Advocacy

Actions you can take now:

 

New York State Cuts Off Emergency Food Supply — Tell Albany to End This Crisis!

Albany's dysfunction is literally keeping food from people who desperately need it. Food banks, food pantries and soup kitchens that rely on funding from the state's Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program (HPNAP) haven't been reimbursed for food purchases since April. And with the state budget still incomplete, no contracts for the current fiscal year can be approved — meaning the state supply of emergency food has been cut off. Tell our leaders in Albany — New Yorkers who struggle to afford food cannot go another day without HPNAP!

Help Ensure the Right Funding for Child Nutrition Reauthorization

A key U.S. Senate committee has passed a bill that includes some promising recommendations for Child Nutrition Reauthorization, such as provisions for Universal School Meals. But the "Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act" would severely underfund Child Nutrition Reauthorization — and slash more than $1 billion in funding to nutrition-education programs for low-income communities over the next decade. Help ensure Child Nutrition Reauthorization gets the right funding.

Our Kids Need Universal School Meals
Even though they're eligible, many low-income children and teens don't participate in free school meals. Families can find the application process too difficult or confusing to complete. Some students skip the meals to avoid the stigma, not wanting to be seen as "poor." Universal School Meals would eliminate the application process, ensuring no young person has to forego meals because of stigma, confusion or red tape. Congress can make this possible by authorizing Universal School Meals during its upcoming vote on Child Nutrition Reauthorization. Take a moment to make a big difference — find out how you can help support Universal School Meals.

Soda Tax Would Hurt Low - Income New Yorkers
The State Executive Budget proposes a penny-per-ounce tax on soda to revenue and fight obesity by deterring consumption. But the regressive tax would not make healthy alternatives like milk or vitamin-rich juices more affordable, nor would it improve food access in neighborhoods without supermarkets or greengrocers. But it would cut into poor families’ limited food budgets, making it even harder to afford sufficient food. Greater access to healthy, affordable food – not punishing taxes – is the key to fighting diet-related disease and lowering healthcare costs among our city’s most vulnerable. To find out how you can help, click here.

 Help Update Outdated Poverty Measures
The federal poverty measure created in the 1960s, used to determine eligibility and benefit levels for safety net programs like food stamps and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), is based on a number of outdated and incorrect assumptions about the expenses low-income Americans face. For example, it assumes the cost of living is about the same in New York City as elsewhere in the country. As a result, many safety net programs fall short of meeting the need. The Measuring American Poverty Act of 2009, currently in Congress, would create a new poverty measure that addresses the limitations of the existing measure and brings it up to date. Join Food Bank in supporting this legislation, and find more information here.

Sign On to the Anti-Hunger Policy Platform
Developed during a series of 2006 meetings held by a collective of city and state anti-hunger organizations, the Anti-Hunger Policy Platform for New York State and City, 2007–2012 addresses specific federal, state and city hunger-related policies and funding. Focus areas include emergency food funding; access to and availability of government nutrition-assistance programs; and long-term solutions, including the development of city- and statewide offices of food, hunger and nutrition policy. Sign the petition to show your support — as an Individual or an Organization