From Northwest Harvest: Advocacy Alert

Advocates Update Wednesday, December 21

IN THIS ISSUE

Working Connections

ACT NOW!

SAVE THE DATES:  Jan. 4 and 7, 2012:  TOWN HALLS Jan. 4, 5:30-8pm:    48th District Legislators at Bellevue City Hall, 450 110th Ave NE. Jan. 7, 10am-12pm: 49th District Legislators at Clark County Public Service Center, 1300 Franklin St., Vancouver.      Jan. 16, 2012:    POVERTY ACTION DAY Sponsored by Statewide Poverty Action Network. Event and sign-up information at:   povertyaction.org Feb. 3, 2012:  HUNGER ACTION DAY   Join us in Olympia to advocate for hunger relief!  REGISTER HERE  More information at: wsahnc.org

Your Weekly Action Alert: Working Connections Funding for state-subsidized childcare for low-income, working families is in danger of dramatic cuts. To protect this program, families need to know that this subsidy is available and get connected with the agencies that can sign them up. LEARN MORE...

ACT NOW! Help save Working Connections by getting the word out to eligible families that there is no waitlist for this program that can help them provide safe, affordable care for children while parents go to work. We all know that families that rely on hunger relief programs to put food on their tables have tremendously constrained household budgets. Childcare is an expense that working parents cannot forgo. If families receive subsidies from Working Connections, then parents can work, earning money to help pay for food and other basic needs, with the peace of mind that their children are safe and cared for. Please help get the word out about this important program so that eligible families can connect with agencies that can sign them up for this service. Please print out and post the attached flyer in community spaces such as public libraries, community center bulletin boards, and food banks. Help connect families to this important program and help make a difference. View/Print Working Connections Flyer

The Latest from Harvest Against Hunger

The Latest from Harvest Against Hunger Our cumulative second year project results are tallied. Simply put, our Harvest VISTA team rocked from 2010 to 2011. Most of the new HAH AmeriCorps*VISTA team was placed just before Thanksgiving for the third project year. They're already off and doing amazing work. We have three more HAH Area Summits planned for Yakima, Olympia and Everett. See details below for more info. 2010-11 Project Results HAH's results from November 2010 to October 2011 were remarkable. This Harvest VISTA team galvanized community and grower support while mobilizing thousands of volunteers.  2,800 volunteers recruited 2,100 volunteers who served 20,000 hours of community service 105 new agriculture donors 300 food recovery events 400,000 pounds of produce collected $4,700 cash donations $235,000 non-cash resources developed  2011-12 Project Host Sites There are currently nine Harvest VISTA working around Washington, and we're pleased to announce partnerships with four new organizations: Hopelink Sno-Valley in Carnation Clark County Food Bank in Vancouver Community Farm Connection in Wenathcee Blue Mountan Action Council in Walla Walla Visit the HAH page to see host sites and bios of our entire Harvest VISTA team. Events and News HAH Area Summit In partnership with the WA Department of Agriculture and WA Food Coalition, RFH is hosting three more Harvest Against Hunger Area Summits to bring hunger relief efforts closer to local fruit and vegetable farmers. Visit the WA Food Coalition page to register for the free summit nearest you: Yakima - January 6 Seattle/Everett - January 20 Olympia - February 2 RFH Resource Guide An electronic resource guide of best practices will be available to the public in early 2012. It is similar to the first "Gleaners Resource Guide," but will be much more interactive and hosted online.  Facebook Finally, we're no longer updating the HAH Facebook Page. "Like" Rotary First Harvest to stay up to the latest HAH news. HAH Video Highlights Watch short videos about different HAH project success from 2011-12. South King County Food Coalition Cannery Pierce County Gleaning Project P-Patch Gardens in Seattle About Us Rotary First Harvest - a program of Rotary District 5030, was founded in 1982 as a project of the University District Rotary Club.  Since then, RFH has collected and distributed over 160 million pounds of healthy produce to hunger programs across Washington State and throughout the US.  We rely on support from individual Rotarians and Rotary Clubs to continue our work. Rotary First Harvest PO Box 94117 Seattle, Washington 98124 206.236.0408

From Anti-Hunger & Nutrition Coalition: Register for Hunger Action Day 2012 TODAY!

Advocates and community members:

Hunger Action Day 2012 is right around the corner: Friday, February 3^rd in Olympia!

