Anxiously Waiting Dear Friends, As we all wait for legislators in Washington to vote on the next stimulus bill, many of our clients are anxiously waiting. The additional dollars provided by Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (PUC) expire today. Many are asking when they can apply for SNAP benefits, because without those additional dollars SNAP dollars become essential. We are also concerned, because we haven’t seen any increases for SNAP included with the proposals. As we wait for answers, we are working in the following ways to address food insecurity across the region . . . - Our SNAP Hotline team continues to answer questions and help households navigate the SNAP application process through our SNAP Hotline at 215-430-0556, Monday – Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. We are gearing up for an anticipated increase in calls next week.
- On the Advocacy and Policy front, we continue to keep tabs on the shifting landscape and how it impacts access to benefits and nutrition programs.
- DHS received approval from FNS to issue SNAP “Emergency Allotments” (EAs) for August. Families that do not receive the maximum SNAP benefit will receive supplemental funds in the second half of the month. You can see the schedule on our EA fact sheet for August.
- Issuance of P-EBT (the new benefit established in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act to provide food assistance to families of students who lost access to free and reduced-price meals) continues. Delays have occurred with each phase and we recently learned that re-issued cards will most likely not arrive until the end of August or sometime in September.
- FNS has reversed course and granted SNAP interview and recertification waiver requests for July and August. While this is a good outcome for clients and DHS alike, FNS's timing causes some significant issues. While DHS was able to hold off on mailing SAR forms for August, the mailing of annual renewal packets was already in progress before the waiver was granted. If clients are able to submit their annual renewal, it will be processed, but any client that is unable to complete and return their August renewal will not have their SNAP terminated, and no interviews will be required for the completion of renewals. FNS has indicated it will only grant extensions beyond August in extremely limited circumstances and will expect states to return to "normal" processing by September. DHS is continuing to meet with the FNS to discuss options, but with the expected spike in applications in August, returning to normal processing by September would require an enormous administrative effort.
- Today, with the help of our anti-hunger partners Just Harvest and the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, we sent a sign-on letter to USDA Secretary Perdue asking for additional waivers to ease the administrative and logistical burden of school meal programs this school year. The letter had nearly 200 signatures from school districts and community organizations from across the state. As school districts in the region have begun announcing plans for fall, it’s clear many will be relying on remote learning and hybrid approaches. Many schools and communities across the country know it’s time to pull together and plan so that no child who loses access to school meals goes hungry, but there’s a monumental hurdle in the way: USDA has not extended the needed flexibility for school meals (the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs, as well as summer and afterschool meals programs), to ensure access regardless of school reopening plans. This is unacceptable and unwise given the challenges schools are facing.
- And lastly, the Trib Live featured an opinion piece about why Congress must boost SNAP benefits. This piece was a joint effort of Ann Sanders, Policy Advocate for Just Harvest in Pittsburgh and Theodoros Papazekos, a Policy Intern for the Coalition Against Hunger.
- As we continue to look for ways to support our local Food Pantry and Soup Kitchen partners, we’re hearing that many pantries and kitchens could use donations of cereal, pasta, and other canned goods. These items have been in short supply over the past months as many people have stocked up on nonperishable items. Please consider making a donation of these items to a food pantry or soup kitchen near you! If you are looking for the pantries and kitchens in your neighborhood, you can go to www.phila.gov/food or visit www.communityresourceconnects.org.
Hunger is a Racial Issue: Structural Racism and Food Insecurity – Part 2 This brief is the second in a three-part series covering the effects of racism on food insecurity. This installment covers the racialized effects of the pandemic and includes a look at the data we use to measure racial disparities. The previous installment covered the context and overall trends of racial food disparities, while the final installment will cover the causes. Thank you to Theodoros Papazekos, Fox Fellow and Coalition Against Hunger Policy Intern for your work on this! WHAT CAN YOU DO? Thank you for your support of our work to connect individuals and families to the food resources they need during this challenging time. -The Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger | |
