shares at $17 each, Snap Inc., saw the stock rise to more than $25 a share.

Snap — expected to be valued at more than $20 billion when it goes public — may be the first company to use the term "sexting" in an initial public offering filing with the SEC.

President-elect Donald Trump hasn't said much about food and farm policy or named his choices for top food-related jobs. But the coming years will likely see profound battles over food and nutrition.