Dear Friends,

Registration is now open for the 26th Annual Race Against Hunger! Hunger spares no zip code, which is why we hope you join us in our race to end hunger one step (or pedal) at a time. Together, we can work to build a community where all people have the food they need to lead healthy lives. 

Register today to participate in our 5K walk/run or new this year - any distance bike ride, taking place from April 22 - May 1, 2022. You can complete the Race wherever it works best for you, or complete our Kelly Drive course. Learn more about the Race and how you can further your impact by fundraising at RunSignUp.com/RaceAgainstHunger2022. If you participate as a part of one of our food pantry/soup kitchen partner teams, please contact your team leader before registering. And if you are unable to participate, we hope you'll still consider supporting us with a donation. Let the countdown to the Race begin!

Policy and Advocacy

At the federal level, we have two important updates to share:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has approved Pennsylvania’s request to issue SNAP Emergency Allotments (EAs) in February. Remember, EAs are the extra SNAP payments issued in the second half of the month. For more information, including payment dates, see our EA Flyer for February.

Our other federal update is about tax season. This tax season is particularly important for families across the country because of the expansion of two important credits: the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit.

• As a reminder, the Child Tax Credit (CTC) was temporarily expanded in the American Rescue Plan (ARP), making many families eligible for the credit. While many families received advanced monthly payments in 2021, families will need to file a tax return to get the remaining credit. 
• The ARP also expanded the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), a credit available to many low- to moderate-income workers. The EITC was increased and expanded to people not raising children between 19-24 and 65 and over. To take advantage of this credit, people must file a tax return.

We will be sharing additional resources about these credits and tax filing assistance in the coming weeks. If you are ready to file your taxes now, the Philadelphia Tax Assistance Center (TAC), located at 600 Arch Street, will be open Saturday, September 12 9:00am-4:00pm. No appointment is required. Please note that TACs will not accept cash payments this coming Saturday. If you don’t live in Philadelphia, visit this website to find a TAC near you. 

At the state level, this past Tuesday, Governor Wolf delivered his final budget address to the General Assembly, outlining his proposed FY 2022-2023 state budget. While this is just the first step in a multi-step process, we saw some exciting increases for crucial anti-hunger programs including:

•  A $2 million increase in funding for the Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System (PASS) to $4.5 million.
• Holding funding for the State Food Purchase Program (SFPP) steady at $20.188 million.
• Increasing the minimum SNAP benefit from $20 to $35 for older adults and individuals with disabilities, at a total cost of $14.3 million.
• $1 million to address college food insecurity.

Additionally, Governor Wolf's proposal includes incrementally increasing the minimum wage to $15/hour by 2028. We are excited by these important investments in the lives and health of Pennsylvanians and urge the General Assembly to pass a budget with these provisions included.

Food Pantry & Soup Kitchens

We kicked-off our 2022 Race Against Hunger at the January VIP (Victory in Partnership) Meeting for food pantry and soup kitchen leaders. Attendees learned how they could use this year’s week-long virtual event to raise funds to support their important work of nourishing their communities. They also had a sneak peek into the registration and fundraising platform and Race Against Hunger veterans had a chance to share their past successes with new participants. If your food pantry or soup kitchen would like to join us this year, please contact Tanya Sen at [email protected] and she will send you a 2022 Race Against Hunger Agreement so you can get started.

As part of our work to support the work of food pantry and soup kitchen leaders, we coordinate a group that comes together on a weekly basis to pick-up and distribute additional nutritious food for their clients. In January, the Coalition’s VIP Food Rescue Team distributed 12,700 pounds of food and water to 1945 individuals from 697 households. If your program would like to be added to the group’s waitlist, please contact Derek Felton at [email protected].

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.