From the Food Research and Action Center:
New York Advocates Must Weigh-in with Senator Charles Schumer AND the White House to Protect Safety Net Programs -- Including SNAP/Food Stamps and Child Nutrition –as Discussions Heat Up on Raising the Debt Ceiling/Reducing the Deficit
Background:
As a key player in the ongoing budget negotiations, anti-hunger advocates must contact Senator Schumer to urge him to protect SNAP/Food Stamps, Child Nutrition and other safety net programs during the debt ceiling negotiations. Decisions are happening now!
As you know, President Obama, Vice President Biden and a bi-partisan group of Congressional leaders, including Senator Schumer, are negotiating a debt-ceiling/deficit reduction plan and hope to reach an agreement in the coming weeks. At the top of the agenda is securing $4 trillion in savings from program cuts over the next 10 or 12 years. Whether or not revenues will be part of the final plan is also in play. Anti-hunger advocates are demanding that negotiations follow a key principle included in the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform’s plan (Bowles-Simpson): protect programs for low-income families and individuals, like SNAP/Food Stamps and Child Nutrition, and make sure that the deficit reduction is achieved in a way that does not increase poverty.
Actions Needed:
1. Call Senator Schumer at (202) 224-6542 or call toll-free: 1-888-907-1485 which will connect you to the Capitol Switchboard.
2. Contact the White House (President Obama and Vice President Biden). E-mail or call toll-free: 1-888-245-0215.
Message: Any deficit reduction plan must protect programs for low-income families and individuals -- such as the nutrition programs like SNAP/Food Stamps and Child Nutrition -- and must also include new revenues. The plan should reduce poverty and help the disadvantaged, even as it attempts to shrink the deficit. Low-income assistance programs, like SNAP/Food Stamps and Child Nutrition, must be exempt from any caps and automatic across-the-board cuts which could be triggered when budget targets or fiscal restraint rules are missed or violated.
Please take these actions immediately and to share this alert widely among your network and contacts in order to demonstrate support for responsible long-term deficit reduction through a combination of revenue increases and spending cuts that do not harm the poor and vulnerable.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
School Nutrition Foundation: Breakfast in the Classroom Resources + Funding Alert
The School Nutrition Foundation (SNF) with support from the Walmart Foundation and Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom released a NEW resource for schools all about starting breakfast in the classroom.
Click here to link to the Resource Center.
Also on the SNF website, a funding announcement for schools to increase breakfast participation. Sponsored by the National Dairy Council and the National Football League, eligible applicants are schools that operate the School Breakfast Program and are enrolled in Fuel Up to Play 60 for the 11-12 SY. Deadline is July 31, 2011.
Click here to learn more about the grant.
Click here to link to the Resource Center.
Also on the SNF website, a funding announcement for schools to increase breakfast participation. Sponsored by the National Dairy Council and the National Football League, eligible applicants are schools that operate the School Breakfast Program and are enrolled in Fuel Up to Play 60 for the 11-12 SY. Deadline is July 31, 2011.
Click here to learn more about the grant.
Friday, June 17, 2011
House Passes Harmful Cuts in FY2012 Agriculture Appropriations
From the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC):
On June 16, the House passed its FY2012 Agriculture Appropriations spending bill, H.R. 2112, by a vote of 217 to 203, concluding three days of unusually contentious debate triggered by the radical and destructive provisions in the bill.
The bill’s overall allocation for FY2012 ($17.250 billion) is $5 billion (23%) below the President’s FY2012 request and approximately $3 billion (14%) below FY2011 levels.
The bill includes cuts to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program.
Learn more on the FRAC website
On June 16, the House passed its FY2012 Agriculture Appropriations spending bill, H.R. 2112, by a vote of 217 to 203, concluding three days of unusually contentious debate triggered by the radical and destructive provisions in the bill.
The bill’s overall allocation for FY2012 ($17.250 billion) is $5 billion (23%) below the President’s FY2012 request and approximately $3 billion (14%) below FY2011 levels.
The bill includes cuts to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program.