We will begin the morning at United Churches (110 11th Ave SE, Olympia) and continue the day on the Capitol campus meeting with legislators.

Registration is OPEN!

We encourage you to register now so that we can do our best to schedule a meeting for you with your legislators. It’s our goal to have as many people registered for Hunger Action Day as possible when session begins on Jan. 9.

Spread the Word:

A flyer for Hunger Action Day 2012 is attached - please share this with your networks. We are asking you to help by bringing your friends, family and co-workers - tell them to mark their calendars for February 3^rd and register!

If you work for an organization dealing with hunger or poverty-related issues, please bring as many clients, customers, staff, volunteers and board members that you can to talk to legislators. The success of our efforts in Olympia relies on your voice and the voices of those you serve being heard by decision-makers.

Staying Overnight in Olympia:

For those of you traveling across the state to Hunger Action Day, we have secured a block of rooms in Olympia at the Governor's Hotel for February 1st and 2nd for $86/per night. (This is especially convenient for anyone also planning to attend the Washington Food Coalition’s Harvest Against Hunger Area Summit on February 2^nd.)

To reserve a room, please contact the hotel directly. The block of hotel rooms are held under the Washington Food Coalition. You must make your reservation by January 11, 2012 to secure the reduced rate.

If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact us at ahnc@wsahnc.org

Have a safe and happy holiday!

Knowing Hunger in Washington

*this is an excerpt from our recent Winter Newsletter. You can view the entire newsletter online by clicking here.

Hunger in our state is at levels that continue to put strain on the emergency food system. Knowing this is important, but sharing the facts of hunger with others in your community can make an even greater impact.
Here is some information and trends about hunger in Washington that we encourage you to share with donors, elected officials, and others in your community:
· Since the beginning of the current recession, the number
of Washington families struggling with hunger has almost
2011, the number of households experiencing hunger rose nearly 100% to more than 160,000 households. This is 6.1% of total households in Washington. Washington’s rate of hunger is 11th highest in the nation.
· The percent of Washington households reporting very low food security, where food intake was actually reduced and normal eating patterns were disrupted, increased from 3.6% in 2005-2007 to 5.8% in 2007-2009, the highest rate in more than a decade.
· As many as 400,000 children in Washington – or 25% – live in food insecure households.
· In the fall of 2012, multiple food banks reported an all-time high record number of clients. The emergency food network distributed over 130 million pounds of food statewide in 2010.
· The number of visits to food banks (visits = the first time someone uses the food bank plus any subsequent visits) went from 7.80 million in FY10 to 7.98 million in FY11, a significant increase. There were nearly 2 million visits (new + returning clients) to food banks statewide in just the Fall of 2012, an increase of more than 59,000 when compared to the same quarter last year. This increase in usage has
put the emergency food system under a great deal of stress.
· In the past year, emergency food providers reported over 16 million fewer pounds of food was donated compared to the previous year. That equates to a loss of over $24 million worth of donated food coming into the food bank system. It is clear that donations are down, visits are up and their need for additional food and money is
urgent.
· Households with significantly higher rates of food insecurity include: lower income households, single men, African American and Hispanic households, and
households with children headed by a single woman.
· About 985,000 individuals per month in Washington received food assistance
through the Basic Food Program in 2010. This was a 20.6% increase from the year before. In terms of dollars distributed, Basic Food issuance (from both federal and state funds) in 2010 totaled over $1.5 billion.
· The National School Breakfast and Lunch Program and the Summer Feeding Programs served over one million adults and children in Washington.
· The Women Infants and Children (WIC) Nutrition Program, (which includes the WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program) served over 315,000 state residents in 2010. 

Advocacy 101: Your Guide to Understanding Government, Budgets, & What’s Ahead

*this is an excerpt from our recent Winter Newsletter. You can view the entire newsletter online by clicking here.

