Hunger Action Network of New York State

The Legislative Commission on Health Coverage Reform would help New York develop a long-term, comprehensive and cost-effective solution to the growing costs and complexities of the state’s health care programs, including Medicaid and long term care. The Commission has been endorsed by more than 3 dozen Assembly members and mirrors a successful strategy that has been utilized in other states such as Maine, California and Maryland. Similar legislation is also being introduced in the State Senate.

In addition to calling Senate Republicans (Sen. Joe Bruno is Majority Leader, Sen. Kemp Hannon is Health Committee Chair) , we also need Assembly Democrats to talk to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to make sure the commission is a major priority for the end of session.

2. Job creation for unemployed, underemployed and low-income New Yorkers Hunger Action has been pushing for the commitment of jobs for low-income residents connected to state and local government expenditure of funding for construction projects and for construction subsidized by government funds. We’re urging the State Legislature and Governor to ensure job creation for unemployed, underemployed and low-income New Yorkers in connection with the Rebuild and Renew New York Transportation Bond Act for $2.9 billion, the multi-year funding for transportation capital plans, and the $250 million capital fund for public and private colleges. This would provide jobs in the building trades industry, along with vocational training, for many of the half million unemployed residents, 2.8 million New Yorkers living at or below the poverty level, and the 84,000 adults on welfare. We would revitalize the economy of low-income communities and get decent jobs for more people from those communities, including women and people of color.

Our strategy is to get the Governor and Legislature to include provisions in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs) accompanying the funding that would target job creation. We only have a week or so before the MOUs are finalized. Please call, fax or email your State Representative and the Governor to support this proposal. To send an email, click here .

3. Please donate to Hunger Action Network’s summer appeal The struggle to end hunger in our state is not an easy one. Funding for nonprofits from government and private foundations has plummeted in recent years. Hunger Action has been forced to layoff a number of staff while the problem of hunger continues to grow. Summer is particularly a challenging time for us to make our payroll and pay our bills.

In the next few weeks, the State Legislature will be voting on whether or not to create a Legislative Commission on Health Care Coverage (A6575), one of our major initiatives for 2005. They will also be deciding on several of our proposals related to job creation.

At the federal level, the President wants to slash funding for many anti-hunger and human service programs. Funding for food stamps is threatened. President Bush is also proposing to eliminate funding for the Community Food Nutrition Program, Hunger Action’s only source of government funding for our work. Loss of this funding would result in laying off two of our remaining five staff people.

Summer of course is when many of us plant backyard gardens. We hope you will consider planting an extra row of tomatoes, peppers and spinach to donate to your local food pantry. You can contact our offices to find a program near you to donate to. We are also looking for volunteers for our vegetable garden programs in Albany and Westchester.

4. Hunger Free Communities Act Introduced in Congress The Hunger Free Communities Act would commit the United States to the goals of cutting U.S. food insecurity and hunger in half by 2010 and ending U.S. hunger by 2015, and require the U.S. Department of Agriculture to report annually on progress toward those goals. It includes sense of Congress language protecting the structure and funding for the national nutrition programs. Further, it authorizes $50 million for a grant program that would fund grassroots groups who collaborate to develop innovative strategies to end hunger, provide direct assistance and strengthen public programs. Finally, it authorizes collection of hunger data at the county level.

Sens. Richard Durbin (D-IL), Gordon Smith (R-OR), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) introduced the Senate Bill (S.1120). The leader sponsors of HR 2717 are Reps. Tom Osborne (R-NE) and Jim McGovern (D-MA), co-chairs of the House Hunger Caucus.

The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) offers free meals to children 18 years of age and younger during the summer months. The program is a great resource of nutritious food for all children. There are no income or residency requirements for children to participate. However, there are many children who are not benefiting from the program. Please encourage the children in your community to participate! To locate a site in your community or for further information, please contact the NYS Growing Up Healthy Hotline toll-free at 1-800-522-5006.

Become a Site Sponsor! Schools, youth and recreation centers, community organizations, EFPs, non-profits, and camps can become a site sponsor. SFSP generates money within communities! Each sponsor receives a set rate of reimbursement from the USDA for the meals that are served. The reimbursement can also cover operational and administrative expenses, such as staff and rental costs. Contact Hunger Action to receive more information about the program.

This free meeting at Hudson Guild’s Fulton Center, 119 Ninth Ave. (at 18th St) in Manhattan will explore a range of food issues that affect all members of our community. This includes the increasing levels of obesity, the low access to quality supermarkets in many inner city neighborhoods, and the increase in demand for food at Emergency Food Programs. Please join us to help build a local food system that ends hunger and poverty while supporting locally grown, healthy food by strategizing about ways to increase Food Justice in NYC. Food Justice, also known as community food security, is an approach to ending hunger that not only seeks to provide people with food, but also examines where the food is coming from, if it is healthy, how it is grown, and how easily people can access that food. Attendees will explore the concept of Food Justice, learn about existing Food Justice projects and resources, and strategize together on how we can foster community and government solutions to food issues. We will also be gathering your feedback into a Food Justice policy agenda for New York. All are welcome to attend!

A community forum on universal health care will be held on Thursday, June 16th at 6 PM at the First United Presbyterian Church, 1915 5th Ave., Troy. The forum would be an opportunity to discuss how New York could best provide quality, affordable health care to all of its residents. Sen. Bruno has been invited to attend or to send a staff representative. A major focus of the forum will be a proposal pending before the NYS Legislature to create a Legislative Commission on Health Care Coverage (A6575 – Gottfried).

The forum is cosponsored by Hunger Action Network of NYS, Physicians for a National Health Program - Capital District, Albany Presbytery, First United Presbyterian Church, Faith and Hunger Network, Capital District Worker Organizing Center, Troy Area United Ministries and NY Universal Health Care Options Campaign.

On Sat. June 11th, Citizens For Universal Healthcare, is sponsoring a mass rally to kick-off a statewide march for the much needed reform of our state and national health care system. The rally, to be held at the Academy Green on Albany Ave. in Kingston (across from the Gov. Clinton Hotel) will begin at 10:00 AM. The route we will take is from Kingston, to Delhi, Oneonta, Norwich, Cinncinatus, Cortland, Ithaca, Watkins Glen, Elmira, Corning, Bath, Hornell, Cuba, Olean, Salamanca and Jamestown.

The time for action is now: with the proposal for New York to set up a commission to study a health care plan for NY, a re-introduction of the Gottfried bill for universal health care, cuts in Medicaid, concerns about the Prescription Drug Law, and of course the need to reform New York's very dysfunctional health care system. If you would like to join us for part of this walk, would like to help organize an event for this or have contacts in any of these communities please call us Rebecca Elgie -(607)272-0621 Or Bernie Fetterly cell 273-1622 or contact us at healthylink@earthlink.net

Through a grant from the Jessie Noyes Smith Foundation, Hunger Action Network has developed a number of policy recommendations for community food security. We recently presented testimony at a joint Assembly Hearing convened by the Task Force on Food, Farm and Nutrition Policy. A main priority it to re-establish a NYS Council on Food and Nutrition Policy to coordinate state efforts. The background paper will be posted on our website shortly.

In a community food system, food is grown, produced, processed and disposed at a local level. Since locally produced and distributed food reduces dependence on long-distance food sources, a community food system increases community self–sufficiency. A community food system has the potential to promote ecologically friendly food cultivation methods and encourage community development. Such a system can also have a significant impact on economic development because it creates locally based employment and provides opportunities for people to raise themselves out of poverty.