USDA meets with Mexico, ‘slow-walking’ Congress on food stamp outreach to immigrants

While it is already known that personnel from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) met with Mexican embassy officials this year to discuss nutrition assistance outreach efforts to immigrants, the agency is “slow-walking” a U.S. Senate effort to obtain information about the USDA’s partnership with Mexico to get more people enrolled in nutrition assistance programs. Neither the Mexican embassy nor the USDA have revealed the content of these meetings. Last week, TheDC revealed that since 2004 the USDA and Mexico have been involved in a partnership to promote American food assistance programs, including food stamps, among Mexican Americans, Mexican nationals and migrant communities. “USDA and the government of Mexico have entered into a partnership to help educate eligible Mexican nationals living in the United States about available nutrition assistance,” the USDA summarizes on their “Reaching Low-Income Hispanics With Nutrition Assistance” web page. “Mexico will help disseminate this information through its embassy and network of approximately 50 consular offices.”...more