SNAP Hotline & Story A woman called our SNAP Hotline looking for help with her SNAP benefits. As soon as she started to tell her story, she started crying. She was retired and receiving a small pension. She recently returned home from the hospital after having a stroke to discover that her childhood home, where she lived, had been cleaned out. Even the kitchen cabinets were empty. The only thing left was her mattress and bedframe. Claire listened to her story and helped her submit a SNAP application. By the end of the call, she was laughing. She received her SNAP benefits the next day as well as an additional $700 from the recent CLS Class Action Suit. She was so pleased and said “I have enough to get me through the summer.” This is our SNAP Hotline in action! Our SNAP Hotline continues to operate Monday – Thursday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm and on Friday from 9:00 am to 4 pm at 215-430-0556. - Here is the City of Philadelphia list of COVID-19 food distribution site locations across Philadelphia for student, senior and outdoor food pick up sites.
- Here is a listing (phone numbers and addresses) of all Philadelphia County Assistance offices. While offices remain closed to the public at this time, you can drop off paperwork in "drop boxes" outside. "Note, however, when calling it is often quicker to contact the Customer Service Center at 215-560-7226 (Philadelphia) or 877-395-8930 (statewide).
|
|
Policy and Advocacy While pandemic-inspired changes and adjustments seem to be never-ending, this week we simply have some reminders: - The deadline to submit your comments to the PA WIC State Plan is coming up on May 31. You can use this simple online comment form to do so. Please encourage families that use WIC or have participated in the program in the past to share their feedback!
- While this year’s official IRS deadline for tax filing (May 17) has passed, there is no penalty to file late for those who don’t owe the IRS money. Taxes can be filed electronically through Oct 15th. This is good news for the many Philadelphia families that may still be learning about changes to the Child Tax Credit made possible by the American Rescue Plan.
Most Philadelphia families with children qualify for a new monthly payment of $250 or $300 per child starting in July. This new benefit could mean hundreds or thousands of dollars in direct payments to help pay for rent, utility bills, diapers, clothes, groceries, or anything else your family needs. The good news is it’s really easy to receive! All families need to do is file their taxes, even if they don’t normally file or have no income. Most Philadelphia families can file for free with Campaign for Working Families. Find out if you are eligible at phila.gov/childtaxcredit or click here to learn more about the tax credit in multiple languages. - Nutritional Development Services (NDS) is once again hosting a FREE Farmers to Family Food Distribution this weekend. The event will be Saturday, May 22 from 10 am - noon, at Holy Innocents Parish, 1337 East Hunting Park Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19124 (enter through the parking lot on Glendale St., exit onto East Bristol St.). They will have 600 meal boxes that include 7 days of breakfast and lunch for children who are virtually learning for ages 2-18 and 432 USDA Farmers to Family meal boxes that include milk, meats, cheeses and vegetables. All families are welcome, no ID required. Please consider sharing this information using the Facebook event page or this flyer (in English and Spanish).
|
|
Food Pantry & Soup Kitchens If you are a food pantry or soup kitchen leader, please join us for the Coalition’s next Victory in Partnership (VIP) meeting to be held on Thursday, June 11th from 10:30am-12noon on Zoom. Aunt Bertha will be joining us to show us step-by-step how you can include the details about your community services in their national database free of charge. By including your program on Aunt Bertha’s website, you will be able to not only let people know about the services you provide, but you will also be able to easily update this information when you have changes to hours or programming. In addition, you will be able to look-up and share other social service resources your program participants may need besides food. Contact Tanya at [email protected] for more details and the link for the meeting. |
|
We’re looking for a Team Member! We’re looking for a Communications Coordinator to help raise our visibility and tell our story. For more information and to apply go to Communications Coordinator. |
|
