Category Archives: Food Security

What to Look Out for in Lame Duck!

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What to Look Out for in Lame Duck!

NETWORK Government Relations Team
November 5, 2018

The Midterm Elections are upon us — and NETWORK is busy looking ahead to the work that must be done for the rest of the year.

Members of Congress will arrive back to Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, November 13 to finish out the final legislative efforts for the 115th Congress. There are some time-sensitive issues Congress must address, as well as others that may be considered if there is time and political will. All the items on the agenda will be affected by two factors: the outcome of Tuesday’s election as well as subsequent leadership elections, especially in the House of Representatives.

With these uncertainties in mind, here is NETWORK’s analysis for upcoming issues in the final days of the 115th Congress.

Must Do: Fund the Government for 2019

Appropriations: Congress outperformed all expectations by passing 7 of the 12 appropriations bills for FY2019 before the start of the fiscal year, which began on October 1.  While kudos are in order, NETWORK is urging them to pick-up where they left off as soon as they return and it’s imperative that they finish the job before the end of the year.  Lawmakers have until December 7th to reach agreement on the 5 remaining spending bills which fund programs at more than 10 federal agencies, or risk a government shutdown.  Several of our Mend the Gap issues are among the log-jam.  These include: programs that fund the 2020 census, affordable housing and keep immigrant families together.

Border Wall

The most contentious issue will be funding for the Department of Homeland Security; which President Trump has already threatened a government shutdown if Congress fails to appropriate roughly $5 billion for his border wall.  A government shut-down would be detrimental just weeks before Christmas and would coincide with the anticipated arrival of thousands of migrants trekking toward the Southern border.  NETWORK has joined hundreds of advocacy organizations in calling for Congress freeze spending at FY 2018 levels for immigration enforcement officers, agents and detention beds.   And we urge Congress to pass a separate short-term extension for the Department of Homeland Security.  NETWORK is ready to kick our advocacy efforts into high-gear if we perceive threats around funding for our immigration and census priorities.

2020 Census

Funding for the Census Bureau, which requires a significant ramp-up for Census 2020 preparations and planning.   If Congress returns to the dysfunction we saw last year with repeated funding delays via Continuing Resolutions, it could seriously threaten the ramp-up and preparations for our government’s largest peacetime undertaking, the decennial.  Fiscal Year 2019 is the pivotal year leading up to the 2020 Census so postponing full funding would have dire consequences on the preparations and outcome of the count.  While the proposed funding levels from the Senate and the House seem acceptable, it is unclear what the budget impact would be on the impending court ruling on the controversial citizenship question.

Click here to read more about NETWORK’s FY 2019 appropriations priorities.

That being said, there are some outstanding “Maybe” issues that Congress could address: the Farm Bill, Criminal Justice, and the Low Income Housing Tax Credit.

Farm Bill: Protect SNAP

There has not been much apparent progress since the Farm Bill moved into conference in August.  One of the primary sticking points in negotiations is the nutrition title and reauthorization of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).  The partisan House Bill—which passed by 2 votes on the second try—includes harmful provisions that would undermine the program’s effectiveness and cut nutrition assistance for millions of Americans.  The Senate bill, which saw the strongest bipartisan support of any prior Farm Bill (86-11), makes key improvements to strengthen SNAP without threatening food security of participants.  The 2014 Farm Bill expired this month but, fortunately major programs like SNAP have a funding cushion that minimizes the impact of Congress missing that deadline.  It’s highly likely, though, that the Farm Bill conference committee will kick into high gear when Congress returns on November 13th.  During Lame Duck NETWORK will need your help to ensure that the nutrition title from the Senate bill is what’s ultimately adopted and voted into law.

Criminal Justice

There is wide speculation that the Senate could join the House and take up a modest criminal justice reform package during the Lame Duck session, if 60 Senators agree to proceed.  In May, the House passed the First Step Act, a bipartisan bill purporting to be a significant step forward in prison reform.  Over the summer the President tentatively agreed to include several sentencing reform elements into a prison reform package. The Senate was split on the issue of separating prison reform from sentencing reform but has changed course given the President’s willingness to negotiate a compromise.  While NETWORK supports sentencing and prison reform as a joint legislative package we did not take an official position on the First Step Act.

