Friday, August 28, 2009

Hunger-Free New York FIESTA!




Join the Nutrition Consortium of NYS on Thursday, September 24, 2009 for our first fundraising event at Mexican Radio in Hudson, NY. 25% of your bill will be donated to the Nutrition Consortium's Campaign for a Hunger-Free New York.


Click here to see the flyer for the event, created for us by our friends at Price Chopper!




Monday, August 24, 2009

Grants Available for Schools to Offer Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

Love Your Veggies Grant Program

The Love Your Veggies Grant Program, sponsored by the makers of Hidden Valley Salad Dressings, supports elementary school programs nationwide that increase student access to, and consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables in the lunchroom. The initiative will award $10,000 grants to ten elementary schools in order to help them develop a program offering fresh produce. The selected programs may be implemented as early as April 2010 and should last through the 2010-2011 school year. Funds may be used for any of the following: the purchase of fresh produce, a vegetable station (such as a salad bar), kitchen equipment, program staffing, nutrition education supplies, or food safety training. Online applications must be submitted by November 6, 2009. Detailed application guidelines are available on the Love Your Veggies website.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Further Information about the 2009 Back-to-School One-Time Payment

For additional information about NYS' "Back-to-School One-Time Payment" to certain households with children that receive Temporary Assistance (TA) and/or Food Stamp Program (FSP) benefits, please see the following links:

Click here for a policy memo from NYS OTDA.

Click here for a memo from the Nutrition Consortium of NYS to
community-based organizations.

Click here for the Nutrition Consortium of NYS' previous blog posts about
the "Back-to-School One-Time Payment".

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Summer Food Celebration Press Release










FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT: Casey Dinkin, Nutrition Consortium of NYS, (518) 229-8845

EVENT AT FREE MEAL SITE FOR ALBANY CHILDREN HIGHLIGHTS UPCOMING NATIONAL OPPORTUNITY TO COMBAT CHILDHOOD HUNGER

Thursday, August 13, 2009, Albany, NY—Today, Albany children celebrated the Summer Food Service Program with a “Summer Food Celebration” event at Sheridan Park. The event was designed to raise awareness of the Summer Food Service Program, which provides free meals to children during the summer months, and recognize an upcoming opportunity to improve this and other nutrition programs for children through federal legislation, the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2009.

Children enjoyed a fun-filled afternoon with free lunch, games, raffles, face painting, and other activities. Representatives from the United States Department of Agriculture and the New York State Education Department attended the event, along with Albany County Executive Michael Breslin, representatives from the Nutrition Consortium of New York State, the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless, and various other local officials and organizations.

All summer long, Albany children have been enjoying free meals through the Summer Food Service Program at various locations throughout the city. To address childhood hunger in the summer, the federally funded Summer Food Service Program allows schools, local government agencies, and nonprofit organizations to provide nutritious meals at no charge to children age 18 and younger. The program is administered through the United States Department of Agriculture and the New York State Education Department.

At Sheridan Park, the Regional Food Bank and Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless partner to operate a summer meal site. The Nutrition Consortium of New York State, a statewide anti-hunger organization, joined with these organizations to coordinate the “Summer Food Celebration” event, in order to raise awareness about the Summer Food Service Program and other nutrition assistance programs for children. The timing of the event reflects an opportunity in the coming months to improve nutrition assistance programs for children through federal legislation.

“The Nutrition Consortium of New York State commends the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York and Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless for operating this wonderful Summer Food Service Program meal site for Albany children. Through the upcoming Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2009, which is an opportunity to improve in-school and out-of-school nutrition programs for children, Congress must include measures that will help expand the reach of these programs to serve more needy children. It is also important to increase funding for these programs, so that more healthy foods can be included in the meals, and that measures are taken to streamline and simplify program administration,” said Linda Bopp, Executive Director of the Nutrition Consortium of New York State.

Mark Quant, Executive Director of the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, said, “During the school year, many children from low-income families depend on the free and reduced-price meals they receive at school. When the summer months arrive, and school meals are no longer available, the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York sees an increase in the number of families with children coming to our member agency food pantries and soup kitchens. To address this increased need, the Food Bank provides free meals to children at Sheridan Park and other locations throughout the region through the Summer Food Service Program. Now in our second year of the program, we believe it is an important way for us to meet the needs of hungry children in the community. We know they are depending on these free meals because many of the same children come to the meal sites every day.”

“Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless is fortunate to be working with the Regional Food Bank in an effort to strengthen the summer program for youth in our neighborhood. The teamwork and positive energy between the two teams of employees makes a difference for our clients and community,” stated Janine Robitaille, Executive Director of Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless.

-END-

Join Us! Summer Food Celebration Event





PRESS ADVISORY

RELEASE DATE: Thursday, August 13, 2009

CONTACT: Casey Dinkin, Nutrition Consortium of NYS, (518) 229-8845

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS FREE MEALS AND FUN FOR ALBANY CHILDREN DURING THE SUMMER
Please join our Summer Food Celebration!

WHO:

60+ children who live in the City of Albany
United States Department of Agriculture
New York State Education Department
Nutrition Consortium of NYS

Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York
Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless
State and local officials (TBD)

WHAT:

A Summer Food Celebration! This event will raise awareness of the Summer Food Service Program while providing a fun-filled afternoon for children with free lunch, games, raffles, face painting, and other activities. All summer long, Albany children have been enjoying free meals through this program at various locations throughout the city. Brief remarks by invited speakers will recognize the importance of the Summer Food Service Program, highlighting opportunities to improve this and other nutrition programs for children through upcoming federal legislation, the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2009.

WHEN:

Thursday, August 13th, 2009
11:30 am – 1:00 pm, formal program at 12:30 pm

WHERE:

Sheridan Park meal site, located at the corner of Dove and Sheridan Streets in Albany

WHY:

Summer can be the hungriest time of year for low-income children, when free and reduced price school meals are no longer available. To address childhood hunger in the summer, the federally-funded Summer Food Service Program allows schools, local government agencies, and nonprofit organizations to provide nutritious meals at no charge to children age 18 and younger. At Sheridan Park, the Regional Food Bank and Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless have partnered to operate a summer meal site. The Nutrition Consortium, a statewide anti-hunger organization, has joined with these organizations to promote the Summer Food Service Program, and other nutrition assistance programs for children, through this Summer Food Celebration event.
-END-

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Hunger, Nutrition Assistance Programs, and the Economic Crisis

A Note from the Executive Director of the Nutrition Consortium of New York State

As our nation faces the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the need for government nutrition assistance programs is greater than ever. Participation in the federally-funded Food Stamp Program, our nation’s first line of defense against hunger, is reaching record numbers. Sadly however, food insecurity and hunger persist among people of all ages. As the Nutrition Consortium of New York State, Inc. pursues its mission of alleviating hunger for all New Yorkers, we are committed to achieving the greatest possible impact on behalf of all hungry New Yorkers.

The Food Stamp Program, the nation’s largest and most far-reaching nutrition assistance program, has proven to be a fast and effective responder for people in times of crisis. This was the case in disaster situations such as Hurricane Katrina and the flooding which ravaged areas of New York State in 2006. The most recent statistics reveal that more than 2.3 million New Yorkers are receiving food stamps. Nationally, 1 in 9 people are enrolled. While the economic factors contributing to this increase are real, unfortunate and must be dealt with, our immediate focus must be on ensuring that people do not go hungry; getting people food stamps in times of need is essential.

In addition to the health and workforce productivity advantages gained from helping people put food on the table, the positive economic returns of the Food Stamp Program are significant, and being more widely acknowledged. More retailers are accepting food stamps as a means to keep their businesses afloat in the midst of a recession. The federal government, recognizing the impact of food stamps as an economic stimulus, increased benefit amounts in April as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

New York State continues to recognize the importance of enrolling eligible individuals in the federally-funded Food Stamp Program, which brings billions of federal dollars into New York’s local economies and communities every year. Implementation of the Working Families Food Stamp Initiative, the new electronic application, and expanded “categorical eligibility” are streamlining the food stamp application process and increasing the number of people who are eligible for benefits. Other new statewide initiatives are raising benefit amounts for certain populations. The Nutrition Consortium is proud of the role it has played in assisting New York’s Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance to develop and implement these initiatives.

In addition, by maintaining $1.8 million in state funding for the Nutrition Outreach and Education Program (NOEP), a statewide program which operates through community-based organizations to promote the Food Stamp Program and assist eligible people complete the application process, more than 27,000 households enrolled in the Food Stamp Program last year. This brought more than $65 million in federal food stamp dollars into the state.