Learn more on the FRAC website
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Stop the Slashing: A Guide for the Budget Perplexed
The Nutrition Consortium, along with 500 plus human service providers across the nation, recently participated in a webinar sponsored by the Coalition on Human Needs (CHN) focusing on federal budget proposals that slash programs for low-income families.
CHN is asking community organizations to act as "real world reporters," sharing the realistic dangers of these budget proposals and translating them into understandable human terms.
Become a "real world reporter". Below find the webinar, handouts, a guide and other tools and resources for the budget perplexed.
Resources:
Stop the Slashing Webinar (6/7/11):
Overview Page
Audio presentation
Handouts
Additional Resources:
Budget Advocacy Guide
CHN is asking community organizations to act as "real world reporters," sharing the realistic dangers of these budget proposals and translating them into understandable human terms.
Become a "real world reporter". Below find the webinar, handouts, a guide and other tools and resources for the budget perplexed.
Resources:
Stop the Slashing Webinar (6/7/11):
Overview Page
Audio presentation
Handouts
Additional Resources:
Budget Advocacy Guide
Children's Health Watch: Federal Programs that Protect Young Children’s Health
In their latest policy action brief, Children's Health Watch states that certain federal programs are essential for the health of very young children. Further, the brief argues that budgetary changes to these programs will undermine the health of these children.
Programs mentioned include:
Read the June 2011 Children's Health Watch policy action brief on their website.
Programs mentioned include:
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
- WIC
- Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
- Affordable housing
Read the June 2011 Children's Health Watch policy action brief on their website.
Friday, June 10, 2011
AARP releases report with Nutrition Consortium: Older Adult Food Insecurity: Framing the Issue in New York State
AARP, the Nutrition Consortium of New York State, and other Anti-Hunger groups released a report outlining state policy changes that need to occur to improve access to food stamps and other food assistance and nutrition programs for older adults in New York State. The AARP Foundation report, "Older Adult Food Insecurity: Framing the Issue in New York State," focuses on recommendations to remove barriers to applying for benefits as well as remove the stigma associated with food stamp enrollment.
The Nutrition Consortium spoke at the press conference releasing the report. Click here to read our statement.
View the AARP press release.
Read the report.
The Nutrition Consortium spoke at the press conference releasing the report. Click here to read our statement.
View the AARP press release.
Read the report.
Food Research and Action Center: Hunger Doesn't Take a Vacation, 2011 Report
From the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC):
"Participation in the Summer Nutrition Programs continued to erode in summer 2010 as recession-driven cuts in summer schools and youth programs led to fewer sites that could offer summer meals. Since July 2008, total participation nationwide in the Summer Nutrition Programs has dropped by 90,000 children, according to Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation, an analysis by the Food Research and Action Center."
According to FRAC, Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) participation has decreased in NYS. Approximately 255, 000 children ate summer lunch during 2010, as compared to approximately 262,000 during 2009; a decrease of almost 3%.
Read the report and learn more about how NYS compares to other states in regard to the SFSP.
"Participation in the Summer Nutrition Programs continued to erode in summer 2010 as recession-driven cuts in summer schools and youth programs led to fewer sites that could offer summer meals. Since July 2008, total participation nationwide in the Summer Nutrition Programs has dropped by 90,000 children, according to Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation, an analysis by the Food Research and Action Center."
According to FRAC, Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) participation has decreased in NYS. Approximately 255, 000 children ate summer lunch during 2010, as compared to approximately 262,000 during 2009; a decrease of almost 3%.
Read the report and learn more about how NYS compares to other states in regard to the SFSP.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Help Put NYS and the Food Stamp Program on the Map
From the Coalition on Human Needs (CHN):
The Half in Ten campaign and the Coalition on Human Needs are pleased to announce the release of the Road to Shared Prosperity, an interactive map displaying a collection of personal stories about programs building the American Dream. At a time when human-needs programs like Medicaid, food stamps/SNAP, and numerous others are facing the threat of extreme budget cuts, it is critical to show how such programs make a difference in the lives of real families, communities, and the economy. Designed to be a rich resource for the public, all stories contained in the map are paired with data on a state’s social and economic situation to show that this is about more than one person’s struggle or one family’s encounter with the safety net, but rather systemic issues that federal programs are successfully addressing.
