October 2010 version of the Food Stamp Prescreening Guide Now Available

The October 2010 version of "FOOD STAMPS IN NYS: An Eligibility Prescreening Guide" is now available.

This guide is designed for community based organizations, advocates and volunteers who are working with low-income households and want to:

• determine if a household may potentially qualify for food stamp benefits,
• help assist the household through the application process, and
• calculate an estimated food stamp benefit allotment.

To veiw or downloaded the guide from our website click here. Due to financial restraints we will not be able to provide printed copies of this guide.

For questions concerning information in the guide please contact Dawn Secor, Food Stamp Specialist at dawn.secor@nutritionconsortium.org or by calling 518-436-8757 x12.

2nd Virtual Rally for CNR, 10/28

From the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC):

Last week's Virtual Rally for Child Nutrition Reauthorization was a resounding success! Thank you to those on Twitter who made us the talk of the town, and others who participated via Facebook, called the White House, and e-mailed President Obama.

Let's keep the momentum going strong. We're going to rally again this Thursday, October 28, 12 noon - 4:00 pm. The White House needs to keep hearing from you!

Get Ready for the Virtual Rally:

• Make sure you are near a computer or phone on October 28 from 12 noon - 4:00 pm.
• If you are on Facebook and/or Twitter, use your accounts to relay your message to the White House. Check out FRAC on Facebook or Twitter for messages you can re-post or re-tweet, and additional actions you can take.
• Not on Facebook or Twitter? During the rally time, call the White House comment line (202) 456-1414 or e-mail the White House via this form letter.
• Create a rally video before Thursday. Use your phone or camera to record yourself "at the rally." Gather your friends, co-workers, and others to join you. Upload your videos to YouTube and the URLs to Mike Ambrose so FRAC can post the videos on our Rally page. Check out the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism for a great example. Can't make a video? Just take a picture of your rally sign and send it to us.
• Invite your Representative to make a speech at the Rally via Twitter or Facebook. Tell them about FRAC's virtual rally. Ask her/him to join us for the rally and show support via Tweet or Facebook posting for a strong child nutrition bill that doesn't cut SNAP/food stamp benefits.

Share this message: A good child nutrition bill can make needed improvements without cutting future SNAP/food stamp benefits. It's a must-fix priority.

Effort launched to fight senior hunger

October 26, 2010
Albany Times Union article by Paul Nelson

SCHENECTADY -- Only 1 in 10 senior citizens in the region eligible for food stamps take advantage of the assistance, according to advocates who have joined a statewide "Create the Good" effort to combat hunger among the elderly.

Linda Bopp, executive director with the Nutrition Consortium of New York, said Monday outside Schenectady Inner City Ministry's food pantry that older people often do not obtain the financial help because they are unaware they are eligible or they don't think the effort is worth the money they might receive.

Still, others think they are taking something from another person who is more needy.
The average benefit for a person 60 years and older is $100 a month, Bopp said.

Erin Mitchell, associate state director for AARP New York, said, "too many older New Yorkers are forced to choose between buying groceries and their medicine." She stressed that "the food stamp benefit is discreet and easy to use" because of the debit card system that funds are deducted from when purchases are made. By year's end, elderly residents with access to a computer will be able to register for assistance online, said authorities.

more...

Virtual Rally for CNR: Thurs, 10/21

Our Message to the White House: "A strong Child Nutrition Reauthorization Bill should not include cuts to future SNAP/food stamps."

No plane tickets or bus fare necessary - just go online and/or pick up the phone to join organizations across the country for a Virtual Rally about CNR. Let's tell the White House that we need to improve the child nutrition programs, but not at the expense of SNAP/food stamp benefits.

Here's how you can participate in the Virtual Rally:

1. Mark your calendar: Thursday, October 21st (tomorrow) from 12:00 noon - 4:00 pm. Take action during those times.
2. Spread the word and share the flyer with your networks (click here)
3. Use Twitter or Facebook to relay our message to the White House. Click here to see sample messages.
4. Call the White House comment line at (202) 456-1414 and/or e-mail via an online comment form.

Classroom Breakfast Highlighted on CNN

During an interview on CNN, Gary David, founder of the Got Breakfast? Foundation speaks about child hunger, school breakfast, and breakfast in the classroom.

Click here to view the brief video clip.

New York City says no to using Food Stamps for sodas

Food Politics Blog by Marion Nestle
Posted October 7, 2010

New York City is serious about trying to reduce rates of obesity and the expensive and debilitating conditions for which obesity raises risks. Its latest move? It is asking the USDA for a Food Stamp waiver for two years during which recipients would not be allowed to use their benefit cards to buy sodas.

I hardly know where to begin on this one. I learned about this from the front page of this morning’s New York Times and from reading the accompanying op-ed by city Health Commissioner Tom Farley and New York State Health Commissioner Richard Daines.

This is an old, old idea that has been consistently rejected by USDA and by public health advocates for the poor. It is based on the commonly held notion—never conclusively demonstrated by independent data—that recipients of Food Stamps (now called SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)–make worse food choices than everyone else.

more...

Now Available! Request for Proposals from Community-Based Organizations to Help Alleviate Hunger

The Nutrition Consortium of New York State, Inc. is pleased to announce that the Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Nutrition Outreach and Education Program (NOEP) is now available.

Through the NOEP, 501(c)(3) community-based organizations are funded to: promote the benefits of the Food Stamp Program (FSP) to the local community; provide outreach to eligible, non-participants of the FSP; assist households through the FSP application process; and help resolve barriers to participation in the FSP. In addition, NOEP projects promote awareness of the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP).

The link to the RFP is http://www.nutritionconsortium.org/documents/NOEPRFP.pdf