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President Biden warned Thursday that there could be global food shortages resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and announced steps to prevent a potential crisis. “We did talk about food shortages. And it's going to be real. The price of these sanctions is not just imposed upon Russia, it’s imposed upon an awful lot of countries as well, including European countries and our country as well,” Biden said at a press conference from Brussels, where he is meeting with NATO leaders. Both Russia and Ukraine, for example, are providers of wheat, Biden noted, though he pointed out that the U.S. and Canada are both major wheat producers, too. (Gangitano, 3/24)

President Joe Biden and other leaders of the world’s major industrialized democracies pledged action on Thursday to address food shortages caused by Russia’s war on Ukraine, a top concern for Middle Eastern and African nations that depend on supplies from both countries. “We will make coherent use of all instruments and funding mechanisms to address food security, and build resilience in the agriculture sector in line with climate and environment goals,” leaders of the G-7 group said in a statement after meeting in Brussels. “We will address potential agricultural production and trade disruptions, in particular in vulnerable countries.” (Palmer and Lee, 3/24)

Sky-high fertilizer prices have farmers worldwide scaling back its use and reducing the amount of land they're planting, fallout from the Ukraine-Russia conflict that has some agricultural industry veterans warning of food shortages. (Polansek and Mano, 3/23)

The median rent around the U.S. reached a record high $1,792 last month, according to Realtor.com — a 17% jump from the previous year and the 10th month in a row rents had increased by double-digits. In 14 U.S. cities, the typical rent is no longer affordable, far surpassing the 30% of income that personal-finance experts recommend as a maximum. (Ivanova, 3/24)

Roughly a dozen states are proposing sending tax rebate checks to their residents to offset the highest inflation in four decades, with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle pointing to high gas and food prices as prompting their actions. ... These checks represent one-time tax rebates that will put money back into consumers' wallets. But some other states are considering or already planning to cut income taxes, providing an ongoing tax break for their residents. (Picchi, 3/24)

Hawaii Gov. David Ige has signed an emergency proclamation allowing federal funds to continue to flow to food assistance recipients during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic national public health emergency, his office said Thursday. The proclamation allows $18 million in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP benefits to go to recipients each month. (3/24)

The Ohio Supreme Court will hear arguments in May on whether Gov. Mike DeWine had the legal ability to end the state’s participation in a federal pandemic unemployment aid program last year ahead of a government deadline for stopping the payments. At issue before the court is a weekly $300 federal payment for Ohioans to offset the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The federal government ended that program Sept. 6 but DeWine stopped the payments June 26, saying the need for the payments had ended. (Welsh-Huggins, 3/24)

The UBR -- or, Ultimate Breakfast Round -- is a food product that is ubiquitous in school cafeterias and offers USDA-approved nutritional value, as well as staff-approved convenient pre-packaging, Bock told ABC News. But after a February 2021 ice storm wiped-out a Rich's factory in Texas, the UBR disappeared. For months, Bock said, they couldn't get the product -- forcing a frenzied, and more expensive, pivot that left red ink all over menus that had been planned months prior. Over a year later, they can't get even remotely the same quantities they used to, Bock said. (Cahan, 3/24)