Dear Friends, The Coalition staff and food pantry partners are making sure families and individuals connect to food assistance resources to ensure that they have warm meals during the cold holiday season. If you are out fighting hunger during the holidays, CAH Community Organizer Derek Felton has three tips to stay safe while you volunteer: 1. Consider the many ways to give (food or financial donation). 2. Go where you are most needed. 3. Choose a local food pantry or soup kitchen. As more people struggle to feed themselves and their family, your support helps us continue our work to connect individuals and families with the food resources they need. Please visit HERE to Make a Donation Today! We need your feedback! At the Coalition, we are embarking on a Strategic Planning process to help us establish our direction and focus moving forward. We want our plan to be flexible, adaptable, and actionable, particularly given the current climate of COVID-19 and the increase in food insecurity. We invite you to share your thoughts and perspectives with us here. The feedback tool includes 15 questions and will take between 10 and 15 minutes depending on how much feedback you include. All responses are anonymous and kept confidential. Thank you! Food Pantry & Soup Kitchens Well, it’s time again to plan for the Coalition Against Hunger’s 25th Annual Race Against Hunger. I would like to remind all feeding programs that this a great time to raise funds for your program to purchase your much-needed food supplies and kitchen equipment as you continue to serve your community. Yes, we are in a pandemic, but hunger has not stopped. If you plan to reopen in the future, don’t miss out on this great opportunity to raise funds. Those sites that are closed can now spend time on learning how to raise funds virtually. On Thursday, January 28th, 2021 and Thursday, February 25, 2021, we will be offering Zoom workshops on ways to build a team and how to work as one. We will also teach you how to raise funds virtually. Keep a watch out for the time and the link to our Zoom workshop. All are welcome! Contact Derek at [email protected] or 215-430-5555, x101 if you have any questions! SNAP Hotline Our SNAP Hotline continues to experience an increase in calls. Thank you to our volunteers and SNAP Hotline Team for their tireless efforts to support individuals and families as they navigate the SNAP application process! Our SNAP Hotline operates Monday – Thursday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm and on Friday from 9:00 am to 4 pm at 215-430-0556.
Policy and Advocacy As we approach the end of 2020, it is clear the start of 2021 will continue to pose many health and economic challenges for far too many people in our region. - On the Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) front, families around the country whose children have missed out on school meals due to remote learning are still waiting for benefits to reach them. While Congress extended and expanded P-EBT for the 2020-21 school year back at the end of September, states are struggling to develop and submit plans that align with USD’s P-EBT guidance. In fact, only one state – Massachusetts – has received USDA approval (and that occurred this week!). In Pennsylvania, DHS and PDE continue to ask USDA questions and are working to submit a successful plan. Unfortunately, as of now, it is very difficult to predict when desperately needed P-EBT dollars will reach families.
- While news reports indicate that Congress has made significant progress on the terms of a $900 billion COVID relief deal, it appears increasingly likely that work to finalize the details will go on into the weekend. The good news is that more lawmakers seem ready to provide some long overdue relief to the American people before they head home for the holidays. The bad news is that the deal falls far below the $2.2 trillion provided by HEROES 2.0 passed by the House in October, and reportedly will not provide aid to state and local government. The anticipated failure to approve new aid for state & local governments will come at a perilous time for municipalities across the country and may force many to carry out additional layoffs and cuts to healthcare, education, and other critical services.
- The delays in federal aid and P-EBT reaching those in need may soon be coupled with a coming crisis for food banks. According to Feeding America, in early 2021 food banks will lose an average of 50% of the foods they receive from USDA. This is despite an estimated 60% increase in demand for help since the start of COVID-19. This equates to a loss of 33 million meals provided by food banks across Pennsylvania. While COVID-relief from Congress may help, this coming shortfall is another reminder of the importance of connecting people to SNAP. Please encourage those who are struggling – particularly the newly unemployed who may not have experience with the program – to call our hotline!
The 25th Annual Race Against Hunger Ready, Set, Go! Save the date to get your tickets for the Virtual Race Against Hunger 5K Run/Walk taking place from Friday, April 16, 2021 - Monday, April 26, 2021. This year marks the Coalition’s 25th anniversary of bringing together the community to raise funds that help combat hunger in the Philadelphia region. Details on our kick off event are coming soon! WHAT CAN YOU DO? We strive to build a community where all people have the food they need to lead healthy lives. Hunger is preventable. Thank you for your continued support of our work! The Coalition Against Hunger Team
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