Helena Bottemiller Evich
POLITICO
Washington, DC, United States
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Past articles by Helena:
Whistleblower warned FDA about formula plant months before baby deaths
Shelves are shown almost empty of baby formula with signs warning customers that they are limited to eight cans per customer. | Christopher Pearce/Getty Images A former employee at Abbott Nutrition’s Sturgis, Mich., infant formula plant flagged concerns about food safety violations directly with senior FDA officials in October — months before two infants died and another was hospitalized from… → Read More
Amid infant formula fallout, FDA turns to agency veteran with little food experience
Food groups are calling Janet Woodcock's new assignment a “slap in the face.” → Read More
Infant formula shortage suddenly Topic A in Washington
The problem has been brewing for months, but politicians in both parties have recently seized on the issue, as the White House scrambles to ease the crunch. → Read More
‘I almost lost my baby’: Parents demand answers from FDA
A recall of infant formula tied to two deaths came five months after the agency learned of the first hospitalized child, raising questions about the pace of the government's investigation. → Read More
Biden inches back toward Michelle Obama’s school nutrition standards
The overall goal is to help schools stabilize their nutrition programs, many of which have been losing money as food and staffing costs have soared. → Read More
Round one of child tax credit payments slashed hunger rates, U.S. data shows
The monthly payments of up to $300 for each kid under five and up to $250 for each kid under 18 are the result of one of the most sweeping provisions in the American Rescue Plan. → Read More
Progressives want to go bigger than Biden on free school meals
The measure is backed by nearly 400 groups, including powerful players like the School Nutrition Association and the National Education Association. → Read More
Hunger rates plummet after two rounds of stimulus
Republicans have long sought to shrink government aid, but Democrats see the data as proof that the direct payments are working as intended. → Read More
Biden’s FDA looks to tackle heavy metals in baby food
The FDA has been criticized for being extremely slow to act on reducing heavy metals exposure for infants and young children. → Read More
Parents Erupt Over FDA Failure To Regulate Toxic Metals in Food
Lead, arsenic and cadmium are commonly found in baby foods, but also in many of the ingredients families use to make their own. → Read More
Vilsack confirmed as Agriculture secretary
The confirmation gives Vilsack a second spin in the same role he held for the entirety of the Obama administration. → Read More
Biden moves to give low-income families more money to buy food
New changes allow states to simplify how they figure out which children are eligible for benefits. → Read More
Food stamp spending jumped nearly 50 percent in 2020
Millions more Americans received food stamps last year as a result of the pandemic. → Read More
Low-income children wait months for USDA food aid to replace school meals
"It should be a four-alarm fire," says one expert, given the high hunger rates among families. → Read More
Vilsack chosen as Biden's Agriculture secretary
Easing hunger during the pandemic and rebuilding the rural economy will be among the USDA's first tasks. → Read More
Fudge emerges as frontrunner to lead housing agency
The Ohio congresswoman had previously been lobbying for the position of Agriculture secretary. → Read More
Sonny Perdue fuels ethics scrutiny as Trump’s rural envoy
The agriculture secretary has kept farmers in Trump’s corner, but Democrats claim he crosses the line between public duties and political promotion. → Read More
Trump requires food aid boxes to come with a letter from him
“In my 30 years of doing this work, I've never seen something this egregious,” one food bank director said. → Read More
Harvest of shame: Farmworkers face coronavirus disaster
Agricultural counties across the U.S. face high rates of Covid-19, a POLITICO analysis reveals. → Read More
Stark racial disparities emerge as families struggle to get enough food
People line up for a Chicago food giveaway sponsored by the Greater Chicago Food Depository in May. | AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast Nearly four in 10 Black and Hispanic households with children are struggling to feed their families during the coronavirus pandemic — a dramatic spike that is exacerbating racial inequities and potentially threatening the health of millions of young Americans. The… → Read More