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Friday, January 25, 2013

Update & Action Alert from AHNC


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Update & Action Alert 
Legislator Meetings in Olympia (week 2):

The second week of session was full of meetings with legislators to talk about our coalition's priorities. As we meet with lawmakers, we are hearing their questions and concerns and beginning to develop additional information and policy papers to address these issues. A great example is the Children's Alliance's new "Hunger Hurts Academic Success" and "State Food Assistance policy brief". Check them out on our website here:http://www.wsahnc.org/our-priorities-in-olympia/#.UQHzGu_kLRY  

Next week we will be sending out a sign on letter of community support for State Food Assistance - keep your eye out for it and sign on your organization's support!

Legislators Need to Hear Support for Tax Reform to Pay for Basic Needs:

After cutting more than $10.5 billion from state services in just 4 years, we face another deficit that could be close to $2 billion, including WA's obligation to spend more on education. In almost every meeting in Olympia as we talk about the need for restoring services and adding funding to hunger programs, legislators are asking where the money will come from. As a member of "Our Economic Future" coalition, AHNC supports reforming our tax code so there is enough money to pay for basic needs - not another all-cuts budget.

A step backwards would be House Bill 1161 - a proposal from Costco to clarify definitions in liquor re-sales to restaurants. This will result in an (unofficially) estimated $2.8 million revenue decrease. The Anti-Hunger & Nutrition Coalition, in partnership with Our Economic Future coalition, opposes this legislation. On Thurs., Jan. 24, the bill had a hearing in the House Government Accountability and Oversight Committee.

Learn more about our tax structure and solutions that don't hurt low-income families atWashington Budget & Policy Center. For information about what your organization can do to support positive tax reform and create new revenue, contact Our Economic Future. 


Senate Champion Secured for Emergency Food Assistance Program (EFAP) ask:

The Anti-Hunger and Nutrition Coalition has secured a Senate champion for our EFAP ask -- Sen. Hatfield, Chair of the Senate Natural Resources and Agriculture Committee agreed to send a letter to Sen. Hill, Chair of the Ways and Means Committee, with our ask for adding $3.7 million for EFAP. We will be working with his office and Rep. Blake's office on a process for gathering signatures of support from other legislators.


Lobby Days Galore for our Legislative Priorities:

Wed., January 30: Join Children's Alliance members for Have a Heart for Kids Day! 
Sign up here or just head to Olympia on Wed. to speak up for kids and restoring State Food Assistance!

Mon., February 4: Come to Food & Farming Day to speak up for AHNC's priority: restore our state's innovative and essential Farm to School and Small Farms Programs at WSDA!
RSVP here.


FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22 is Hunger Action Day!

This iHADs the lobby day sponsored by AHNC and powered by you! Our goal is to beat last year's attendance of 170 people so sign up now! We provide training, set appointments with your legislators, and give you a chance to network with anti-hunger allies across the state. Sign up and spread the word TODAY.  
   
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Wednesday, January 23, 2013

From Northwest Harvest: Advocates Update


NWH_LOGO-Tag_2012_XS
Advocates Update
Wednesday, January 23    
IN THIS ISSUE
UPCOMING EVENTS
First Week of Session
Federal Outlook
UPCOMING EVENTS   

Jan. 25-27
Washington State Farmers Market Association Annual Conference  
Vancouver, WA
More information here  
  
Jan. 31
Have a heart for Kids Day
Children's Alliance  
 
February 20
Interfaith Lobby Day
Faith Action Network
More information here
 
February 22
Hunger Action Day
Anti-Hunger and Nutrition Coalition
More information here 

Northwest Harvest
PO Box 12272
Seattle, Washington 98102

Your Weekly Action Alert 
First Week of Session
 
The "Majority Coalition" shook up committee structures and Senate leadership positions, but anti-hunger advocates are working hard to protect important state nutrition assistance programs in the budget.  READ MORE

Take Action
Sign up now for Hunger Action Day and join us in Olympia on Feb. 22 to tell legislators why it's important to protect and strengthen state nutrition assistance programs. Find information about the day including a link to the registration page and talking points on our legislative agenda items here.

For our partner programs: if you bring a customer to Hunger Action Day, we'll help pay for your gas! This offer is limited to the first 25 partners who sign up before Hunger Action Day. Email Laura, Partner Programs Coordinator at laurat@northwestharvest.org for more information or to sign up.
Federal Outlook

A one year extension of the Farm Bill was passed at the beginning of this year, with no cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). New appointments of Washington representatives to important committees plus a new fight for a five year Farm Bill and ongoing deficit reduction talks means no break for anti-hunger advocates.
READ MORE   

Take Action
If you live in the 1st or the 8th Congressional District, please take a moment to email or call your Representative. Congratulate them on their new committee appointment and tell them why it's important to protect SNAP and other nutrition assistance programs. Find your district here:http://www.house.gov 
The mission of Northwest Harvest is to provide nutritious food to hungry people statewide in a manner that respects their dignity, while fighting to eliminate hunger. 