Washington State Government
The Washington State Legislature is a bicameral body (meaning it has two legislative bodies, not one) with 49 members in the Senate and 98 members in the House of Representatives. There are 49 legislative districts and each district is served by one Senator and two House members.
The citizen Legislature meets annually on the second Monday in January in the ornate Capitol building in Olympia. In odd-numbered years (2011) -- the budget year -- the Legislature meets for 105 days, and in even-numbered years (2012) -- the policy year -- for 60 days. If necessary, the Governor can call legislators in for a special session for a 30-day period. Legislators can call themselves into special session with a two-thirds vote of the two bodies. In the odd-numbered years, or “long sessions”, the Legislature sets a two-year budget (a biennial budget); the following, even-numbered years are used to adjust that budget according to need. This process results in a ‘supplemental budget’ as it supplements information in the first budget.
Special Session 2011:
Due to a continued budget crisis that produced an anticipated $2 billion shortfall, the Governor called the Legislature back this year for a special session. This session began on November 28th, so it can technically last until December 27th, but it is expected to be over early. The purpose is to adopt a supplemental budget to meet the revenue shortfall. The Governor has proposed her budget, and it is now the Legislature’s job to develop and adopt a final one. Given the large task and short time to accomplish it, it’s expected that the Legislature will complete not it in the spe- cial session. This will leave this work to be done during the 2012 session that begins January 9th.
Budget Proposal From the Governor:
There are several budget items that directly link to anti-hunger efforts in Washington: • Support state food banks - $1.5 million
Increases funding for state food banks that serve 1.5 million clients annually. Funding will provide 4.4 million meals annually.
• Eliminate State Food Assistance program - $13.9 million
Halts food assistance to an estimated 11,400 individuals each month who are not eligible for federal food assistance under federal law. This includes green card holders who have lived here for five years, witnesses in domestic violence and human traficking cases, and indviduals who live here under special agreements between the U.S. and their countries of origin to work and/or receive medical treatment because of harm that U.S. actions in their home countries.
• Eliminate Farmers Market Nutrition Programs for WIC and Seniors - $100,000
Ends state and federal funding for program that benefits low income mothers, young children and seniors, as well as local farm jobs. 

Federal Government

The Budget Process:

Each year, Congress must go through a budget and appropriations process, determining the funding for federal programs, agencies, and departments. Federal fiscal years start on October 1, so a budget must be passed by September 30 each year. If Congress fails to pass a budget by that time, they can pass a Continuing Resolution (CR) to avoid a government shut down while budget talks continue.
The 2011 Federal Deficit:
Our country faces a huge deficit. This past summer, Congress debated whether we should raise our debt ceiling, the maximum amount that the U.S. is allowed to borrow money from other countries to help pay for our budget’s spending, or else risk defaulting on these loans. Default- ing on our loans would have dramatically worstened the on-going worldwide economic process. Congress was split along party lines over raising the debt ceiling.
The debt ceiling crisis was resolved in August with a proposal to appoint a bipartisan committee made up of members of both the House and the Senate, to propose ways to lower our country’s deficit. This was the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, or “the Super Committee” that was co-chaired by Sen. Patty Murray. The committee was charged with finding $1.3 trillion in deficit reducing options that would take place over a 10 year period. Unfortunately, the committee was split along party lines and could not come to agreement on a proposal.
Under the debt ceiling agreement that created the Super Committee, there will now be automatic deep cuts to military and domestic spending, although entitlement programs like Social Security, Medicare, and SNAP are left harmless from cuts. The cuts will start in 2013, and Congress has this upcoming year to determine what cuts will be made.

WFC Winter Newsletter Available Online

Click below to check out our Winter Newsletter

Open publication - Free publishing - More coalition

Bio for WFC 2012 Conference Keynote Speaker, Jim Weill

JAMES D. WEILL

President

Food Research and Action Center

Jim Weill has been President of the Food Research and Action Center – FRAC – since February 1998.  FRAC is the leading anti-hunger public policy group in America, using research, lobbying, coalition-building and public education to combat hunger. 

FRAC leads national efforts to improve and expand the reach of programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), school lunch and breakfast, afterschool and summer food, child care food and the “WIC” (Women, Infants and Children) Program. FRAC focuses as well on strategies to improve the incomes of low-income families and to boost healthy eating in schools, afterschool and summer programs, child care, and low-income neighborhoods. Since 1994 FRAC has led the Campaign to End Childhood Hunger, the preeminent national, state and local effort to use federal nutrition programs to meet children’s needs. Congress Daily has described FRAC as “the premier anti-hunger group in Washington.”    

Jim has devoted his entire professional career to reducing hunger and poverty, protecting the legal rights of children and poor people, and expanding economic security, income and nutrition support programs and health insurance coverage for low-income people.

Prior to joining FRAC, he was at the Children's Defense Fund (CDF) as Program Director and General Counsel.  He led CDF’s efforts in 1985 that produced the first major expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit and oversaw CDF’s health coverage expansion, child care, and child support enforcement reform efforts.

Before CDF, Jim was Deputy Director and Director of Federal Litigation at the Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago.  He litigated major law reform and class action cases in the federal court of appeals and Supreme Court on Social Security, Medicaid, AFDC, food stamps and other public benefits issues, and the rights of children born out of wedlock. 

Jim is chair of the board of directors of the Alliance for Justice Action Council and is a member of the boards of OMB Watch and the National Center for Youth Law.  He serves on the advisory council to the National League of Cities Institute for Youth, Education and Families. He has served as a member of the U.S. delegation to the UNICEF Executive Board and on the boards of the National Clearinghouse for Legal Services, the Illinois Civil Liberties Union and the Poverty and Race Research and Action Council.  

From FRAC: Weekly News Digest

follow us:   

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The Weekly Food Research and Action Center News Digest highlights what's new on hunger, nutrition and poverty issues at FRAC, at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, around the network of national, state and local anti-poverty and anti-hunger organizations, and in the media. The Digest will alert you to trends, reports, news items and resources and, when available, link you directly to them. Previous editions of the Digest are available on FRAC’s website.

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Issue #41, December 5, 2011

1. Report Finds Spending on Food by Tens of Millions of Americans Drops to Unhealthy Level
2. SNAP/Food Stamps Reaching 15 Percent of U.S. Population
   
3. Idaho Sees SNAP/Food Stamp Numbers Rise Along with Unemployment
   
4. Pediatric Clinic in Rhode Island Steers Patients to SNAP/Food Stamps and WIC
   
5. SNAP/Food Stamp Challenges Continue in North Carolina
   
6. Hawaii Improves SNAP/Food Stamp Application Process, Reducing Wait Time for Benefits
   
7. Syracuse, New York Schools Receive Grant to Increase Breakfast Participation
   
8. Improving New Jersey’s School Breakfast Participation Would Help Schools Financially
   
9. Recession Forces Some Homeless Families in Florida to Live in Cars
   
10. Report Forecasts Bleak Economic Picture for States
    

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Vote for FRAC through the Working Assets/CREDO Donation Pool
Working Assets/CREDO has designated FRAC as one of only eight U.S. nonprofits eligible in 2011 for contributions through its Economic and Social Justice donation pool. CREDO members can vote for FRAC at credomobile.com/vote.

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1. Report Finds Spending on Food by Tens of Millions of Americans Drops to Unhealthy Level
(FRAC, December 8, 2011)

In A Tightening Squeeze: The Declining Expenditures on Food by American Households (pdf), FRAC analyzed U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) annual reports that compare the amount of households’ median spending on food to the amount of the Thrifty Food Plan – the level the government defines as needed for a bare bones diet on an emergency basis, albeit a level that many experts consider to be inadequate for most families to obtain a healthy diet. The FRAC analysis found that:

Spending on food by the median household fell from 1.36 times the Thrifty Food Plan level in 2000 to 1.19 times that level in 2010.

By 2010 median spending on food by Black households and Hispanic households had fallen to the point where it was only a tiny bit above (101 percent for Black households) or was actually below (96 percent for Hispanic households) the bare bones Thrifty level.

Spending by households with incomes less than 185 percent of the poverty level fell from 106 percent of the thrifty level in 2000 to 95 percent in 2010.

“In short, tens of millions of households are failing to attain an adequate standard for food purchasing,” said FRAC President Jim Weill. “When families don’t have enough resources to purchase an adequate diet, it leads to increased hunger and damages health, mental health, family cohesion, early child development, learning, and productivity at work. Today’s inability to afford enough food will lead to widespread harm to the nation’s children and adults, its schools and its workplaces, and its economy unless this trend is reversed.”

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2. SNAP/Food Stamps Reaching 15 Percent of U.S. Population
(The Wall Street Journal, December 6, 2011; FRAC, December 6, 2011)

In September, SNAP/Food Stamp participation reached nearly 46.3 million recipients, or 15 percent of the population. Eleven states* received disaster SNAP/Food Stamp assistance tied to Hurricane Irene, which raised the SNAP/Food Stamp participation numbers. However, a number of states not receiving disaster aid had 10 percent increases in participation over the past year; one in five residents in New Mexico, Oregon, Tennessee and Louisiana were receiving SNAP/Food Stamps; and Mississippi had the largest share of population receiving the benefit - more than 21 percent.
*Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia.

