Action Alert from AHNC

Action Alert ! Legislators Must Hear from You BY WEDNESDAY NIGHT to Fund our Anti-Hunger Priorities Please drop what you are doing right now and take 5 minutes to call your legislators about funding our hunger safety net. As you've heard by now neither the House nor the Senate budget proposals fully funded our priorities; here's where we stand as they get ready to go into conference and reconcile the differences in their budgets: Only the House proposal includes tax reforms - or any revenue at all. The House and the Senate didn't increase EFAP by even a dollar - despite efforts to educate lawmakers about how food banks are struggling to keep up with record numbers of clients with fewer resources. The Senate adds some funding for State Food Assistance (up to 75% of federal benefits, from current 50%) but the House proposal makes no progress at all in restoring funding - or fairness. Though both the House and Senate put in $250,000 for WSDA's Farm to School and Small Farms Programs, that's only half of what we've asked for - we can do better for farms and for kids. We ask you to take action a lot, we know - but RIGHT NOW is when state lawmakers are deciding what they're willing to fight for in the upcoming budget negotiations. Make sure they fighting against hunger - explain why it's so important to fight for these programs. Give them a reason to make these their top priorities. If there is any hope for fully funding our hunger relief system and fighting hunger, your legislators need to hear from you now! Flood the phone lines today! Here's what you can do right now: Find the legislators for the district in which you live AND in the districts where your program serves residents: http://app.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/   Find the office phone numbers for those legislators here:http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rosters/Members.aspx Call your Senator and your 2 Representatives and tell them: - Who you are and where you work. - Why it is critical that we have a budget that adds revenue AND funding for these anti-hunger programs. - Tell them about the numbers of clients you're seeing that struggle with hunger - Talk about how these programs make a difference to your clients, your program, your community Share this information with your board members, your staff and your volunteers RIGHT NOW.   Share this with clients TODAY. Print the Legislative Hotline (1-800-562-6000); ask clients to let their legislators know how much they need support from your program - and from their lawmakers.  Thanks so much for raising your voice to all those who need to hear it! (And thanks, Washington Food Coalition & Northwest Harvest, for contributing to this alert) Claire