Monday, January 21, 2013

From Northwest Harvest: Hunger Response Network News


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Hunger Response Network News
January 2012 
IN THIS ISSUE:

- Best Practices 
- Food Safety
Partners in Action 
- Partner Program   Updates  
   
Inserts
(PDF)  
(English and Español)
CALENDAR: 
 
January 24:
Feeding kids in the summertime - how can you help?
(9:30am - 10:30am) 
Call 877.808.1928    
Pin: 0603
April 15:
Renewal Contracts Due

May 10:
Annual Conference
 
Get ready for April 15th! 
Here's what you need to know 
1. Annual Department of Health Regulatory Letter
According to WAC 246-215-151, a donated food distributing organization must notify the regulatory authority in writing annually of the nature of its food service activities. We have included specific and generic forms for you!They should be mailed to your local department of health. 
 MORE...  
Join Our Mailing List 
Northwest Harvest 
P.O. Box 12272 
Seattle, WA 98102
NWH truck in snow


Dear Partners,   
Happy New Year! At Northwest Harvest, we particularly enjoy this time of year as we take a moment to reflect upon the previous year and find ways to improve our services for you and your clients. We hope that you have an opportunity to do the same and have highlighted some unique efforts and events with that in mind.
Best Practices
The Cove Food Bank
The Cove, in Methow Valley, opened its doors for the first time in April of 1998. Since that time the Cove Food Bank has grown to be much more than just a food bank.  

The Cove Aid and Assistance Fund began in 2000 as an extension of the food bank with the purpose of helping local residents that are faced with home eviction or needing help with gas or electric bills.
chill promptlyFood Safety
Chill: Refrigerate Promptly!
(and don't forget maintenance)  
 
Refrigerate foods quickly
because cold temperatures slow the growth of harmful bacteria. Refrigerate or freeze meat, poultry, eggs and other perishables as soon as you receive them.  
AdvocacyJoin us for Hunger Action Day!
The Washington State Anti-Hunger and Nutrition Coalition's lobby day in Olympia will be on February 22, 2012. We hope you will join us to for a morning of updates and training on hunger relief issues and for an afternoon of meetings with your legislators to speak up for hungry families in Washington.
How to easily create a free website!
In 2013 every nonprofit needs to resolve to have an online presence, every organization should have a site that will come up during an online search. Don't worry - creating one will take you less than 30 minutes. There are plenty of website options for nonprofits who will let you use a small amount of space for free, and that is all you really need.
Feeding Children Year-Round
Summer Meals - Start Planning Now!
Do you ever wonder how you can feed more children in your community AND be reimbursed for your efforts? Now in the depth of winter is the most important time to think about being a Summer Meals sponsor through the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI).
MikeR
Procurement
Mike Regis, Director of Procurement and Outreach

Greeting Friends,
Welcome to 2013! I hope you all survived the hectic holiday season. Here at Northwest Harvest we shipped record amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables including apples, oranges, grapefruit, honeydews, watermelons, salad mixes, potatoes, onions, broccoli, cauliflower and many, many other items all at the height of the winter season here in the Northwest.
OP Food Bank bagPartners in Action
Simple Gesture, Ocean Park Food Bank
 Simple Gesture is a door-to-door food donation program that began in Paradise, CA. The program is set up to be replicable in other towns across the nation. Michael Goldberg, director at Ocean Park Food Bank, came across the program and decided to give them a call. They provided him with a straightforward 'How to' packet to see if it would be a good fit for the Ocean Park community and gave details on starting a similar program.
MORE...
Please send monthly reports by the 10th of each month to:
partners@northwestharvest.org or fax 206.267.2179
Northwest Harvest Contacts
Partner Program Manager
Partner Program Coordinator
Hunger Response Program Mgr   
Public Policy Manager 
Hunger Response Network Director

Kent Warehouse

Spokane Warehouse
Yakima Warehouse

Send monthly reports to partners@northwestharvest.org  or fax 206.267.2179.

Monday, January 14, 2013

From Seattle Food Committee Blog: Salvation Army Food Bank's Spice Program

Seattle Food Committee



Posted: 11 Jan 2013 12:49 PM PST
Leilani Williams, Community Service Specialist at the Salvation Army on Pike Street, describes how they add a little spice to the lives of their food bank clients. 

We have been making and distributing our own spice blends for the last couple months, with rave reviews! It’s exciting to tell clients the amazing things they can do with the curry blend, a few potatoes, an onion, and a couple carrots - accompany this with a pot of brown rice and you’ve got an amazing healthy meal made entirely with food bank ingredients!

We know the most expensive aisle in the grocery store is the spice aisle, and that many clients have to forego adding a little spice to their meals, relying too much on salt. So we use the power of buying in bulk and make an assortment of spice blends: Italian, Curry and Mexican, all salt free, as well as a Vegetable spice blend that does contain some salt. We have plans to add more spice blends from around the globe and to showcase a blend weekly via a crock pot of beans or lentils - knowing once we add smell to the equation even those people who are a little apprehensive about the spices won’t be able to resist. It’s been great for starting conversations about food with our clients, they love to tell us their favorite ways to use the blends and ask us for recipes.

In a time of overly processed artificially flavored foods we are so excited to be able to make eating whole healthy foods exciting for our clients with such a small and powerful addition to our food bank!

The Spice Rack

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Conference call to support successful Summer Meals programs facilitated by WithinReach

    January 8, 2013

Conference call to support successful Summer Meals programs
facilitated by WithinReach

Girl with milk"Feeding kids in the summertime - how can you help?"
(Sponsored by FRAC and the WA Summer Meals Partnership)

Thursday, January 24 (9:30am - 10:30am) 
Call 1-877-808-1928   Pin = 0603

This is the perfect time of year to help your community start planning for Summer Meals.  Call in – and invite your partners - to hear Crystal FitzSimons, a national expert from the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), talk about USDA’s Summer Food Service Program and how states across the country serve kids through this program.  Along with FRAC staff, members from the Summer Meals Partnership will share information about how the program works in Washington and resources to help service providers and organizations (including schools) join efforts to feed kids in the summertime.

The call is designed for NEW organizations who want to learn about Summer Meals.  This is an amazing opportunity for our state to work with FRAC to recruit new Summer Meals partners.  Whether you are a sponsor, site or supporter, please forward this invitation to others in your community who can help expand participation in summer 2013.  

FRAC released the Hunger Doesn't Take a Vacation report that ranks Washington 40th among states for feeding kids in the summer – let’s work together to reach more kids this summer!

RSVP to Sue Waldin  at WithinReach to join the call. An email confirmation, agenda and resources will be sent on Jan 21.

Sign up


The WA Summer Meals Partnership sends periodic newsletters to keep statewide partners up-to-date on the latest information about the Summer Meals Program.


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Monday, January 7, 2013

Advocacy Update from AHNC

AHNC Logo
Update & Action Alert 
   
Updates on Olympia & Congress: Governor's budgets, Senate shake up, and gearing up for Hunger Action Day & the fiscal cliff,  
Farm Bill and a new Congress

Governor's budget:  
In late December, Gov. Gregoire released her 2013-15 budget , two of them, actually. We were happy with the inclusion of new revenue and her emphatic language about the terrible impact of another all-cuts budget, especially with her shout-out for State Food Assistance. As her own Budget Highlights explains,

"As is required by law, Gov. Gregoire prepared a budget that relies only on existing revenue. But such a budget would require cutting deeper into higher education, sharply reducing levy equalization support to local school districts and eliminating basic services such as the State Food Assistance Program. After reviewing those options, the Governor is convinced a no-new-revenue budget would have unacceptable consequences for people across the state. What's more, it would likely hinder the state's economic recovery."

Based on AHNC's legislative priorities for 2013, our analysis of the budget:

Restore full benefits for families on the State Food Assistance Program (SFA):
Book One budget eliminates SFA. Book Two retains SFA at current 50% benefit level ($25 million/biennium). Importantly, in her budget statement, press conference and in other media analysis, State Food Assistance was named specifically as the kind of "basic services" that would be eliminated if we have no new revenue options. Much credit is due to the Children's Alliance and all of your advocacy efforts for this high-profile example of critical safety net services - thank you!

Fill the shelves of Washington's food banks - Add $3.7 million to Emergency Food Assistance Program (EFAP):
Book One (with no new revenue and major program cuts) seems to add more funds to EFAP, but Book Two (with new revenue and fewer program cuts) does not seem to add new funds. The budget combines EFAP and TEFAP for a total of $12.408 million/biennium.

Protect the promise of the Local Farms, Healthy Kids Act - Restore $500,000 for WSDA's Farm to School and Small Farms programs.
The Governor's budgets do not provide funding for neither the Farm to School Program nor the Small Farms Program.