Read NETWORK’s thoughts on the First Step Act, from when it passed the House, here.

Low Income Housing Tax Credit

As Congress concludes work for the year, there is a tradition that of a small group of tax bills that are bipartisan, non-controversial and relatively inexpensive get passed.  This group of tax bills is called “extenders.”  Members of the tax writing committees are now reviewing what their priorities are for any extender bill.  One of the tax initiatives under consideration is passage of “The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2017” (S. 548) which expands the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) to meet the housing needs of extremely low income renter households. This credit is the primary tool to encourage private investment in affordable housing development and is responsible for 90 percent of all affordable housing developments built each year.  Since it was passed in the bipartisan Tax Reform Act of 1986, the credit has incentivized the creation of 3 million affordable rental homes around the country.  NETWORK will work with

Given the national shortage of affordable housing, NETWORK believes it is critical that new build more low income housing units. Passage of this bill will go a long way to meeting the needs of the homeless and other vulnerable low income individuals and families.

Did You Eat Today? Do More Than Thank a Farm Worker

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Did You Eat Today?
(Do More Than) Thank a Farm Worker

Erin Sutherland
November 19, 2018

Last month, I had the opportunity to attend an interactive presentation and mindful dinner entitled “A Harvest for Justice,” led by Stoneridge Academy’s Director of Social Action, Lauren Brownlee. Lauren described her recent trip to Washington State to meet with other members of the National Farm Worker Ministry.  While learning about the challenges farm workers face in access to housing, adequate health and safety, just wages, and those that specifically impact women, I was both parts equally shocked and horrified.

I was immediately reminded of the striking similarities between the injustices farm workers experience and the issue areas NETWORK has chosen to focus on to “Mend the Gaps” in our society.  The gap for farm workers is even wider than that of the general population because of the inability of farm workers to organize collectively, or the fact that citizenship status can deter people from coming forward and reporting abuse.  Especially as Thanksgiving approaches, it makes me angry to think about how our national dinner table is supplied by people who are being exploited.  All of us, especially those who are dedicated to fixing societal gaps, need to do better to rectify the ways in which we are participating in an unjust food system.

As I reflect on all I have to be thankful this year, the evening left me wondering what more I could do to show my respect for farm workers and be an ethical consumer.  Attendees discussed eating mindfully, hosting a documentary watch-party like watching Food Chains, and participating in online campaigns.  While these are a great first step, I think it is also important to think more broadly about how to dismantle the unjust, capitalist produce market.

One way is to buy produce directly from farmer-organized initiatives or with ethical certifications.  As someone with modest income, I also understand how difficult it can be to pay a little more for ethically sourced produce.  One thing I’ve started doing is making sure to keep my food waste to an absolute minimum.  This is one way I can show my solidarity with those who worked so hard to pick the food in my fridge by making every effort to consume it all.  This means packing leftovers, coming up with creative solutions to using produce that is starting to look iffy, and supporting companies like Hungry Harvest that save perfectly good food from landfills by re-selling produce that couldn’t be sold at the grocery store.

My journey to becoming an ethical consumer and demanding positive change in the produce industry is just beginning.  Far from feeling hopeless or overwhelmed, I feel equipped with the knowledge to move my appreciation past words and into action.

Progress from Congress on Appropriations

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Progress from Congress on Appropriations

Tralonne Shorter
September 12, 2018

This summer, Congress made extraordinary progress toward completing the requisite 12 spending measures for upcoming fiscal year (FY) 2019. To date, the Senate has passed nine spending bills, while the House has passed six. Lawmakers have until September 30 to finalize spending bills or extend funding at current levels through a continuing resolution (CR).  Efforts are underway to bundle nine* out of 12 spending measures into three packages by September 30 and put the remaining three** bills into a CR, averting a government shutdown.

One reason for the Senate’s remarkable pace on appropriations is President Trump’s vow to not sign another omnibus spending bill.  To achieve this progress, the Senate uncharacteristically spent part of August in session.  Another reason is a bipartisan agreement between Appropriations committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) and Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) not to pack spending bills with controversial provisions that would weaken bipartisan support.

NETWORK continues to lead lobby efforts supporting our Mend the Gap priorities.  These include:  humane border enforcement that promotes family unity and funding increases for affordable housing, workforce development, job training, child welfare and health care.  In addition, NETWORK will continue to oppose efforts to defund the Affordable Care Act.

Immigration

Unsurprisingly, the Trump Administration’s “Zero Tolerance” immigration policy dominated the appropriations debate and faced strong opposition across party lines in both chambers.  NETWORK joined pro-immigration advocates in garnering support for more than 12 amendments to the Homeland Security bill that adds report language that clamps down on family separation with better oversight and accountability standards for ICE detention centers.  Additionally, we successfully lobbied for more funding to support alternatives to detention, family case management services, and mental health screening of unaccompanied minor children crossing the Southern border. However, a major disappointment by House Appropriators includes the reversal of the Flores Settlement, a 1997 agreement drafted by the ACLU which set a 20-day limit for family detention and governs the conditions of detention for children, including that facilities be safe, sanitary, and age appropriate.    If enacted this would allow immigrant families to be indefinitely detained in facilities with harsh conditions not supported by Flores.  Thankfully, the Senate approved LHHSED Appropriations bill leaves the Flores settlement agreement intact and the House language is not likely to be part of the final bill.

As for immigration enforcement spending contained in the Homeland Security Appropriations bill, the House Appropriations Committee approved $7 billion more than the Senate for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) and the Southwest Border Wall.  Other areas of concern include, a 10 percent increase in detention beds, as well as funding to hire almost 800 more border and customs agents/officers.

NETWORK will continue to push back on efforts to separate families or that would undermine humane border enforcement as negotiations gain momentum post the mid-term elections.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

The current Farm Bill is set to expire on September 30, unless Congress passes the next Farm Bill before then or extends the current reauthorization.  Regardless of when Congress finalizes the next Farm Bill, funding for SNAP will not lapse as the government is statutorily required to continue funding the program subject to participation demands.  Since 2015, SNAP enrollment has declined by more than 4.7 million people resulting in a $73 billion automatic appropriation for FY 2019.  This is $794 million less than FY 2018 and a 10 percent reduction since FY 2015.

Census

House appropriators gave a big boost to the Census Bureau in the FY 2019 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations (CJS) bill, approving nearly $1 billion more for the agency than the Senate. However, it is unclear how much of the $4.8 billion for the agency will be allocated for the 2020 Decennial.  Conversely, the Senate appropriators (under new leadership) appears to have taken a more conservative approach and adopted the President’s FY 2019 budget request to fund the 2020 Decennial at $3.015 billion.  This is drastically different from NETWORK’s request of $3.928 billion minimum baseline.

Besides census activities, the CJS bill also funds immigration related law enforcement and adjudication efforts within the Department of Justice.  Regrettably, the House Committee bill, fails to fully protect immigrant families and includes increased funding for immigrant-related law enforcement efforts.  Congress is not expected to finalize the CJS bill until sometime after the mid-term elections.  NETWORK will continue to call on our supporters to push for the higher number for the 2020 Census contained in the House bill.

Housing

Funding for housing programs fared better in the Senate.  The Senate approved a $12 billion increase above the President’s FY 2019 budget request−and is $1 billion above the House bill.  Housing programs help nearly 5 million vulnerable families and individuals.  This includes:  $22.8 billion for tenant-based Section 8 vouchers; $7.5 billion for public housing; $11.7 billion for project-based Section 8; $678 million for Housing for the Elderly; and $154 million for Housing for Persons with Disabilities.  Both committee bills reject the Administration’s rent reform proposal, and reinstate funding for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships programs, which were eliminated in the President’s FY 2019 budget request.  However, the House reduces spending for the HOME program by 12 percent.

NETWORK will continue to advocate for increased funding for affordable housing programs.

Children and Human Needs

The LHHSEd Appropriations bill funds popular safety net programs, like Medicare and Medicaid operations, home energy assistance, Head Start and the Child Care Development Block Grant.  It is the 2nd largest spending bill, after defense and comprises about 63 percent of total discretionary spending.  The House and Senate bills are slightly different—overall the Senate bill is better because it has a higher spending allocation and contains no poison pill riders unlike the House.

