Dear Friends,

As part of Black History month, we want to take a moment to recognize, thank, and amplify the work of the many hunger fighters, pantry and soup kitchen volunteers, and creative approaches to address food insecurity by Black leaders across our region.  

Over the course of the last year, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the Coalition, our food pantry/soup kitchen VIP members, and anti-hunger partners to figure how to safely provide food to their communities as the effects of the virus continue to plague our neighbors and their families. As the vaccine finally becomes available, we want to share information from trusted community partners and experts about the vaccine. Here are some resources that we’ve identified that we hope can help answer some of the questions you may have. 

Policy and Advocacy

Throughout the course of the pandemic, we have shared many charts and data with you. While these have included important information on the impact COVID-19 on hunger and hardship, we do not recall more striking illustrations of the devastating consequences for children, and specifically for children of color. The first chart shows that adults have been unable to shield children from food scarcity.

The next demonstrates, yet again, that the damaging effects of not having enough to eat are disproportionately affecting households with children and communities of color. These charts, from this CBPP report, powerfully show why the nutrition and anti-poverty provisions in bills currently making their way through the House of Representatives deserve full support. They will help children and adults facing hunger by:

• Extending the 15% increase to SNAP benefits through September, currently set to end in June
• Extending P-EBT through summer 
• Investing in WIC through grants for modernization and innovative services and a significantly raising the WIC fruit and vegetable benefits to $35 monthly (up from current levels of $9 monthly for children and $11 monthly for women)
• Providing families with children more dollars to make ends meet by making the Child Tax Credit fully available to the lowest-income families and enlarging the credit (which together would cut child poverty nearly in half)
• Adding critical resources for states to administer these programs
• Providing meals for homeless young adults through CACFP ($180 million) and adding support for the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), also known as “senior boxes” ($37 million)

Keep an eye out for a separate “e-alert” from us that will ask you to take part in a National Digital/Call-in Day of Action on Monday, February 22. The full House of Representatives is expected to vote during the week of February 22-26, and then the bill will go to the Senate.

If you live in Philadelphia, we also need you to take action by providing feedback on the city budget. On April 15, 2021, Mayor Kenney will propose a budget to City Council for the coming fiscal year (July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2022). Due to COVID-19, the City has fewer resources than in the past, while Philadelphians have more needs than ever before. Before it finishes drafting the budget, the City wants your input on how to focus its spending. Of course, as the Coalition, we believe the City should do all it can to address hunger! Please share your thoughts in this 10-minute survey:

• Philadelphia Budget – Priorities and Preferences
• Presupuesto de Filadelfia - Prioridades y Preferencias 
• Ngân sách Philadelphia – Ưu tiên và Ưu đãi
•  费城预算 - 优先事项和偏好