Dear Friends,

The 26th Race Against Hunger has officially begun! Thank you to our Executive Director, Melody Keim, for kicking off our Race with the video above. We encourage you to take a moment to watch and listen. As Melody mentions, we are dedicating the Race to our friend and long time Coalition team member, Derek Felton, who sadly passed away on March 12, 2022. We hope you'll join us in racing in honor of Derek and the many contributions he made to the Race and in bringing the anti-hunger community together in the fight to end hunger. 

All of the funds raised from the Race support not just our programs at the Coalition Against Hunger, but also the programs of many of our anti-hunger partners throughout the Greater Philadelphia region, as well. Ending hunger is no small task, but together we can build a community where all people have the food they need to lead healthy lives.

Thank you to the hundreds of participants who have already registered. Please check your email for further instructions on how to complete the Race and share your photos! For anyone who hasn't registered as a walker, runner or biker yet, there's still time. Registration will remain open until 4/30/2022 and fundraising will remain open until the end of May. Thank you, and let the Race begin!

*We want to give a special shout out to our generous Race t-shirt sponsor, who wishes to remain anonymous. Thank you!*

Policy and Advocacy

Federal Public Health Emergency: Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced another 90-day extension of the federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) from April 12, 2022-July 11, 2022. SNAP Emergency Allotments (EAs) - the extra SNAP dollars households get in the second half of the month - are tied to the federal PHE. Because it has been extended, the Department of Human Services (DHS) can continue to seek approval from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to continue distributing EAs in Pennsylvania for at least a few more months. As a reminder, EAs are in the process of being distributed in April.

Medicaid for Postpartum Mothers: We want to make you aware of an important change to Medicaid coverage for postpartum mothers that took effect on April 1, 2022. Pregnant women in Pennsylvania who are insured through Medicaid will now have coverage for a full year after giving birth, rather than just 60 days post-partum, which was the previous length of postpartum coverage. States had the option of making this change as part of the American Rescue Plan, signed by President Biden last year. We commend the Wolf administration for making this important change!

SNAP Hotline In Action

In March, a woman called our SNAP Hotline asking for assistance with her and her family's SNAP benefits. She had completed the annual renewal in December, but after completing the renewal, the family stopped receiving their benefits. They had moved from Mississippi to Philadelphia 2 years ago, and the County Assistance Office (CAO) needed proof that she was no longer receiving benefits in Mississippi. While the woman was able to prove that her son was living with her, she was having difficulty getting the CAO the requested documents for proof of residency in Philadelphia. Our SNAP Hotline Manager sent her an envelope from the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger. Since the envelope was coming from a non-profit, had our logo on it, a date and was stamped by the Postal Service, the CAO accepted this envelope as proof of residency. The CAO then awarded her retroactive benefits from Dec. 2021 - April 2022, which was $3,295 in SNAP benefits for this family.

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 Monday – Thursday from 9:00am 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.