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3. Idaho Sees SNAP/Food Stamp Numbers Rise Along with Unemployment
(NBC Rock Center, November 28, 2011)

Idaho SNAP/Food Stamp families are showing up at midnight at Walmarts in order to restock their kitchens, which are almost empty at the end of each month. “Two years ago, we were at just 2 percent unemployment,” said Kathy Gardner, director of Idaho Hunger Relief Task Force. “Our food stamp participation rate was one of the lowest in the nation…because only 55 percent, a little over half of the Idahoans that were eligible and needed food stamps were participating.” As unemployment shot up to 9.1 percent, SNAP/Food Stamp participation increased 15 percent. Professionals without jobs and struggling financially have joined the chronically poor as SNAP/Food Stamp recipients. “We know that Idahoans are in a desperate situation. They are watering down baby formula. Parents are cutting back on what they’re eating so that their children can have food,” said Gardner. “We know that families are getting up in the middle of the night to get to the store.” Walmarts are adding extra staff to handle the extra shoppers. “We…make sure all of our registers…are open,” said Carol Johnston, Walmart’s senior vice president of store development. “Some people may think that at 12:01, Walmart’s very quiet, but in a lot of areas of the country, 12:01 is a big day or a big night for us, actually.”

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4. Pediatric Clinic in Rhode Island Steers Patients to SNAP/Food Stamps and WIC
(Gant Daily, November 22, 2011)

The pediatric clinic at the Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has been directing hungry families to the SNAP/Food Stamp and WIC Programs, spurred by data released in September by medical center officials showing household food insecurity among young children at the hospital increased to 41 percent in 2010, from 29 percent in 2009. Children without adequate nutrition for a prolonged time could develop iron-deficiency anemia or experience developmental delays, noted Children’s HealthWatch, and children in food insecure households are more likely to be in fair or poor health.

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5. SNAP/Food Stamp Challenges Continue in North Carolina
(Appalachian Online, November 29, 2011)

About 30 Appalachian State University students in North Carolina participated in the SNAP/Food Stamp Challenge, living off $21 for a week’s worth of groceries - $4.50 a day -  which approximates the SNAP/Food Stamp weekly benefit amount. “My hope is that through taking the challenge, even just taking the week out of your life, that we would look upon people with compassion and without judgment and connect with them on a more human level,” said senior Caroline Graebe. “I went to make food and I realized I didn’t have any more money left on my $4.50 and I was extremely disturbed by it.” Georgia Bowen, a senior student with a family of four who receives SNAP/Food Stamps, sometimes eats only one meal a day so that there’s more food for her children. “To see students willing to try and put themselves in other people’s shoes and to have that bit of empathy is amazing,” said Bowen. “It’s beautiful and it’s inspiring to us that people do care.”

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6. Hawaii Improves SNAP/Food Stamp Application Process, Reducing Wait Time for Benefits
(Maui Now, December 6, 2011)

Hawaii’s Department of Human Services saw its SNAP/Food Stamp caseload increase 11 percent over the past year, but reduced staffing, a hiring freeze and reduction in force initiatives over the past few years caused a backlog of applications. DHS recently launched the Business Processing Re-Engineering Project (BPRP) on Maui in order to reduce the backlog and get SNAP/Food Stamp benefits to applicants quicker. Instead of one caseworker handling an entire application, SNAP/Food Stamp applications are now handled by several workers assigned to stages in the process – Intake, Interviewing, Pending, Processing and Maintenance. Since BPRP’s launch in November, Maui’s DHS office reports that 78 percent of SNAP/Food Stamp, cash and Medicaid applications are being processed on a “same-day” basis. “The application process is much quicker under the new system,” said Maui eligibility worker Aranda Kahaialii, in a written statement. “If applicants have all their required paperwork in order at the Income Maintenance Office, they should be able to complete the application the same day they apply.”