Unfortunately, the Affordable Care Act continues to be attacked by Republican lawmakers.  Both the House and Senate bills reduce access to affordable health care by cutting funding for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) operating budget by nearly half a billion dollars.  According to the House Committee report, Democrats view defunding CMS as “a misguided attempt to sabotage the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplace.” If enacted this cut would significantly impact Medicare as it subject to mandatory 2 percent sequestration cut pursuant to the Balance Control Act of 2011 (P.L. 112-25).

NETWORK will continue to call on our supporters to push back against efforts to defund the Affordable Care Act.

* Agriculture; Defense; Energy and Water; Financial Services; Interior; Labor-Health and Human Services-Education; Legislative Branch; Military Construction and Veterans Affairs; Transportation and Housing and Urban Development.

**Commerce, Justice, Science; Foreign Operations; and Homeland Security.

Sister Kathy Flynn: Don’t Assume the Poor and Hungry Aren’t Working

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Don’t Assume the Poor and Hungry Aren’t Working

Sister Kathy Flynn
August 19, 2018

I’m a native Iowan and a Catholic Dominican Sister. I minister at Opening Doors, a program in Dubuque that welcomes women who experience homelessness and who seek our help as they rebuild their lives.

We work with them to find employment, pursue educational goals, and develop other life skills.

The women I work with can’t become self-sufficient if access to food is taken away from them and their children. That is why I am urging U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst to reject the House version of the Farm Bill, which cuts access to nutritional food.

In September 2018, the Farm Bill, which funds Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), expires and will need to be reauthorized. Both the House and Senate have created new versions of the Farm Bill, and now they have to reconcile them.

While the partisan House bill hurts families by cutting SNAP, the bipartisan Senate bill keeps SNAP safe and ensures that the women I work with will be able to eat and feed their children.

Sen. Ernst was appointed as one of a small number of Senate conferees on the bill, and she has the power and responsibility to make sure the Senate provisions in the nutrition title are upheld.

I see the “on-the-ground” ramifications of our food policies every day. I see women who desperately want to provide nourishing, healthy meals to their children but often can’t, due to limited resources or other barriers.

I see women without transportation or child care walking a mile to a grocery store and back, or taking an hour-long bus trip with children in tow. Being poor and without resources is simply exhausting!

It is a myth that people in poverty do not work. The vast majority of women who move through transitional housing live at or below the federal poverty threshold and are working — sometimes at two jobs while raising children — consistently trying to overcome barriers that are invisible to many of us.

Low unemployment rates mask the reality that most of the jobs available are low-wage and unpredictable. More than two in five Iowa households receiving SNAP include children. Options for child care and transportation are limited at best. Healing from trauma takes a lot of energy.

Sen. Ernst said the Senate Farm Bill lacked harsh work requirements and “missed an opportunity to help able-bodied SNAP recipients rise up out of poverty.”

Senator, you are wrong.

Most SNAP recipients who can work, already do work. In Iowa, 84 percent of SNAP families have at least one working member. If the 2018 Farm Bill makes it harder for people to eat, it certainly isn’t providing opportunities.

Expanding work requirements and adding unnecessary burdens to access nutrition assistance means more discouraging red tape for millions of Americans already struggling to get by. Insecurity and hardship takes a toll.

These are some of the most resilient people I have been blessed to know, but they deserve help to not go hungry.

The Dominicans are a mendicant order, meaning that for over 800 years we’ve begged — particularly when a just cause is at stake. And so I’m begging Sen. Ernst for a Farm Bill that does not make hunger and poverty worse in this country. Please look to the Senate’s version of the Farm Bill as the right path forward.

The author is a Dominican Sister of Sinsinawa, Wis., who is an education/employment case manager at Opening Doors in Dubuque, which ministers to women experiencing homelessness.

Sister Kathy Flynn’s Op-Ed was originally published in the Telegraph Herald. View the original here.

Blog: SNAP — A Program Constantly Under Threat

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SNAP — A Program Constantly Under Threat

By Matthew Schuster
October 25, 2011

With all of the Super Committee budget work that is being done in Congress, it is more than important to make sure our country’s politicians do not make cuts in funding to the “SNAP” program*. The program is always in threat of losing funding, and with the recession, we at NETWORK are more concerned than usual about protecting it.

