In today’s rundown: More D.C. residents could be eligible for food stamps. | How families can eat healthy meals on a food stamp budget. | How a love of history may be empowering women in Japan.
— Earlier this week, members of the D.C. City Council kicked off a food stamp expansion program which will change eligibility requirements for residents who use food stamps. According to the Washington Informer, “the Council expanded the Categorical Eligibility test that measures a resident’s ability to receive food stamps by household size and income to include residents with higher gross annual incomes who have high housing and childcare costs.” Click here for more details.
— Nationwide, a record number of Americans are receiving food stamp benefits. With so many people on a tightened food budget, the Associated Press asked chefs how a family of four can prepare good meals on $68.88 a week. Click here to see how they managed.
— A new urban subculture is being credited for empowering women in Japan. NPR reports that reki-jo — or “history girls” — immerse themselves in historical sites, history books and various time periods. The face of the movement is a fashion model who writes and speaks about history and history buffs. Historians say the reki-jo represent the rise of women in Japan’s “nerdy comic book subculture” known as otaku. Click here for more.