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7. Syracuse, New York Schools Receive Grant to Increase Breakfast Participation
(Syracuse.com, November 30, 2011)

The American Association of School Administrators (AASA) recently awarded the Syracuse, New York school district a grant of $400,000 (funds provided by the Walmart Foundation) to increase school breakfast participation, part of  AASA’s national campaign to get more students eating free breakfast. While the school district has offered free breakfast to all students for 16 years, the grant will enable high school students to receive grab-and-go breakfast bags instead of eating in the cafeteria, and elementary school students will be able to eat breakfast in the classroom. Grab-and-go breakfast and breakfast in the classroom, noted Cindy Bonura Sturgeon, the district’s director of food and nutritional services, are national models shown to improve school breakfast participation. The district has a high poverty rate, with 75 percent of students eligible for free school lunch and seven percent eligible for reduced-price lunch. Three additional school districts are receiving grants (Riverside, California, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Brentwood, New York) out of the 16 districts invited to submit applications.

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8. Improving New Jersey’s School Breakfast Participation Would Help Schools Financially
(Edison Sentinel, December 7, 2011)

Advocates for Children of New Jersey's "Food for Thought School Breakfast Campaign" found that only 1 percent (16 students) of Middlesex County's 2,299 students eligible for free or reduced-price breakfast actually received the benefit. Edison Public Schools in New Jersey would receive $687,334 if their school breakfast participation reached 100 percent of eligible students. The district has begun expanding school breakfast to increase participation, offering free breakfast in the classroom to all students receiving free or reduced-price breakfast in Benjamin Franklin and Lindeneau elementary schools. Herbert Hoover and Thomas Jefferson middle schools will join the breakfast expansion in January.

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9. Recession Forces Some Homeless Families in Florida to Live in Cars
(CBS News, November 27, 2011)

One-third of America’s homeless families are in Florida, and two-thirds of those families are living on the street. Some of the homeless families in Central Florida are living in their cars, victims of the collapse of the state’s construction industry and the recession’s high unemployment rate. The Metzger family has been living out of their truck for about five months, and Tom Metzger continues to look for carpentry work. Correspondents met 15 students at Casselberry School in Seminole County who had been living in cars. “We were really scared,” said student Marquis Gines. “So…we would stay up all night sometimes and watch over my mom and keep her safe.” The Coates family found the best places to park the car they lived in were some Walmart lots (depending on the manager), near YMCAs, and outside hospital emergency rooms, as those areas provided lighting and security. To keep from being idle, the Metzgers would drive their truck to libraries, where the kids could use computers and study. Education “is everything to us,” said Arielle Metzger. “I plan to be a child defense lawyer. If I focus on my studies, I have that opportunity.” Now that she’s been homeless, she wants to help those other homeless people she used to see before the family lived in their car.

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10. Report Forecasts Bleak Economic Picture for States
(The Washington Post, November 29, 2011)

A report released by the National Governors Association (NGA) and the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) forecasts a bleak fiscal situation for states, although there has been improvement since the worst of the recession. The economic stress of continued high unemployment will force states to spend more while they struggle with weak revenue growth. “[T]here is not enough money for all the bills coming in,” said Scott Pattison, NASBO executive director. “State officials will still be cutting some programs, and increases in funding for any program except for health care will be rare.” While the private sector job market has improved somewhat, 455,000 state and local government jobs have been lost since the start of 2010. Since the 2008 financial crisis, public sector jobs have accounted for the smallest share of employment in the U.S. “Local governments are still seeing declines in their revenues, because even if property values have stabilized, property taxes tend to follow a couple of years behind,” said Dan Crippen, NGA’s executive director.                      

From AHNC: ACTION ALERTS, Special Session Update, and Hunger Action Day!

Session Update:

As the second week of the special session comes to a close, all signs are pointing to the special session wrapping up next week without a budget.  It is expected that lawmakers will keep working on the supplemental budget though at least the middle of regular session which begins Jan. 9.

AHNC lobbyists will continue to meet with legislators on our legislative priorities. During special session, we have been educating lawmakers about the frequent misunderstandings about State Food Assistance and Farmers Market Nutrition Programs for WIC and Seniors. For SFA, there has been confusion by lawmakers on eligibility issues for SNAP and SFA as well as the lawsuit from Columbia Legal Services. For more info, check out Children’s Alliance’s “Facts about State Food Assistance” on the AHNC website ( http://www.wsahnc.org/state-food-assistance-fact-sheets-by-ld/).

For the Farmers Market Nutrition Programs, there has been confusion by some legislators about the difference between the WIC Program and FMNP for WIC families; additionally, the Governor’s budget document erroneously states that federal funds would continue without state funds.   