SNAP is the current title of the food stamp program that helps 43 million low-income Americans to afford an adequate diet. For example, one in eight Latinos needs the program. The reason that SNAP becomes an issue during budget organization is because the federal government pays for the full cost of the program. However, it is a necessary program and money well spent. It has been the most responsive federal assistance program and in this economic downturn, it is needed more than ever. In fact, 15.6 million more people have participated in the SNAP program since the recession began in 2008.

The truth is that the amount people get a month averages only about $134. That is basically a dollar a meal. With all the government spends on expensive military operations overseas, that is such a meager cost to feed someone within our own country. Furthermore, SNAP includes employment and training assistance so that people can indeed have some resources to move from government assistance to work. If people do not believe in food stamps, they should visit a food bank or soup kitchen. This is one program that I definitely will never mind my tax dollars going towards.

* The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the name of the Food Stamps program. As noted by the Coalition on Human Needs: “The goal of the program is to alleviate hunger and malnutrition by permitting low-income households to obtain a more nutritious diet through normal channels of trade.” It provides monthly benefits to eligible low-income families for the purchase of food. These benefits are funded by the federal government, with states providing part of the administrative costs.

As noted in a recent NETWORK blog post from former NETWORK Associate Casey Schoeneberger, “SNAP (formerly Food Stamps) has proven to be the most successful and cost-effective anti-poverty program in the nation, most recently in response to the recession and high unemployment rate. With the current “food insecurity rate” of 1 in 20 families (FRAC, 3/2/11) surely more children and struggling families will go hungry if the Republican Budget Resolution to turn SNAP into a block grant becomes law. The House Republican plan to change SNAP would endanger lives. Not only is an adequate food safety net the most basic support the government and fellow citizens can provide struggling families, but economists agree that food stamps are one of the best known stimulus tools the government can use to spur the economy, adding $1.74 to the economy for every $1.00 spent.”

To access the government website explaining the program click here.

Blog: Food in Our World: Recommended Resources

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Blog: Food in Our World: Recommended Resources

Page May
Jul 20, 2011

I am drawn to the centrality of food in both daily living and human development. In fact, studying the domestic and global food systems has become a passion of mine. In my own learning, I have come to conceptualize food as a nexus of the world’s forces, systems, and histories that both embody inequalities of the past and perpetuate those injustices today: Food connects to hunger, inequality, oppression, agriculture, sustainability, power, violence, political economy AND the hopeful possibilities for future societies.

So I am VERY excited for this week’s theme: The Food System and the Wealth Gap. We’ve got several new resources discussing…you guessed it! Food systems and the wealth gap! To get us all started, we have some recommended reading/viewing materials listed here. Please check these amazing pieces out! Regardless of your knowledge of the subject, these are great videos and articles, created by some of the major actors in the good food movement.

 

Below is our list of recommended resources. You can also click here to download a copy.

Videos

Clip from Food Inc: A chicken farmer explains the realities of farmer debt, animal welfare, and corporate control in her industry 

Raj Patel explains the global food crisis and the fight for the world’s food system

Articles

The United States’ Failing Food System

Why Being a Foodie Isn’t Elitist

African American Farmers Speak About Experiences with Land Ownership and Loss in North Carolina

Can the World Feed 10 Billion People?

USDA INC.: How Agribusiness Has Hijacked Regulatory Policy at the U.S. Department of Agriculture

And don’t forget other Mind the Gap! resources on our Learn More page!

Blog: Shocking Poverty Statistics

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Blog: Shocking Poverty Statistics

Mary Georgevich
Sep 16, 2010

Today, the United States Census Bureau announced the poverty statistics for 2009. The numbers are pretty shocking for me: 43.56 million people were living in poverty in 2009. It’s the largest number that they’ve measured since this data has been collected (they started measuring this in 1959), and it’s a 1.1% increase over 2008’s numbers. Living in poverty is defined as a family of four who makes less than $21,729 a year.  At NETWORK, we knew this bad news was coming. For a couple of weeks now, we’ve been bracing ourselves for the worst. But it’s important to remember that these numbers are telling us about history. There are thousands of non-profits out there that have been witnessing the personal tragedies of these numbers every day since the start of this recession.

