Hunger Relief Advocate
ADVOCACY AND YOU
What does it mean to be a hunger relief advocate?
At Feeding America, we work with dedicated supporters all over the country who want to fight hunger. We encourage them to become hunger relief advocates, and to get involved in efforts to end hunger in America. As we do so, we are often asked what it means to be an advocate.
Advocacy can include activities on many levels that draw attention to the issue of hunger and unite our supporters in their efforts to fight hunger. Advocacy activities can include taking action to influence public policy, coordinating efforts in local communities, and educating government officials, the public, and the media on hunger in America.
Communicating Directly with Elected Officials
Elected officials are very concerned about the issues that affect voters. Thus citizens can have a lot of power in influencing policy and legislation.
Government leaders have the power to determine the legislative and regulatory response to hunger—how funds are allocated and distributed to various hunger relief programs and how those programs are administered. Only the government has the reach and resources to address the problem of hunger on a national scale, so many of our advocacy efforts are directed toward influencing the development of hunger-related policies. As a citizen, you have the right to participate in this process, and we work to keep you informed and make it easy for you to communicate with your public officials directly when the opportunity arises.
Raising Awareness and Generating Action in Local Communities
Another important aspect of advocacy is local community awareness and action. It is at the local level that most of the actual fight against hunger happens. When local community advocates work together, they are able to promote change in their communities and help their neighbors who are struggling with hunger. These efforts can cover a broad spectrum; below are just a few examples:
- Attending a town hall meeting and asking questions about your leaders’ and community members’ response to the problem of hunger;
- Organizing a food drive through your school, church, or other community organization;
- Recruiting volunteers to help out at your local food bank;
- Writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper about legislation like Child Nutrition Reauthorization and encouraging others in your community to learn more and speak out;
- Working with local businesses in your area to become sponsors of your local food bank and publicize hunger relief efforts to their employees and customers;
- Hosting a neighborhood meeting to introduce your community to Feeding America and encourage them to get involved with the Hunger Relief Action Center.
Through the Hunger Action Center and other online tools like Facebook and Twitter, you can also take action within our online community of hunger relief advocates. The online community already offers and will continue to expand the opportunities and tools available to help you raise awareness in the online space. Many actions you can take online—sharing information about Feeding America on your Facebook page, Tweeting about a volunteer project at your food bank, and so on—can mirror and help promote what you are doing in your neighborhood.
Educating Government Leaders, the Public, and the Media
A third key aspect of advocacy is education—educating government officials, the public, and the media about hunger. Most Americans, including our government leaders, don’t realize how widespread, and growing, the problem of hunger is in our country. Because America is a land of plenty, they think there is always enough food to go around. What they might not understand is that the problem in America isn’t a lack of food. The problem is that many children and families in economic distress do not have access to that food. In our local communities and through the Hunger Action Center, we can use advocacy tools to educate government officials, the media, and the public, and encourage all Americans to join us in our efforts to end hunger.
What’s going on with Child Nutrition Reauthorization—and how can we use advocacy to help?
Every five years, lawmakers work together to improve and reauthorize government-funded Child Nutrition Programs. These programs—including the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs, the Commodity and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), the Summer Food Service Program, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)—provide children with access to quality, nutritious food during school as well as in out-of-school settings.
In the meantime, please take a moment today to send a letter to your Members of Congress about CNR!
When President Obama issued his proposed budget for 2010, he recommended that $1 billion in new funding every year for ten years be allocated to Child Nutrition Programs. These funds would go a long way to helping us meet the goal of ending child hunger by 2015.
During the first quarter of 2010, Child Nutrition Reauthorization legislation worked its way through the Senate Agriculture Committee, which formulated its version of the bill. As it stands now, the bill includes $450 million in new funding per year for child nutrition programs. This is a good step forward, but falls far short of the $1 billion per year requested by the President.
Currently the Senate bill:
- Expands the At-Risk After School Supper Program to all states.
- Includes $40 million in mandatory spending to test innovative strategies to end child hunger, and $10 million in mandatory spending for research on causes and consequences of child hunger.
- Removes the cap on the number of summer food sites and children that can be served by private non-profit organizations.
- Allows California to operate its year-round pilot feeding program until 2015.
- Requires schools to coordinate outreach efforts with Summer Food Programs.
What happens next with CNR?
Child Nutrition Reauthorization legislation will now go to the Senate floor, possibly by the end of spring or early summer. Based on the recommendations of the Senate Agriculture Committee, the Senate will debate funding levels and other additions or changes to the legislation. The House of Representatives will also have to vote on its own version of the bill. This process will begin in the House Education and Labor Committee.
As the legislation moves forward in both houses, there will be several chances to increase funding levels and amend the bill. Feeding America will let you know of key opportunities when your voice in the process can help us secure the additional funding we are seeking.
Advocacy Efforts during the 1st Quarter of 2010
Over the past year at Feeding America, Child Nutrition Reauthorization has been our important focus. With CNR now moving forward in Congress, hunger relief advocates are letting Members of Congress know it’s critical they include the full $1 billion per year for Child Nutrition Reauthorization.
During Q1, our advocates accomplished a lot on behalf of CNR:
- Letters sent through the Hunger Action Center – 5,703
- Personalized letters from Hunger Champions – 189
- Phone calls to legislators – 922
Responses to April “Dear Colleague” Mobilization
In April, many hunger relief advocates encouraged your U.S. Representatives to sign on to a “Dear Colleague” letter circulated by House anti-hunger leaders Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO). The letter urges Speaker Pelosi to help identify additional sources of funding for CNR. More than 200 Members of Congress signed the McGovern/Emerson letter! We appreciate the response of our advocates to this call for action—it’s a great example of the influence a group of concerned citizens can have in the political process.
If you haven’t already, please take a moment to recognize the leadership of our supportive Members of Congress by sending a letter thanking your U.S. Representatives for his or her ongoing support of CNR. Just visit the Hunger Action Center, where you can send your thank you message.
What Can You Do Now?
Advocate action on CNR will be critical in the next few months. Emails and calls to Congress are an important part of that action, but we encourage you to be creative in your advocacy efforts for Child Nutrition Reauthorization. You might ask yourself these questions:
- What can I do to let my elected officials know how I feel about their votes on CNR?
- How can I involve my friends, family, and my community in my CNR advocacy efforts?
- How could my skills and talents be used to impact Child Nutrition legislation?
Political Advocacy Ideas
- Invite your parent and teacher organization to participate in CNR letter-writing campaigns to your Members of Congress.
- Make phone calls in support of CNR to your elected officials.
- Ask your local food bank how you can help it advocate for CNR.
- Find out how each of your legislators has voted in the past on hunger issues. Target your efforts for CNR toward those who may not fully understand hunger.
Community Advocacy Ideas
- Join the Feeding America online community, and invite your friends and family to get on board.
- Find out how your food bank is engaging the community about the issue of hunger and offer to help.
- Contact local community organizations to talk about child hunger and organize a service event.
- Share photos and videos of your local events with the Feeding America online community.
Advocacy Education Ideas
- Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper informing your community about CNR.
- Learn more about efforts to fight hunger locally, and help promote these events.
- Educate your friends about CNR and hunger advocacy through social media, such as blogs, Facebook, and Twitter.
- Find out how hunger affects your local schools, and work with your food bank to find out how to share that story.
Remember, we can help! If you need ideas or are interested in getting involved, you can contact us at info@hungeractioncenter.org. At the Hunger Action Center, we’ll keep you posted on the progress of Child Nutrition Reauthorization as Congress continues its work. We hope you will use some of the ideas above to find new and exciting ways to advocate for hunger relief at this critical time!
Making the Hunger Action Center Work for You
Feeding America knows that a united community of advocates is hard to ignore. We are continually working to make it easy for you and other advocates to get involved in hunger relief—and we’re working to make the Hunger Action Center an even more convenient, flexible, and meaningful resource for you.
Over the next few months, the Hunger Action Center will be getting a major makeover, and we are asking our advocates to be a part of the process. We want the new Hunger Action Center to be for advocates and by advocates, so share your thoughts and ideas with us!
As we make our plans for this major makeover, we’re asking for your input!
- What would you like to see at the Hunger Action Center?
- What would make you want to get more involved?
- What is important to you?
- How can the Hunger Action Center be more useful to you in your advocacy efforts?
Some of our goals for the new Hunger Action Center include:
- Make it easier for you to see the impact of hunger in your state and community;
- Enable you to more easily connect with other advocates in your area and throughout the online community;
- Expand the variety of actions you can take on the Hunger Action Center and offer you greater opportunities to participate in social media sharing, online discussions, web chats, and more;
- Make the Hunger Action Center a place where you can collaborate with other advocates to magnify the impact of your individual actions;
- Help you use the Hunger Action Center to tell us more about what you’re doing in your local community, how you’re helping grow the online community, and what matters to you when it comes to being a hunger relief advocate.
We want the Hunger Action Center to be THE place where all people concerned about hunger can gather to unite their efforts and make a big difference.
Please visit the Hunger Action Center to share your suggestions. Your ideas and insights will help us create a Hunger Action Center that will support both the online and offline efforts of our growing community to end hunger in America once and for all.
Join Us for the Rachael Ray Virtual Town Hall Meeting!
TV chef Rachael Ray is a big supporter of Feeding America and a dedicated advocate in the fight to end hunger. We want to remind all of our hunger relief advocates and Rachael Ray fans that this Thursday, May 6, at 2:00 p.m. EDT, Rachael will be hosting a virtual town hall meeting with Feeding America to discuss child nutrition and the importance of CNR legislation!
We invite you to join Rachael and Feeding America CEO Vicki Escarra on Thursday to talk about CNR. This will be a great opportunity to hear how Rachael and Feeding America are working together to fight child hunger, share ideas about how to get involved locally, and learn more about what you can do to help. Be sure to bring your questions! You’ll have a chance to interact directly with Rachael and Vicki during the question-and-answer session.
Feeding America’s first virtual town hall meeting was held in February to discuss the findings of the Hunger in America study, and it was a huge success. You won’t want to miss out on this one!
Many hunger relief advocates have already signed up for this Virtual Town Hall Meeting with Rachael Ray and Vicki Escarra—if you haven’t done so already, there’s still time if you register today!