Still, there is ample work to be done to address the issue of hunger in New York State. A recent study by Feeding America found that 1 in 6 children under the age of 18 are food insecure in New York State—meaning that they lack consistent access to food on a regular basis. People “on the ground” at food pantries, soup kitchens, and community based-organizations are reporting huge increases in demand, with resources that aren’t keeping up. The high demand for food stamps means that clients must often wait a long period of time before their application is processed and benefits are received. There are still many things that must be done to improve access to, and participation in, the Food Stamp Program as well as the other nutrition assistance programs. Currently, large numbers of eligible people are not receiving the assistance they need. For those who do receive assistance, benefit amounts are often inadequate to keep up with increasing food prices. School and afterschool meal programs for children are underfunded, which doesn’t allow for enough healthy foods to be part of the meals. And the list goes on.

The Food Stamp Program, and other nutrition assistance programs, must be strengthened to provide a sufficient response to hunger. In the Nutrition Consortium’s newly-released “Campaign for a Hunger-Free New York” public policy priorities, we outline specific goals and recommendations for public policy changes that will reduce hunger in New York State. The state and federal government, advocates, community based organizations, and community members need to work together to meet the nutritional needs of vulnerable people so that no one faces the despair of hunger, ever. Despite these challenging economic times, our nation and state still possess the resources to ensure that no one goes hungry.

As an organization that supports those who are working “on the ground” to assist people with meeting their food needs, the Nutrition Consortium is doing everything we can to ensure that our work is as efficient and effective as possible. We are updating all systems and processes, and increasing our technology and web-based presence, to better serve our colleagues, partners, and friends. This new e-newsletter is one way we are moving forward to better serve the anti-hunger effort in NYS. We will soon be introducing topic specific “news digests” for more in-depth information about the Food Stamp Program, child nutrition programs, and senior nutrition assistance programs. Additionally, our website and blog, launched at the beginning of the year, are frequently updated with the latest information about hunger, nutrition assistance programs, outreach, legislation, and advocacy opportunities.

On the topic of advocacy, the Nutrition Consortium is currently working with the NYS congressional delegation and partners across the state to support the upcoming Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2009. This is an opportunity to strengthen the nutrition assistance safety net for children. Part of the solution to hunger is ensuring that children have the ability to access three nutritious meals a day, in the places where they learn and play. Through the upcoming Reauthorization, the Nutrition Consortium is advocating for funding increases, uniform nutritional standards, measures that will increase the number of low-income children who receive meals, and administrative simplification for the programs. We hope that you will join our Child Nutrition Reauthorization Coalition and support this important legislation, with a focus on addressing the needs of low-income children and supporting their ability to learn and grow to their fullest potential.

Lastly, we would like to invite those who hail from the greater Capital Region and Hudson Valley to join the Nutrition Consortium of New York State at our first fundraising event at Mexican Radio restaurant in Hudson, NY. On September 24th, 2009, Mexican Radio restaurant will donate 25% of your bill to support the Nutrition Consortium’s “Campaign for a Hunger-Free New York.” Please join us for some delicious Mexican fare at a beautiful venue, to support a very worthy cause.

Thank you for your support and contributions to the anti-hunger effort in New York State. We look forward to continuing this very important work together.

Sincerely,


Linda P. Bopp, Executive Director
Nutrition Consortium of NYS

"Back-to-School Bonus" for NY's Low-Income Children

The New York Times reports:

"A $35 million gift from George Soros, the financier and philanthropist, will allow for a $200 back-to-school bonus for each of more than 850,000 low-income children in New York State this fall, state officials said on Friday.

The $175 million in bonuses are also funded by $140 million from the federal government under a four-to-one matching program for needy families created by the stimulus package.

Children in New York State eligible to receive the money must have been from ages 3 to 17 as of last Saturday, and their families must have received food stamps or have been on welfare in July. The money will be directly transferred into their families’ welfare or food stamp accounts."

Click here for the full NY Times article.

Click here for a FAQ about the "Back to School Supplement" from NYS OTDA.

Click here for a press release from Governor Paterson.


Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Topic-Specific News Digests for the Food Stamp Program, Child Nutrition Programs, and Senior Nutrition Assistance Programs

Do you have a specific interest in the Food Stamp Program, child nutrition programs, or nutrition assistance programs for older adults? In the coming months, the Nutrition Consortium will be introducing topic-specific news digests for each of these three topic areas. If, in the past, you have received invitations to the child nutrition, senior nutrition, or food stamp workgroups, you will automatically receive the digest for the topic area(s) for which you received workgroup invitations. If you were not on the workgroup invitation list(s) and would like to receive one or more of the topic-specific digests, please email us and let us know which digest(s) you would like to receive (Food Stamp, Child Nutrition, or Senior Nutrition Assistance Programs).