Support a balanced approach to the state budget - Create a sustainable state budget that includes new sources of revenue and that reviews and reforms our current tax exemptions and expenditures.
The Governor's Book Two budget creates a new tax on carbonated beverages and repeals the sales tax on candy and gum (to pay for the arbitrated requirement of wage increases for state-funded home care providers). It repeals a tax exemption on refineries, and it extends the Hospital Safety Net Assessment fee for a total $463.8 million in state general funds over the biennium (as well as additional local revenue).   While not the kind of comprehensive tax reform we want, we think this new revenue is a good start for the Legislature to build from.

Protect critical anti-hunger programs that have been priorities for AHNC:
There are no cuts in OSPI's budget for Child Nutrition programs: school breakfast, school lunch, summer meals, etc. There seem to be no cuts in DSHS's senior nutrition programs nor in DOH's nutrition services, including the Farmers Market Nutrition Programs for WIC and Seniors.

Senate shake up in Olympia:
Though a majority of Senators are Democrats after this election, two conservative Democrats (Rodney Tom, 48th district, and Tim Sheldon, 35th district) will caucus with Republicans, creating a Republican "philosophical majority" or "majority coalition" in the Senate. This has caused major changes in leadership positions compared to early post-election announcements. It's now presumed Rodney Tom will become Senate Majority Leader (farmer Mark Schoesler, 9th district, will be Senate Republican Leader) and Democrats will act as the minority party, with Ed Murray, 43rd district, as Senate Democratic leader.


Gearing up for Hunger Action Day:

Register now for Hunger Action Day on Friday, Feb. 22 in Olympia! Once you register, we schedule appointments with your legislators for you on Hunger Action Day, so it's VERY IMPORTANT TO REGISTER EARLY (remember to include your legislative district). You will get information about the Anti-Hunger & Nutrition Coalition's legislative agenda, links to policy papers, and advocacy tips to use throughout legislative session and on Hunger Action Day. If you are far from Olympia, spend Thursday night in Olympia so you can attend! WA Food Coalition has reserved discount rates at the Governor Hotel under their name - make your reservation now for a good deal.

 After you've registered, here are 4 simple ways you can spread the word:

1)    Share our finalized legislative agenda!
These are the important issues that you voted on. Condensed into one page, weshare this with legislators throughout session and we hope you share it, too.

2)    Post/ hand out this flyer.

3)    Place a Hunger Action Day registration badge* on your website and/or  
upload this image to your Facebook page.    

*The simplest way to add the badge to your site is to cut and paste the following code into your sites HTML:   

<a href="http://www.wsahnc.org/annual-lobby-day"><img title="Register for Hunger Action Day 2013" src="http://www.wsahnc.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/HAD.Register.2013.jpg" alt="Register for Hunger Action Day 2013" width="240" height="150"  /></a>

(If you need assistance please email elsaf@withinreachwa.org)  

 4)     Copy and paste this email message to send to all!



The fiscal cliff, Farm Bill and a new Congress:
On Jan. 1, Congress passed a bill (HR 8) to avert the so-called fiscal cliff. The bill isn't perfect but it does some incredibly important things: It raises taxes on the very richest while it preserves the broad Child Tax Credit; extends the Earned Income Tax Credit for 5 years; extends unemployment insurance for millions of out of work people, and more. It extends the many (but not all) provisions in the 2008 Farm Bill until Sept. 30, with no cuts to SNAP benefits or eligibility - though it cuts SNAP Nutrition Education by $110m this year. The bill also continues funding for Farmers Market Nutrition Program for Seniors and Community Food Projects - though it doesn't include many important other provisions our sustainable ag partners worked hard to include, like funding for socially disadvantaged and beginning farmers, organic programs and any of the so-called 'orphan' programs that are helping build a better food system. Two Washington Democrats voted no on the bill: Rep. Jim McDermott and Rep. Adam Smith have since gone on record to say they believe policies in the deal are still skewed for the wealthiest people, as well as concerns about negotiating upcoming deadlines with Republicans.

Now that this bill passed, there are new deadlines looming: Congress did not agree to a deal on the U.S. debt ceiling, which will be reached sometime in February or early March and require more negotiation in Congress. This bill also delayed an agreement on across-the-board spending cuts ("sequestration") on non-entitlement programs, which includes WIC. It now requires agreement about deficit reduction to avoid sequestration by March 1, 2013 (instead of Dec. 31, 2012).

We were glad to see President Obama and members of Washington's delegation fighting hard for programs for low-income people, for a more fair tax system, and making sure SNAP was untouched, so struggling Americans don't also struggle to put food on the table. Be sure tothank them and encourage them to stand strong in the upcoming months!
   

When Congress convenes later in January, the Senate Agriculture Committee chair will still be Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan); in the House, Rep. Susan DelBene, from Washington's 1st District, will serve on the House Agriculture Committee.


 
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