The recession hit these programs with a double whammy: dried up funding (from governments and private donors) and increased need. I witnessed this personally at the end of 2009 and most of 2010. I was working for a gang intervention program in Los Angeles called Homeboy Industries. It’s an amazing organization, run by Greg Boyle, S.J., that offers many services completely free of charge including tattoo removal (the most popular service), counseling, twelve step meetings and even a charter high school. And most importantly – especially during this recession – they employ hundreds of men and women with barriers to employment and help train them to do various types of jobs. This is an especially important part of Homeboy’s service because not only does it offer a sense of purpose to many people looking for a reason to hope, but it is a place to go every day, a shelter from the streets. Like their t-shirts say, “Nothing stops a bullet like a job.”

Well, during this recession, gang members are a group of people that have been disproportionally affected by the unemployment rates. Whereas University of California graduates are underemployed, California Department of Corrections graduates tend to be unemployed. This year, Homeboy Industries found itself drowning in the demand for employment. Funding just couldn’t keep up with the need, and as a result, Homeboy laid off most of its employees in May (about 300 people, including Fr. Greg). They raised some money right away and hired back about 100 employees, but the program is operating as a shadow of its former self. And that is a tragedy for the city of Los Angeles.

This is why the social safety net is so needed right now. Homeboy Industries keeps people out of jail. It is a community, a source of hope for thousands of people in Los Angeles. While programs like Food Stamps, the TANF emergency fund and Section 8 housing (to name a few) don’t solve the problem, they can provide support for programs like Homeboy which are on the front lines battling against the disillusionment that accompanies poverty and marginalization.

When I hear that 29.9% of single mothers are living in poverty, I picture the line cook in the Homegirl Café who won’t be able to move her daughter out of an unhealthy home environment until Los Angeles is able to work through their Section 8 waiting list and start accepting new applications again. And when I see that there were 1.4 million more children living in poverty in 2009, I think of the teenager who was working his way out of the cycle of poverty when he was shot and killed Thursday morning. I think that’s important-that when we look at these numbers and we read the news reports detailing how bad this makes the Democrats or Republicans look, we try to remember who these numbers are actually affecting.

Blog: Child Nutrition Briefing – “the most disheartening 45 minutes I have experienced…”

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Child Nutrition Briefing – “the most disheartening 45 minutes I have experienced…”

Laura Quigley, NETWORK Intern
Sep 21, 2010

This morning, Casey and I attended a briefing about child nutrition reauthorization that was sponsored by Feeding America, a network of over 200 food banks that operate throughout the country. I have to say, it was probably the most disheartening 45 minutes I have experienced during my time as an intern at NETWORK. The briefing consisted of a panel of three food bank directors: one from Tucson, AZ, one from East Haven, CT, and one from southeastern Michigan. These individuals came from diverse areas of the U.S. but all shared the same problem and concern – they need more money to run their programs and ensure enough children are getting the proper nutritious meals they need. Sitting in the briefing, my emotions went back and forth between sadness because so many thousands of children in the U.S. go without food every day, and anger at the fact that members of Congress would vote for laws that literally take food out of children’s mouths.  As Bill Carnegie of the Community Food Bank of Tucson said, “We are fighting a war to get the children fed.”

The briefing was held to draw attention to the discrepancies between the nutrition bill passed by the Senate (S. 3307), and the bill that is currently in the House (H.R. 5504).  In addition to not being as comprehensive as the House bill, the Senate bill will offset the cost of improving Child Nutrition provisions by cutting funding from SNAP (food stamps). These cuts work out to be $50 less per month for recipients.  Just to get some perspective, that’s about what I spend for a week and a half of groceries. I cannot begin to imagine being forced to try and feed a family on such a budget. The SNAP cuts would not solve the problem of hunger in the U.S. either. It simply shifts who will be hungry and when.

Feeding America food banks service hundreds of thousands of people across the country, but they are only able to do so because of private donations, and in the current economy those donations are not always reliable. Each food bank director told heartbreaking stories about teachers and school administrators who are forced to choose at the end of each week which students were the most in need of the food backpacks the food banks made available to the schools. How are people supposed to choose the students to give backpacks to when all of them are hungry and all of them need the food?

After I read over the summaries of each bill proposed by the houses of Congress, I believed the bill from the House of Representatives was the stronger bill and the one the children in this country need.  Now that I have heard from those who directly serve the hungry children of America, I am surer than ever that passing the House bill will be a step in the right direction to end child hunger.

