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Hunger
Alert
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past hunger alerts: February 2003 | January 2003 | November 2002 | June 2002 | Alert on State Minimum Wage | April 2002 March 2003 In this edition: *
House Passes Bad TANF Bill; Action Moves to US Senate House Passes Bad TANF Bill; Action Moves to US Senate The House of Representatives passed its Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) bill on Thursday, February 13. The bill passed 230 to 192, largely along party lines. The bill is nearly identical to the measure passed in the House in 2002.The bill fails to improve the program in key areas and threatens important services to low-income families such as job training, housing and food stamps through a "state flex" proposal, also known as "superwaivers." It would encourage massive workfare programs, make-work programs that do nothing to help people move into real jobs that pay family-supporting wages. The bill does nothing for legal immigrants, nothing to help prepare people for the workforce, and nothing to help people obtain education and training to get out of poverty. In fact the bill actually reduces the education and training that is currently available to struggling parents. The bill now moves onto the Senate. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), chair of the Senate's Finance Committee, said he would begin work on the Senate version shortly and hopes for passage within "the next few months." He also said he hopes to pass a bipartisan bill, especially with the chamber so closely divided along party lines. There is a Better Choice - to solve the state budget deficit Hunger
Action is continuing to work with several hundred labor,
faith, human service, environmental and community-based
organizations to propose alternative solutions to the state's
$12 billion budget deficit. Please sign onto the statement
of support if you have not done so already. We also need
letters to state legislators, especially Senate Republicans,
as well as letters to the editor. The Governor is proposing
a $1.2 billion cut in funding for local education, more
than a billion dollars in cuts in health care, and half
a billion dollars in cuts for welfare programs. We believe
that there is an alternative to massive cuts in education,
health care and human services… and it's NOT bigger
tax shifts to local property and sales taxes. To grow New
York's economy we need to invest in New Yorkers. Good jobs
require educated New Yorkers, safe communities, affordable
health care and reliable transportation. We can't grow jobs
in New York if we abandon New York's families. Cuts in education,
health care and other essential services hurt us all. Call
HANNYS to become more involved or go to our web site to
sign on. Food for All is sponsoring the 4th annual FHN conference in Buffalo on Saturday, March 15th from 9 A.M. to 1:45 P.M. at St. Joseph's University Church, 3269 Main Street, Buffalo. Speakers include Sr. Beth LeValley, Jim Stipe from Bread for the World and Mark Dunlea from Hunger Action. The state revenue campaign will be discussed along with BFW's campaign to increase funding for economic development in third world countries. $7.50 registration includes lunch. To pre-register, contact Maureen Gensler, 716 681-2246 or e-mail mggensler@aol.com. Sunday, March 16, 1:00 P.M. to 4 P.M., Downtown United Presbyterian Church, 121 N. Fitzhugh St., Rochester. It begins with a vegetable soup lunch. Suggested donation $5. In addition to Mark and Jim speaking, Brian Heatherington, Director of the Public Interest Law Project, will address the links between state funding and education for our children. Sponsors: Hunger Action Network of NYS, Bread for the World, the Downtown United Presbyterian Church Justice Ministry Team, EMPOWER and the Politics of Food Program. Action
is Necessary to Restore $1.6 Million in EFP funding through
HPNAP On Jan. 29, 2003, Governor Pataki released his proposed state budget, which included $22.84 million for the Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program (HPNAP), which is a $1.6 million cut! Last year, HPNAP was funded at $24.44 million with about $10.8 million from the State's general fund and the remaining $13.6 million from federal money for the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) welfare block grant. This cutback will have a devastating impact on EFPs and the 900,000 New Yorkers whom they currently assist every week. However, we still have time to increase HPNAP funds! The state legislature and the Governor will pass a final state budget later this spring. Tell the Governor and your state representatives, "Because hunger in our state is currently on the rise and food pantries are already struggling to meet the increased demand, it is essential that New York State restore and adequately fund HPNAP!" Contact NYS Elected Officials as part of a Statewide HPNAP Action. Please contact Governor George Pataki: (518) 474-8390, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver: (518) 455-3791, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno: (518) 455-3191. To find out who is your State Assembly and State Senate Representative, go to: www.vote-smart.org. Please join with the anti- hunger advocates across the state and call the above key state representatives and urge them to increase HPNAP funding to $30.4 Million. Please call as soon as you receive this alert. You can also write a letter to your representative or to the editor of your local newspaper. HANNYS
wants to give EFPs / CBOs Mini-grants for community food
pilot projects There
will be two application cycles for this grant. The first
application deadline will be Friday, April 4, 2003. The
second application deadline will be October 30, 2003. Applicants
may request $5,000.00 to $8,000.00. Applications should
be mailed to: Hunger Action Network of NYS, 94 Central Avenue,
#2, Albany, NY 12206, c/o Elizabeth Wagner. Please contact
Susannah Pasquantonio at (212) 741-8192 ext. 3# or Sheila
McCarthy at (518) 434-7371 to request applications or discuss
possible projects. The
application is available for downloading here. Thursday, March 20, 2003 is the 13th annual Hunger Awareness Day. The overall purpose of Hunger Awareness Day is to raise awareness of hunger and bring about long-term solutions. Advocates fear that hunger has become a widely accepted problem by the general community. Therefore, it is crucial that lower-income individuals, advocates, students, faith communities, elected officials, emergency food providers and their clients join together to strengthen this year's call to end hunger on Hunger Awareness Day. This year, we will also focus on the importance of the federal Child Nutrition Programs, which are being reauthorized in Congress this session. Please consider playing a role in Hunger Awareness Day by organizing a local event in your community. Contact Sheila or Susannah at Hunger Action for a Hunger Awareness Day Organizing Packet that includes some ideas for effective, educational activities. Together, we can put an end to hunger! Albany Religious Groups to Make an Impact on Hunger Awareness Day Join us and gather for a chain prayer at the Capitol or the Legislative Office Building on Hunger Awareness Day. The purpose of this chain prayer is to protest cutbacks to social programs as a means of closing the $6 billion deficit in New York State. The gathering will be effective if it is composed of religious groups who want to make a statement about the injustice of balancing the state budget on the backs of low-income New Yorkers. Feedback and any ideas about similar actions are welcome. Hunger Action Welcomes Two New Staff!! Hunger Action is happy to welcome Benjamin Shute as the new Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Organizer in the New York City Office. Benjamin comes to Hunger Action with expertise in CSA and social justice, which ranges from growing organic vegetables at Sauvie Island Organics in Portland, Oregon to co-founding the Williamsburg CSA in Brooklyn. Feel free to contact him with CSA/gleaning questions or ideas for collaboration. Hunger Action is happy to announce that Liz Wagner has recently started as the new Community Food Assistant in the Albany office. Liz has a background in community-based conservation, including experience as an environmental educator at the Thatcher Nature Center and community gardener, which has brought her to places such as Ladakh, India! Contact Liz with Community Food questions or ideas. Toast to NY will be on Thursday, June 12th in Albany Toast to NY (formerly Feast for Famine) will take place on Thursday, June 12th at the Hart Theatre Lounge, at the Egg at the Empire State Plaza. This annual fundraiser features fine food and beverages from dozens of the areas leading restaurants. To become a member of the host committee or volunteer, please call Scott Lyons at our Albany office. The
Community Food Resource Center Thursday,
April 3, 2003 This 27-minute video features four women (from Utah, Florida, New York and Maine) who tell their stories of how welfare served as a lifeline for their families. The video includes an introduction by Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey. Discussion
with Welfare Made A Difference campaign members and New
York elected officials Space
is limited. To RSVP or to order a copy of the video, please
call 212.894.8082 or |
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