Dear Friends,

National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week is coming to an end, but that doesn't mean we can slow down in the fight to end hunger! Since the beginning of the pandemic, food insecurity rates have risen, especially for Black and Latinx communities and families with children. This is why we need to keep food insecurity in the national spotlight and continue to raise awareness about this important issue all year round, but we can't do it without your help and support.

For a limited time, we have a new way you can help! By purchasing our #HungerFighter long sleeve shirts and sweatshirts, you'll be not only helping raise funds to fight food insecurity, but you'll also be helping us spread awareness and build our movement to end hunger every time you proudly wear your Coalition Against Hunger apparel. And if you'd like to learn more about ways you can help this holiday season, see below for some opportunities to support our VIP (Victory in Partnership) food pantries and soup kitchens. 

Food Pantry & Soup Kitchens

This past Tuesday, we were proud to have worked with the Philadelphia Eagles, ACME Markets and Campbell's Chunky to provide 50 Thanksgiving meals to families from the Greater Philadelphia area, while raising awareness about food insecurity. Thank you to the Eagles for helping us combat hunger this holiday season!

There is still plenty of time to help. If you are looking to volunteer your time during the holidays or have extra holiday food to donate, please visit our website with some of the needs of the Coalition's VIP (Victory in Partnership) members.

Know someone who is looking for a holiday meal on Thanksgiving Day? Please share this flyer, compiled by our colleagues over at the City of Philadelphia's Office of Homeless Services, with them.

Policy and Advocacy

Breaking Federal News: Just this morning, the House passed the Build Back Better Act (BBBA) (H.R. 5376), and we applaud them for doing so. Now it will move to the Senate, where its future remains uncertain. Further action appears unlikely to happen before the week of December 6, and we will continue to urge our region’s Members of Congress to insist that key investments in child nutrition and crucial anti-poverty provisions, such as the extension of the refundable Child Tax Credit, remain in the final legislation. To learn more about the passing of the BBBA in the House this morning and what the bill would do, click here.

SNAP update/reminder: Back in October, SNAP benefit amounts were increased thanks to a reevaluation of the Thrifty Food Plan. While we previously reported this change, we know that many families are still struggling to make ends meet. With the holidays approaching, getting the word out about this benefit increase is more important than ever. To help explain this change, our Fox Fellow Intern, Dangela, created narrated videos in English and Spanish that explain this increase.

We hope that you will share these videos and encourage people to apply! Anyone who thinks they qualify based on the income limits (found here in Spanish), should contact our SNAP Hotline at 215-430-0556. Our counselors will work with you to ensure that you get the maximum benefit for which you are eligible!

Important Action Opportunity! The increase in SNAP benefits last month is an incredibly important step. But we all know hunger and poverty are inexorably linked – and cash assistance benefits in PA are woefully inadequate. We ask all organizations that work with and care about our most vulnerable families and children to read further and consider lending their support. The Meet the Need Coalition has been advocating for an increase to Pennsylvania’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cash benefit, and they need your help to make this happen. Keep in mind:

• The TANF cash grant provides the only source of income for about 50,000 Pennsylvania families.
• Pennsylvania’s TANF cash grant has not increased since 1990! Benefits have lost more than 50% of their buying power due to inflation, and in most counties, a family of 3 only receives just $403/month – not nearly enough to pay for necessities like rent, winter clothing or diapers.
• 20 states have increased their TANF cash benefit in the last year, and it's time for Pennsylvania to do the same.
• See Meet the Need’s “No Child Should Live in Deep Poverty" report for details.

Click here to sign onto Meet the Need’s letter asking Governor Wolf to include a TANF grant increase in his 2022-2023 budget. Deadline for signing on is Tuesday, November 23rd by 5pm. 

Veterans and Food Insecurity

While Veterans Day has come and gone, every day is a good day to honor those who have served and are serving! We are so thankful for the service of our veterans and the sacrifices they and their families make to serve our country. Did you know that 11% of veterans aged 18-64 experienced food insecurity from 2015-2019, but only 1 in 3 food insecure veterans participated in SNAP to help put food on the table? Thank you to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities for these important statistics that clearly show more needs to be done to help our veterans and get them connected with available resources. You can learn more, here.

Our veterans so bravely served our country to keep us safe, they shouldn't have to fight for food. At the Coalition Against Hunger we provide SNAP application assistance through our SNAP Hotline (215-430-0556) and would be honored to help veterans!

SNAP Hotline

Our Coalition Against Hunger SNAP Hotline team is here to help! Whether it’s navigating the SNAP application process or providing case management, our SNAP Hotline team is available to help Monday – Thursday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm and on Friday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Give our SNAP Hotline team a call at 215-430-0556.

And if you are looking to visit the County Assistance Offices (CAO), they are open for in-person assistance. You can visit their offices or contact their Customer Service Center at 215-560-7226 (Philadelphia) or 877-395-8930 (statewide). For phone numbers and addresses of all Philadelphia County Assistance offices, please use this link.

Keeping You Up To Date

Now that all kids, ages 5 and older, are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, we know many of you have lots of questions. Our friends at the USDA want to help and have passed along some information for us to share with you. View the answers to the most frequently asked questions from parents and guardians, here.