Skip to content

Maxwell School News and Commentary

Filtered by: Food Security

Colleen Heflin - Studying Hunger in America

Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs, is a leading authority on food insecurity, which, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), negatively impacts more than 47 million Americans.

June 2, 2025

Reeher Discusses Trumps ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ on LiveNOW from FOX

“There's going to be an enormous amount of pressure on the Republicans to stay together on this. More than anything else that any Republican who's serving in Congress right now will face, because this is going to be Donald Trump's signature domestic bill,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science.

May 22, 2025

Heflin Speaks to Reuters About Federal Pass-Through Grants

Today, pass-through funding allows federal agencies to tap into local expertise and knowledge as well as help the federal government keep its own staffing levels down, says Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs.

April 3, 2025

The Intergenerational Transmission of Food Insecurity: Do Educational Compromises Make Things Worse?

Sarah Hamersma, Matthew Kim

“The Intergenerational Transmission of Food Insecurity: Do Educational Compromises Make Things Worse?” co-authored by Sarah Hamersma, associate professor of public administration and international affairs, was published in the Southern Economic Journal.

March 6, 2025

Heflin Speaks With WTVR-TV About the Economic Impact of Richmond’s Water Crisis

Low income-households will need a month or more to recover financially and that will lead to more issues and needs, says Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs. “I would suspect to see increased need for food from food banks. Most likely going to have more utilities going unpaid,” she says.

January 16, 2025

Does the Reference Period Matter When Evaluating the Effect of SNAP on Food Insecurity?

Colleen Heflin, James P. Ziliak

In this paper, Colleen Heflin and co-author examine if protective effects of SNAP against food insecurity are obtained whether using the 30-day or 12-month food insecurity scale. Results indicate comparable average treatment effects across both reference periods. Published in Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy.

November 15, 2024

Colleen Heflin Appointed to Committee on National Statistics

The committee is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and provides guidance to the federal government.

November 8, 2024

Heflin Quoted in Newsweek Article on the Farm Bill Reauthorization and Its Impact on SNAP Benefits

“If the appropriations bills are not passed by the end of December, January benefits will still go out because SNAP benefits are obligated in the prior month (December),” says Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs.

October 2, 2024

Impact of Gardening on Refugee Mental Health, Community Building, and Economic Wellbeing in CNY

Rashmi Gangamma, Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern, Bhavneet Walia, Shaelise Tor

Surveys and semi-structured interviews used to examine if gardening influences mental health, food security and economic well-being among resettled refugees.

September 11, 2024

The Effects of Waiving WIC Physical Presence Requirements on Program Caseloads

W. Clay Fannin, Colleen Heflin, Leonard M. Lopoo

“The Effects of Waiving WIC Physical Presence Requirements on Program Caseloads,” co-authored by Maxwell professors Colleen Heflin and Leonard Lopoo, and Ph.D. student W. Clay Fannin, was published in Social Service Review.

September 11, 2024

Explore by:

Communications and Media Relations Office
200 Eggers Hall