USDA National Hunger Clearinghouse Newsletter March 2020
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ARE YOU AN ORGANIZATION OFFERING EMERGENCY FOOD AID IN RESPONSE TO COVID-19? CLICK HERE ([link removed][UNIQID])
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** USDA NATIONAL HUNGER CLEARINGHOUSE NEWSLETTER
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THE USDA NATIONAL HUNGER CLEARINGHOUSE IS OPERATED BY HUNGER FREE AMERICA
MARCH 2020
** FNS DISASTER ASSISTANCE
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FNS nutrition assistance programs have a role in responding to nutrition assistance needs during a human pandemic.SNAP, WIC, and child nutrition programs have flexibilities that allow them to respond to on-the-ground realities and support response and recovery efforts. Many of these programs are managed on a state level to provide services to Americans nationwide within their local area.
Pandemic EBT children who would receive free or reduced-price meals if not for school closures are eligible to receive assistance under this provision. USDA is providing guidance to state agencies on plan requirements in order to receive approval.
The SNAP program will expand on existing methods of applying while maintaining social distancing by allowing for application submission online, via mobile app, by mail, or telephone. FNS USDA goal is to streamline access to SNAP by exempting applicants from certain requirements, which would otherwise not be as flexible.
During the current unanticipated school closures, USDA has allowed for school meals and other child nutrition programs, to be utilized on a state-level in combination with multiple entities to serve and claim meals at a centralized location and expedite approval of summer feeding sites.
As far as food distribution programs there have been adjustments made to programs to allow for states to provide deliveries to homes or other convenient pick-up points, or allow participants to have a trusted representative pick up their food packages from the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) ([link removed][UNIQID]) or the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP ([link removed][UNIQID]) ).
For continued updates on FNS Actions to Respond to COVID-19 Visit Online ([link removed][UNIQID])
For more information of Pandemic EBT Click Here ([link removed][UNIQID])
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** BEST PRACTICES FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY
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Each month, Hunger Free America highlights anti-hunger best practices by groups across the country. This month we will highlight the work of Baylor University, Waco,TX.
Chartered in 1845 Baylor University is the oldest continuously operating university in the state of Texas. In the midst of a national pandemic, the United States Department of Agriculture and Baylor University are collaborating to bring children affected by COVID-19-related school closures access to shelf-stable, nutritious, individually packaged foods that children can prepare at home.
"USDA is working with private sector partners to deliver boxes of food to children in rural America who are affected by school closures,” -Secretary Perdue.
The Program Meals-to-You is modeled from an earlier program operated in 2019 by Baylor University which proved to be successful in providing children in rural areas with access to meals during the summer months. A collaboration with the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty, McLane Global, PepsiCo, and others to deliver nearly 1,000,000 meals to students in a limited number of rural schools closed due to COVID-19
Below are some of the guidelines to be eligible to participate in the Meals-to-You Program:
Eligibility School districts are eligible to apply if they meet the following criteria:
• Have announced school closures for at least four weeks, and • Are SFSP area eligible, and
• Are rural as measured by the majority of the geographic footprint of the district is designated rural by USDA (fns.usda.gov/rural-designation), or the majority of the schools in the district are designated rural on the National Center of Education Statistics (nces.ed.gov)
• Proposals that meet criteria will be processed daily. If qualified proposals exceed service capacity, we will prioritize based on highest free and reduced lunch eligibility percentage or identified student percentage under CEP where relevant.
To learn more about the Meals-to-You click here ([link removed][UNIQID])
To Apply for Meals-to-You Vist Online ([link removed][UNIQID])
WHAT IS THE USDA NATIONAL HUNGER CLEARINGHOUSE?
USDA National Hunger Hotline is a great resource for people seeking food assistance such as food pantries, soup kitchens, SNAP, summer meals, and a number of other food resources.
WHAT ARE THE HOURS OF OPERATION?
Monday thru Friday 7 am - 10 pm Eastern Standard Time, Please be advised assistance is available in English or Spanish.
CAN I APPLY FOR OR RE-CERTIFY FOR SNAP BY CALLING THE HOTLINE?
Please be advised we do not have access to individual SNAP account information, we do have the ability to connect callers with their state hotline where they can request specific account information and obtain further instruction on ways to apply for SNAP.
or
To locate your SNAP State Hotline number text the word "SNAP" to 9-7-7-7-9
To locate your EBT Customer Service number text the word "EBT" to 9-7-7-7-9
IF YOU ARE AN EMERGENCY FOOD PROVIDER AND WOULD LIKE TO BE ADDED TO THE NATIONAL CLEARINGHOUSE DATABASE, CLICK HERE ([link removed][UNIQID])
The hotline can be reached at 1-866-3-HUNGRY (1-866-348-6479) or 1-877-8-HAMBRE (1-877-842-6273) (for Spanish), from Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET.
** USDA National Hunger Clearinghouse
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** Hunger Free America is currently operating the USDA National Hunger Clearinghouse database as well as the USDA National Hunger Hotline as well as USDA National Hunger Clearinghouse database. The USDA National Hunger Hotline is a great resource for people seeking food assistance. Anyone can call between the hours of 7 AM and 10 PM EST, to speak with a representative about the food resources near them in English or Spanish.
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** Anti-Hunger Grants
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** Hunger is, an anti-hunger program funded by the Albertsons companies foundation and the entertainment industry foundation, has awarded over 4.6 million dollars in grants within the past year to assist organizations seeking to join them in ending childhood hunger. Hunger Free America is proud to be a partner in their initiative to secure free school breakfast meals for all school-aged students. Their work has been instrumental in diminishing hunger nation-wide. For information on how to be a part of this upcoming year's round of funding, click here ([link removed][UNIQID]) .
The Kellogg foundation accepts healthy kids and community/civic engagement grant applications throughout the year with no submission deadline. To apply online,
click here ([link removed][UNIQID]) .
The Walmart foundation issues a variety of grants to organizations seeking additional funding, through its giving program. Grant applications for national-level organizations are available year-round, and applications for community impact grants can be submitted until December 31st. For more information on how to apply,
click here ([link removed][UNIQID]) .
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