Blog: Stop the Safety Net Cuts!

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Stop the Safety Net Cuts!

Casey Schoeneberger
February 25, 2011

To protect those who are poor and vulnerable from atrocious budget cuts contained in H.R 1, which passed in the House on February 19, we must be aware of how these cuts translate into a loss of safety net programs and services.  These proposed cuts undermine individuals’ very safety and security, and we must let Congress know that draconian cuts to vital social service programs will not be tolerated. See the information below, made available by the Coalition on Human Needs, and contact your senators today!

  • 218,000 young children will not be able to receive Head Start services.
  • 11 million patients will lose healthcare they would have received at Community Health Centers over the next year. Almost immediately 127 health center sites would have to close and 7,434 jobs would be lost.
  • 20 million low‐income people, including 5 million children, 2.3 million seniors, and 1.7 million people with disabilities, will have access to anti‐poverty services disrupted because federal funding for community action agencies will be virtually halted in the last seven months of the year.
  • 9.4 million low‐income college students who receive Pell Grants will lose some or all of this college aid as a result of the House reduction in the maximum Pell Grant amount from $5,550 to $4,705 per year.
  • More than 8 million adults and youth would lose access to job training and other employment services. Job training under the Workforce Investment Act would essentially be shut down until July 2012.
  • Cuts in the Commodity Supplemental Food Program will mean 81,000 people, mostly low‐income elders, will no longer receive the food baskets. The program now serves 467,000 low‐income people in 32 states, the District of Columbia, and two Native American reservations. Elderly poor in Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho, Maryland, Massachusetts and Rhode Island will not get the food packages because there will be no funding to expand the Commodity Supplemental Food Program in their states.
  • 1.2 million poor households in public housing (two‐thirds of whom are elderly or have a disability) will see maintenance and repairs on their apartments deteriorate because the Public Housing Capital Fund is cut by more than $1 billion (over 40 percent).
  • Fewer low‐income households needing help to pay for heat during this harsh winter will get assistance because the House slashed nearly $400 million out of a $590 million fund allowing for more aid to be released to states. $125 million from this fund has already been spent, leaving only $65 million for the rest of the year. 8.3 million households received an average of $456 in heating or cooling assistance last year; only about one in four of eligible households were able to get help.
  • 10,000 low‐income veterans will not receive housing vouchers to prevent homelessness. This would cut in half the number of veterans who would have received such housing assistance this year, despite HUD estimates that 135,000 veterans are homeless.
  • 10,000 people with significant long‐term disabilities would lose the rental assistance they now receive through the Section 811 voucher program (now, 14,000 people with disabilities receive vouchers); most of these would lose their homes.

Source: Coalition on Human Needs

Blog: Fighting Poverty with Faith

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Fighting Poverty with Faith

By Jean Sammon
September 23, 2011

NETWORK is a partner in Fighting Poverty with Faith, is an interfaith effort to call attention to a critical issue that is often neglected: poverty in our country. Since we have just seen the Census data on the dramatic increase in the number of people living in poverty, now is the time to build some political will to do something about it.

The Fighting Poverty with Faith coalition is calling for local actions across the country during the week ofOctober 27 – November 6, to raise awareness about poverty. (The FPWF coalition partners will be doing events in Washington and around the country that week, but if you can’t organize something for that week, you can still participate in the preceding or following weeks.)

We are encouraging people to participate in the Food Stamp Challenge or a Hunger Banquet. You can find detailed information about how to do either of these here: http://fightingpovertywithfaith.com/f2/actiontoolkits/

Both of these activities can help illustrate the gap between the “haves” and the “have-nots” in engaging ways. You can also plan other events that may involve prayer, education, or engagement with public officials.

To show Congress, the media, and people in our country how many people are concerned about poverty, we need you to post a notice about your event – no matter how big or small – on the FPWF website: http://fightingpovertywithfaith.com/f2/thanks/.

You can also sign up individually for the Food Stamp Challenge here:http://engage.jewishpublicaffairs.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=7261

NETWORK staff will be participating in the Food Stamp Challenge. We invite you to joins us, keep a journal about your experience, and send us your thoughts and reflections.