Visit our resources for advocates page to learn best practices for leveraging the map’s contents for advocacy. We urge you to include stories and data from the Road to Shared Prosperity into your correspondence with members of Congress, in opinion editorials, and in social media campaigns.
Half in Ten and the Coalition on Human Needs are seeking additional stories to add to the map, which will be updated regularly. We welcome short video clips and written stories from service providers, beneficiaries, community leaders, business owners, and others who can speak to the value of federal programs that build prosperity and increase opportunity for all Americans. If you’d like to add your story to the Road to Shared Prosperity, click here.
We hope that this map will prove to be a useful resource in your advocacy around the budget debate. With your help we can pave the road to shared prosperity for all Americans.
Download a one-page summary
View the Road to Shared Prosperity
Submit your story to the Road to Shared Prosperity
The Half in Ten campaign and the Coalition on Human Needs are pleased to announce the release of the Road to Shared Prosperity, an interactive map displaying a collection of personal stories about programs building the American Dream. At a time when human-needs programs like Medicaid, food stamps/SNAP, and numerous others are facing the threat of extreme budget cuts, it is critical to show how such programs make a difference in the lives of real families, communities, and the economy. Designed to be a rich resource for the public, all stories contained in the map are paired with data on a state’s social and economic situation to show that this is about more than one person’s struggle or one family’s encounter with the safety net, but rather systemic issues that federal programs are successfully addressing.
Visit our resources for advocates page to learn best practices for leveraging the map’s contents for advocacy. We urge you to include stories and data from the Road to Shared Prosperity into your correspondence with members of Congress, in opinion editorials, and in social media campaigns.
Half in Ten and the Coalition on Human Needs are seeking additional stories to add to the map, which will be updated regularly. We welcome short video clips and written stories from service providers, beneficiaries, community leaders, business owners, and others who can speak to the value of federal programs that build prosperity and increase opportunity for all Americans. If you’d like to add your story to the Road to Shared Prosperity, click here.
We hope that this map will prove to be a useful resource in your advocacy around the budget debate. With your help we can pave the road to shared prosperity for all Americans.
Download a one-page summary
View the Road to Shared Prosperity
Submit your story to the Road to Shared Prosperity
Nominations Open: Hunger Champion and Golden Grocer
The USDA is now accepting nominations for the Hunger Champion and Golden Grocer Awards.
The Hunger Champion Award honors local county assistance offices that provide exemplary service in assisting eligible clients to obtain benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or the Food Stamp Program in NYS).
The Golden Grocer Award is given to retailers that provide excellence in customer service, outreach, and/or nutrition education to food stamp recipients and low-income customers.
Learn more about the Hunger Champions Award on the USDA website. The deadline to submit a nomination is July 1, 2011.
Learn more about the Golden Grocer Award on the USDA website. Nominations are accepted all year with no deadline.
The Hunger Champion Award honors local county assistance offices that provide exemplary service in assisting eligible clients to obtain benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or the Food Stamp Program in NYS).
The Golden Grocer Award is given to retailers that provide excellence in customer service, outreach, and/or nutrition education to food stamp recipients and low-income customers.
Learn more about the Hunger Champions Award on the USDA website. The deadline to submit a nomination is July 1, 2011.
Learn more about the Golden Grocer Award on the USDA website. Nominations are accepted all year with no deadline.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
June 6-10: National Summer Food Service Program Week
From the USDA:
We are excited to announce the first ever National Summer Food Service Program Week! Today marks day one of a week-long celebration to raise awareness and make sure that no child goes hungry this summer. You may have heard of National School Lunch and School Breakfast Weeks and wondered why we didn’t have a week dedicated to the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). Well, we wondered the same thing and we’re excited to start a new tradition this year!
Learn more on the USDA's blog and website.
We are excited to announce the first ever National Summer Food Service Program Week! Today marks day one of a week-long celebration to raise awareness and make sure that no child goes hungry this summer. You may have heard of National School Lunch and School Breakfast Weeks and wondered why we didn’t have a week dedicated to the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). Well, we wondered the same thing and we’re excited to start a new tradition this year!
Learn more on the USDA's blog and website.
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