Rachel Cooper

About Rachel Cooper

Rachel joined the center in 2012 with a focus on food and nutrition programs as well as obesity. Before joining the center, she worked for the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) where she was in charge of research and data analysis and authored reports such as the School Breakfast Scorecard, Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation, and State of the States. Cooper also worked for the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF), in their New York office, where she focused on helping families gain access to programs that provide work supports, such as tax credits, Medicaid, SCHIP, and food stamps. Cooper received her Masters in Human Development and Social Policy from Northwestern University.

Fighting Hunger after Hurricane Harvey

Updated September 15, 2017 Long before Hurricane Harvey, millions of low-income Texans relied on the federal nutrition programs including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (or SNAP, formerly known as food stamps), the Women, Infants and Children program (WIC) and school meals

Eliminating SNAP’s Asset Test Helps Families Earn and Save

The Texas Legislature recently heard testimony on HB 1533, to modify state rules for non-exempt resources and assets that determine household eligibility for SNAP. This blog post lays out how removing the current asset test helps Texas families achieve financial

Chipping Away at Food Insecurity in Texas

Last week the United States Department of Agriculture released its Household Food Security in the United States in 2015 report. This annual report highlights the disturbingly high rate of Texans who struggle to afford enough food for a healthy

Rachel Cooper
September 12, 2016
Child Well-Being, Food & Nutrition, Food assistance, Wellness & Obesity
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Keeping Kids with Family: How Texas Can Support Kinship Caregivers

This week CPPP released Keeping Kids with Family: How Texas Can Financially Support Kinship Caregivers, a new brief that explains who kinship caregivers are and what the Texas Legislature can do to support these family members and friends who

Free Meals for All Students through the Community Eligibility Provision

Kids and parents might be focused on summer fun right now, but school leaders are busy making plans for how to make next school year a success. That’s where the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) can help. Through CEP, high-need schools

Rachel Cooper
June 30, 2016
Child Well-Being, Food & Nutrition, Food assistance, Health care, Texas Legislature, Uncategorized
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