ACTION: Sign your organization on to “Protect Farmers Market Nutrition Programs for WIC and Seniors ”by contacting Ellen Gray, WA Sustainable Food & Farming Network (egray@wsffn.org).  You can see a list of organizations/agencies who have already signed on, by clicking here and downloading the 2011-12 FMNP 1 pager.   

FEDERAL ACTION ALERT

Urge Washington State Congressional Reps to Sign-on to Letter Protecting SNAP, WIC and Other Nutrition Programs

Now that the Super Committee failed to reach a deficit reduction agreement, the House and Senate Agriculture Committees will attempt to develop a free-standing Farm Bill, rather than wrap it into the Super Committee, as had been proposed. Unfortunately, there were recommendations by Agriculture Committee Chairs Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Frank Lucas (R-OK) in the Super Committee process to cut SNAP significantly, so it is critically important to demonstrate strong support for SNAP and other anti-hunger programs as we head into Farm Bill reauthorization.

House leaders Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and James McGovern (D-MA) are currently circulating a ‘Dear Colleague’ letter urging the House Agriculture Committee to protect SNAP and other low-income nutrition programs through reauthorization of the Farm Bill or any “must pass” bills in the closing weeks of this Congress. Click here to see the Dear Colleague sign-on letter.

ACTION: Please contact your Congress Member today to urge them to sign on.  Congressional Reps should contact Melinda Cep in Congresswoman DeLauro’s office (melinda.cep@mail.house.gov) with questions or to co-sign the letter.  

Register for Hunger Action Day 2012!

Make sure to mark your calendars for February 3^rd 2012, register to attend, and share this information with your networks to help spread the word!  Click here to submit your information and reserve your space. 

Please note that each person must be registered individually.  If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact us at ahnc@wsahnc.org

Next AHNC Membership Meeting

Tuesday, January 10^th, 2:30-4:30pm (location TBA)

Please share this alert with your networks and have a great weekend!

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                         www.wsahnc.org                   

                              253-394-2787 

                       ahnc@wsahnc.org

                       

From Food Lifeline: Delivery Time!

ELIMINATION OF THE STATE FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM HAS BEEN PROPOSED. READ ON TO FIND OUT HOW TO VOICE YOUR CONCERNS! Governor Christine Gregoire has released her proposed 2012 state budget which includes eliminating the State Food Assistance Program (SFA). SFA is a food stamp “look-alike” program that provides food benefits to 13,754 lawfully residing immigrants.  The SFA Program has proven to be an efficient and economical program, costing 43% less to operate than originally anticipated.  The proposed $13.9 million in cuts would end the program, but it won’t solve our budget problem.  Cutting funding for the SFA Program would lead to an even greater strain on local food banks and meal programs. Food Lifeline’s member agencies have seen a 9% increase, since Fiscal Year 2010, in unduplicated individuals accessing their local hunger relief organizations. Hunger and food insecurity has risen greatly among our neighbors since the recession began and we cannot place additional pressure on programs and organizations already struggling to keep food on the shelves for the most vulnerable in our community. Our lawmakers are meeting to discuss the Governor’s budget proposal. At the end of the regular session they will have made incredibly important decisions regarding which programs to cut and which to preserve. While they are engaged in these key conversations it is crucial for us to strongly voice our concerns for a budget that maintains essential funding for hunger relief programs. Please click here to sign a letter letting our state legislators know how vital it is to retain funding for the SFA Program to keep thousands of families, children, and individuals nourished and fed. CLICK HERE. NEWS OF THE FEDERAL JOINT COMMITTEE... Additionally, Food Lifeline had been diligently following the Federal Joint Committee and any actions they might have taken to reduce the federal deficit. We asked for your help to urge Senator Patty Murray and her fellow Committee members to protect nutrition programs when making possible cuts. Thank you so much for all of your effort, time, and help in the last few months. Unfortunately, despite all our hard work, the Joint Committee put out a statement saying they were not able to reach a bi-partisan agreement before their deadline. They expressed their hope that Congress would take into account the work they had done when making further decisions about tackling the deficit. It is our hope that Congress will take our recommendations into account as well, and that all of our hard work, concerns and voices made an impact and will be considered the final budget.

Food Lifeline Advocacy Opportunities and News! volunteer! advocate! recent news.