Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Midwest Food Pantry Network Shutters, Affecting 300,000 Families
The Independent: Food Pantry Network Across The Midwest Abruptly Shuts Down, Leaving 300,000 Families In The Lurch
A Midwest food pantry network that served hundreds of thousands of families has abruptly closed its doors. Ruby’s Pantry, which distributed food at 87 locations across Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin, announced Tuesday it had immediately ended its operations. The organization helped more than 300,000 families every year, Minnesota Public Radio reports. (Hawkinson, 4/3)
More health news from across the U.S. —
CNN: Colorado Passes First Law In The US To Ban Arrests Based Solely On These Drug Tests
A great-grandmother’s medicine tested positive for cocaine – spawning a 15-month legal nightmare, forcing her to refinance her home, and spurring a new state law that could set a precedent across the country. (Yan, 4/5)
CBS News: RAM's Free Clinics Full Of Needy Patients, But Slowed By Red Tape
Each weekend across the United States, thousands line up before dawn for free medical care at pop-up clinics, but a patchwork of state laws is preventing volunteer doctors from helping as many people as they could. Despite those constraints, Remote Area Medical (RAM) makes life-changing differences each week. (McCandless Farmer, 4/5)
Montana Free Press: Tribes In Montana Lose Millions After USDA Kills Farm Grants
Kim Paul, executive director of the Piikani Lodge Health Institute, a nonprofit on the Blackfeet Reservation that promotes health and well-being, saw the email notification flash across her computer screen as she was working late last week. It was the U.S. Department of Agriculture saying a nearly $9 million grant contract with Piikani Lodge had been terminated. “The U.S. Department of Agriculture has determined that awards under this program involved discriminatory preferences based on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and wasteful spending that did little to further lawful agricultural land purchases,” the USDA wrote. (Mabie, 4/3)
The New York Times: ‘Under Protest,’ Raw Dairy Farm Recalls Cheddar Linked To 9 E. Coli Cases
For weeks, the Food and Drug Administration has been asking a raw-dairy farm in California to recall its Cheddar cheese, which the agency has linked to nine E. coli illnesses in California, Texas and Florida. On Thursday, the dairy farm, Raw Farm LLC, finally complied, though it said it was doing so “under protest” as it continued to deny that its cheese was the cause of the outbreak. (Callahan, 4/3)
