President Obama signs Economic Recovery Package
Food Stamps in the Spotlight
CNN correspondent Sean Callebs is putting the Food Stamp Program to the test—and with the Economic Recovery Package’s promise of raising food stamp payouts for families by 13 percent, it comes at the perfect time. For the month of February, he has allotted himself $176 for food – the maximum amount one person can receive from food stamps for one month.
Will he make it? What has he learned? You can read his daily blog to find out! And you won’t want to miss his video reports about living on food stamps, including spotlights on families who are trying to make ends meet.
Feeding America Advocates Focus Attention
on Hunger
Feeding America Hunger Advocates responded in high numbers to a call for action during the Economic Recovery Package debate. Thanks to the hard work of advocates like you, we generated 9,000 letters and 500 phone calls to Congress, and President Obama signed the Economic Recovery Package into law.
The impact of our ongoing efforts is clear. During the first press conference of his presidency, President Obama spoke of his concern for the rise in demand at food banks. Our leaders are hearing our united voices of concern, and hunger relief is gaining importance as a national policy priority.
Click here, to view a video excerpt
of President Obama’s speech.
We are pleased to announce that the final Economic Recovery Package includes strong measures to help fight hunger. Increased hunger funding includes:
- An additional $150 million for the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). That equates to 110 million pounds of nutritious food flowing into the Feeding America network over the next 18 months.
- An additional $19.9 billion in funding for the SNAP/Food Stamp program.
- An additional $500 million for the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program.
We Want to Hear Your Story!
Join the “I Am Feeding America” Campaign
The debate on the Economic Recovery Package and its ultimate passage showed us that our legislators are making vital funding decisions every day. It is critical that, as they make these decisions, they understand how hunger impacts the lives of their constituents.
All across America, hunger advocates like you are changing the lives of hungry people, one person at a time. You are the local face of Feeding America—and we want to share your story with legislators and the public to refocus their attention on the issue of hunger during these difficult economic times.
We invite you to participate in the ‘I Am Feeding America’ Campaign!
You can help elected officials better understand who we are and what we do by telling them why you are personally committed to hunger advocacy—why you believe in Feeding America. Your compelling stories illustrate the fight against hunger better than anything else we can tell them. They show what’s really going on in every community in America—that good people everywhere are quietly doing their part to make sure hungry people are fed.
Please take a few moments to tell us how you or someone you know is making a difference in the fight against hunger. Your experiences as an advocate, volunteer, donor—or even someone who has felt the effects of hunger—may be featured on our website, in our monthly newsletter, and in electronic media packets that will be sent to Members of Congress as we encourage their support of this important effort.
Visit the Hunger Action Center today to share your story—tell us why you are Feeding America!
2009 National Anti–Hunger Policy Conference
Food Bank Leaders Will Help Set Anti-Hunger Agenda
During the first week of March, hundreds of anti-hunger and anti-poverty advocates will gather in Washington D.C. for three days of innovative training, networking, and advocacy at the 2009 National Anti-Hunger Policy Conference. They will be joined by food bank, child care, human needs, nutrition, sustainable agriculture, and education organizations at this event hosted by Feeding America and the Food Research and Action Center.
This conference is a great opportunity for food bank leaders and anti-hunger advocates to help set the hunger agenda and to learn more about how to make it an important priority for Congress. The advocacy strategies they learn should also strengthen all of our efforts at the local level to move hunger relief forward.