Entering a school year like no other Dear Friends, We continue our work to connect individuals and families to the food resources they need. As the saying goes, the only constant is change. We know that families throughout the region are already juggling many challenges, a task that is likely to get tougher as the new school year starts. This week we worked in the following ways to address food insecurity across the region. . . - Outreach and Education has two very important updates this week:
- The team has been hard at work on a COMPASS guide to assist people as they apply for SNAP. COMPASS is an online benefits portal for people living in Pennsylvania who want to apply for public benefits, such as SNAP and Medicaid. While clients can always call our SNAP hotline, others may not want to wait to connect with a SNAP counselor or prefer to apply on their own. We know COMPASS can be extremely confusing, so we’ve created a guide to assist clients through the process. Our guide includes step-by-step instructions, frequently asked questions, tips to navigate the application successfully, and a glossary of important terms and programs. We hope this guide makes the process of applying for benefits easier! And, once someone navigates the application process through COMPASS, they may feel empowered to use the online myCOMPASS feature to manage their benefits, or, the myCOMPASS mobile app from their smartphone. We will be working to see how we can support clients with these features in the future.
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- We want to spread the word that starting Thursday, September 3rd, the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) will be expanding the number of sites where students or their parents/guardians can go to pick-up Grab and Go meals. (Note: Lincoln and Furness will no longer be sites.) The sites will be open every Thursday from 9am-12noon. To find the specific sites and more details, click here.
- The most significant change is due to a decision by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to end some of the flexibility that it had granted to schools in the spring and summer. Families need to know that when schools start in September, school districts (as well as charter and parochial schools) can only provide meals to students who are enrolled in their schools. They can no longer serve any children under the age of 18. In Philadelphia, the family member or student picking up meals must provide a student ID number for each student (note, some school districts may also refer to this as a “PIN”). Other children in the family that are not SDP students, will have to either get a meal from their school, or, go to phila.gov/food to find other food resources.
- In addition, the food distribution sites operated throughout Philadelphia by the City, Share Food Program and Philabundance will no longer open two days a week. Starting next week, they will be open only one day a week, on Thursdays from 10am-12 noon. For a list of sites, go to phila.gov/food.
- On our Advocacy and Policy front, we continue to work with partners to ramp up the pressure on USDA to extend child nutrition waivers that will allow families to more easily access meals for their children while schools are closed (this would solve the limitations and student ID requirements mentioned above!). Congress has continued to press USDA as well, which we hope will force USDA to change course - and soon! Now, onto the good news/bad news front:
- On a promising note, USDA is permitting states to submit plans to extend P-EBT benefits to schools that are closed for in-person instruction for the month of September. Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services (DHS) has submitted a plan that would allow it to target assistance and issue P-EBT under an extraordinarily tight time frame required by USDA (by Sept. 30!). The proposed plan is pending review with Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). We will keep you posted on the details if the plan is approved.
- DHS received approval from FNS on a plan that will help manage workload and lessen the red tape for SNAP clients. Annual SNAP renewals that were originally due in March 2020 that were delayed as a result of the pandemic will now be processed in September as normal. Renewals that were scheduled to be due in September 2020 will be pushed back and due in March 2021. In place of a full renewal, clients will need to complete a shorter semi-annual report (SAR) that does not require an interview. This process will be the same through December (as long as the public health emergency declaration remains in place).
- DHS also received FNS approval to issue SNAP Emergency Allotments (EAs) in September. We will include a detailed flyer with dates for EA issuances in September in next week’s email.
- Lastly, on the bad news front: FNS is requiring DHS to reinstate application and renewal interviews effective September 1. And, because FNS rescinded a waiver that allowed for a one month postponement of interviews for individuals who qualified for emergency SNAP benefits, this means all those who apply on or after September 1 will need to complete an interview before any SNAP benefits can be issued. We will continue to work with partners and DHS to advocate at the federal level for the waivers needed to provide help to the growing number of Pennsylvanians who are suffering as a result of the economic impact of the pandemic.
- 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. With the end of Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (PUC) and continued economic hardship, we are seeing a steady increase in calls to our SNAP Hotline. Thank you to our SNAP Hotline Volunteers; Anne, Jeanette, Joyce, and Rosina, who have jumped back into helping us with calls!
- One of the ways we support our local Food Pantry and Soup Kitchens is through our supportive VIP Zoom calls. Many of our long term VIP members are food pantry or soup kitchen leaders in their 70’s and 80’s. They come to this volunteer work as a life calling, a mission to feed people. Many of them are operating their programs out of their church, mosque, or synagogue. And so when COVID-19 hit, they were faced with tremendously difficult situations. Churches, mosques, and synagogues closed and they couldn’t operate their program in their spaces. Many of the leaders themselves are in the most vulnerable group for contracting and dying from COVID-19. All these challenges amidst the knowledge that food insecurity was rising. For some that meant they were not able to continue to operate their program. Our VIP Program has provided them with Coalition and peer support as they struggle with these difficult situations and explore creative new approaches.
VIP (Victory in Partnership) Program STORY
This week Ms. Beaton from Harambe Baptist Church, reached out to Derek Felton, our Community Organizer, asking to re-start their participation in our Food Rescue program. Ms. Beaton is the volunteer coordinator of the church's food pantry and a long term VIP member. When COVID-19 hit, the Harambe Baptist Church closed and so the program was unable to continue to operate. To add to the challenges, Ms. Beaton is in her mid-80's and therefore in the most vulnerable group for COVID-19. Prior to COVID-19, the program was relying on the Coalition's Food Rescue program for additional food to meet the needs of residents living in the 19138 zip code. When Harambe Baptist Church started giving out meals, Ms. Beaton reached out to us. She asked if someone else from her program could pick-up the food for them. One of the core components of the Food Rescue program is trusted relationships and so the coordinator has always been the one to pick-up the food for their program. This pushed us, as the Coalition, to re-think our approach so that we can be more responsive to the needs of our VIP members. Moving forward, another volunteer will be picking up the food from the Coalition's Food Rescue program on behalf of Ms. Beaton and the Harambe Baptist Church. This is the VIP program in action! WHAT CAN YOU DO? - Keep an eye out for a special email next week, because September is HUNGER ACTION MONTH!
- Register at https://hungercoalition.salsalabs.org/advocacyalerts/index.html to receive up to date Advocacy Alerts.
- Make a donation to support our work.
- Save The Date! The Night to Fight Hunger Virtual Gala is Thursday, November 12, 2020. Join us and help us “drive hunger from our community!” Details coming soon.
Thank you for supporting our work to connect individuals and families to the food resources they need! -The Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger | |
