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January 2010 Hunger Alert

  1. Tell Governor Paterson NO to the Proposed Budget Cuts
  2. Hunger Action Network’s Annual Lobby Day: Tuesday, March 9th
  3. State Budget Briefings Getting Underway in NYC and Westchester
  4. Please fill out survey of DSS / HRA performance
  5. Update on Child Nutrition Program Reauthorization
  6. Single Payer Lobby Day in Albany: Tuesday, February 2nd
  7. Two NYC Congressional Districts Found to Lead the Nation in Hunger
  8. Soda Tax Proposed as Anti-Obesity Initiative
  9. Hunger Action Hires Andreas Kriefall as Upstate Director
  10. Faith and Hunger Network Regional Conferences Taking Place Around NYS
  11. Raise the State Minimum Wage to $10 per Hour and Index to Inflation
  12. Groups to Call on NY Congressional Delegation and State Lawmakers to Cut Military Budget
  13. USDA Hosting Free Webinars about Summer Food
  14. NYS Council on Food Policy Supports Anti-Hunger Priorities

1. Tell Governor Paterson NO to the Proposed Budget Cuts

Please call the Governor's comment line at 518-474-8390. "Hello, my name is ________ from _________ in New York State.  I support the Hunger Action Network's Good Jobs Now campaign--we want $100 million in the welfare budget for jobs and training. And we strongly oppose the 5% cut in the welfare grant raise as well as the cuts in spending for the homeless and other human services. Please tell the Governor that after 18 years, our welfare participants cannot afford to wait until 2013 for a full raise.  Thank you."

The Governor is proposing more than one hundred million in cuts in programs to assist the homeless, while reducing funding for jobs programs for welfare participants from $70 million to $18 million. He also wants to cut in half (from 10% to 5%) the 2nd year phase-in of the basic welfare grant that was passed last year after 18 years of inaction, allegedly saving the state $18 million. (A family of three would receive an extra 50 cents a day rather than the scheduled $1 a day hike. The basic grant is $320 a month for a family of three.)

These cuts are taking place even though the state expects to draw down an extra $638 million in federal welfare dollars under the economic stimulus package. This is in addition to the annual $2.4 billion federal welfare block grant, which provides the state with more than a billion dollar annual surplus that also could be used for jobs programs. Cutting programs that help families meet their basic needs just ends up creating more hunger and homelessness while depriving the local economy of much needed spending. It is a lot more expensive for taxpayers to help people out once they end up in an shelter or an emergency room than it is to provide adequate assistance up front for their housing and food needs, money which goes straight to local businesses and landlords,

2. Come to Hunger Action Network and ES2 Annual Lobby Day: Tuesday, March 9th

Hunger Action Network and the Empire State Economic Security (ES2) Campaign’s Annual Lobby Day will take place in Albany on Tuesday, March 9th.  We will meet at the Westminster Presbyterian Church for breakfast and a briefing before setting off to the Capitol for a rally and lobby visits.

This year, we are urging the state to allocate at least $100 million dollars from a special welfare fund under the economic stimulus package to create jobs for welfare participants.  In addition, we are demanding $500 million to invest in housing, and using our collective voices to say NO to budget cuts for the homeless, the welfare grant or jobs.  We will also continue our fight for single-payer health care in NYS.

Come and have your voice heard!  Transportation from NYC and Westchester will be available.  To register, please call 518-434-7371 (upstate) or 212-741-8192 (downstate).    

3. State Budget Briefings Getting Underway in Westchester and NYC

State Budget Briefings in Westchester and NYC are taking place in the coming month to discuss the ramifications of the proposed budget cuts.  In addition to the cuts, we will discuss what additional programs need to be funded and ideas around revenue generation.

The first Budget Briefing will take place in Westchester at WESTHELP on Friday, February 5th at 11am.  The NYC events will be held in Manhattan and Brooklyn.  The first will take place at University Settlement, in Speaker Sheldon Silver’s district, on Tuesday, February 9th from noon to 2pm.  The Speaker’s office has indicated that they will send a representative from their office to attend.  The second event in NYC will be held in Brooklyn at Neighbors Together on Thursday, February 25 from 2:15 to 4pm.  For more information, please contact Liz Gilbert at 212-741-8192 ext 3# or lgilbert@hungeractionnys.org. 

4. Fill out the Survey on local DSS Performance

Hunger Action is doing a survey to find out what local welfare offices are doing right - and wrong - with respect to how they help meet needs of local residents. We are looking for groups that help individuals access services at HRA or their local Department of Social Services. There are questions about the application process, benefits, domestic violence, and disabilities. Contact dunleamark@aol.com for a copy of the survey. Or fill it out on-line at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/hungeractionnetwork. Just answer the questions that you can.

5. Update on Child Nutrition Program Reauthorization

The federal child nutrition programs are expected to be up for reauthorization in Congress this March. We are seeking an additional $4 billion in funding for programs such as school and summer meals, WIC (Women, Infants and Children), and CCACP (Child Care and Adult Care Program). We want to simplify the programs for both providers and participants; strengthen nutritional standards; and increase participation. We want to makes these programs universal, so that all children could participate. A strong foundation in these programs are needed if President Obama is to deliver on his pledge to end child hunger in America by 2015. Unfortunately, he is now proposing a freeze on spending on many such programs.

Hunger Action been working with the NYC Alliance for CNR as well as Bread for the World to organize congressional visits around CNR..  Click here to read the letter we sent to the NY Congressional Delegation. Please visit or write to your local Congressmember.

6. Single Payer Lobby Day: Tuesday, February 2nd

Single Payer New York is going to the State Capitol on Tuesday, February 2nd to lobby for the adoption and implementation of a statewide single-payer system. We are very disappointed that the federal health care reform effort has turned into primarily increasing the power and money of private insurance companies. We want single payer in NY to ensure quality care for all while lowering costs. We will meet at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 85 Chestnut St., at 9:30 AM for a briefing. If you are interested in attending, please contact Mark Dunlea at 212-741-8192 ext 5# or dunleamark@aol.com.

7. Two NYC Congressional Districts Have Highest Hunger Rates in Nation

The Congressional districts represented by Rep. José E. Serrano and Rep. Edolphus Towns had among the highest rates of hunger in the entire country according to a major new survey by Gallup and the Food Research Action Center (FRAC)..  Serrano’s district in the South Bronx was found to have the highest rate of food hardship out of all 435 congressional districts in the nation while Towns’ Brooklyn district ranked sixth.  Overall, seven of the thirteen congressional districts in New York City faced severe food hardships, with more than 20% of residents in each of those districts lacking money for food.  

The nationwide survey of more than half a million households found that in 2009 more than one in six, or  17.4%,  of New York households reported in 2009 not having enough money to buy food that they needed during the prior twelve months for themselves or their family. This rate was significantly higher for NY households with children (23.3%) over the two year survey period. Twenty-five of the twenty-nine Congressional districts in New York had more than one in ten households experiencing hunger in NYS. The Albany-Troy-Schenectady MSA had an overall hunger rate of 16.5%, including 21.6% among children.

The Gallup - FRAC survey mirrors the recent report by the U.S, Department of Agriculture (USDA) that 49 million Americans did not have consistent access to food in 2008, with 14.6% of Americans being classified as "food insecure.”

8. Supporting the Soda Tax as Anti-Obesity Initiative

The Governor is proposing a penny per ounce excise tax on sugar sweetened beverages. The tax will reduce sugar sweetened beverage consumption by 15% and subsequently reduce healthcare costs. Hunger Action supports the soda tax as a critical anti-obesity initiative on the grounds that the proceeds are used to both increase anti-obesity programs and reduce the regressive nature of the tax, which will hit hardest on low-income consumers.

Options supported by Hunger Action include using the funds to increase state subsidies for the school meal program; fund Farm to School initiatives; support programs to bring affordable fresh fruits and vegetables to low-income neighborhoods; increase funding for emergency food programs (HPNAP); and, fund programs to increase purchases at farmers markets, including doubling the value of food stamps (SNAP) used at such markets. The group also supports a state supplement to the food stamp program.

9. Hunger Action Hires Andreas Kriefall as Upstate Director

Andreas Kriefall has been hired as Hunger Action’s Upstate Director.  Mr. Kriefall is responsible for policy work in upstate New York and a major focus of his is advocating and building statewide support for better job opportunities for low-income new Yorkers.  He will also coordinate efforts to monitor how local districts are providing services and assistance to eligible families.  Mr. Kriefall has a broad background in social justice advocacy and organizing, including serving as a board member of HANNYS in the late 1990’s.

10. Faith and Hunger Network Regional Conferences Taking Place Around NYS

The Faith and Hunger Network (FHN), a joint project of HANNYS and Bread for the World, has recently held regional conferences in NYC and Westchester.  The next conference will take place on Long Island on March 5th in partnership with the Mobilized Interfaith Coalition Against Hunger (MICAH)..  Conferences in Buffalo, Poughkeepsie, Albany, and Syracuse will follow this year.

11. Raise the State Minimum Wage to $10 per Hour and Index to Inflation

Despite recent increases, the purchasing power of the minimum wage is now lower than it was in 1956.  The current minimum wage leaves a full-time worker with two dependents with an annual income of more than $3,000 below the federal poverty level. While New York State has adopted the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, it has the authority to raise it above the federal level.  Hunger Action is urging NYS to raise the minimum wage to a livable level of at least $10 per hour and then indexing it to inflation. Visit Let Justice Roll for more information on raising the minimum wage.

12.  Groups to Call on NY Congressional Delegation and State Lawmakers to Cut Military Budget

Leaders of peace, veterans, faith, labor and human service groups will hold a news conference on Wednesday Feb. 3rd to urge NY's Congressional delegation and state lawmakers to push for cuts in the federal military budget to help resolve the state's budget and economic crisis. The groups oppose President Obama's recent call for the largest military budget in history - more than $700 billion - while seeking to freeze spending on domestic discretionary programs during a major recession. 

The United States spends as much on the military budget as the rest of the world combined. The excessive spending diverts funds from critical domestic programs while primarily enriching corporate war profiteers and the permanent military industrial complex that former President Dwight Eisenhower warned the country about more than half a century ago.

13. USDA Hosting Free Webinars about Summer Food

Throughout the month of February, the USDA will be hosting free webinars about the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP).  From the USDA: The SFSP can help to fill the summer meal gap for low-income children.  Faith-based, community and private non-profit organizations can make a difference in the lives of hungry children by serving meals with SFSP, a federally funded program administered by states that reimburses organizations for meals served to children during the summer.

Click here to learn more. 

14.  NYS Council on Food Policy Supports Anti-Hunger Priorities 

In its annual report released in December, the NYS Council on Food  Policy has recommended that NYS join the campaign to end Child Hunger by 2015; support a strong Child Nutrition and Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Reauthorization Act; and maximize federal funding for nutrition and food programs in New York.  The report also outlined support for setting specific state goals to increase locally grown food as well as support for the Council to be enacted by statue rather than Executive Order.  The Council is now also supporting advocates request to enact the Council by statue rather than just an Executive Order but it still is not supporting the creation of an advisory council to broaden community participation.

Click here for the full report.