The 5th Annual SNAP Challenge is Just One Week Away! Register Now!

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Join Maryland Hunger Solutions and take the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Challenge (Sept 28 - Oct 2, 2015) to highlight the struggles faced by too many throughout our region who can’t afford the food they need. 

SNAP is an essential lifeline that helps millions of Americans keep food on the table, but the current benefit level is far too low. Currently, the average benefit is about $22 for five days – or about $1.47 per person, per meal. By taking the SNAP Challenge, participants can see the difficult choices that low-income families are forced to make while food shopping on a limited budget, realizing how difficult it is to avoid hunger, afford nutritious foods, and stay healthy with few resources.

SNAP Challenge Week Events (September 28 - October 2)

Sunday September 27th: Join Maryland Hunger Solutions and Share our Strength Cooking Matters for a grocery shopping tour at the Howard Park Shop Rite (4601 Liberty Heights Ave, Baltimore, MD 21207). The tour begins at 10:30am and will provide Challenge participants with an opportunity to shop for their week's groceries with resources and recipes to help stretch their dollar. 

Wednesday September 30th: Maryland Hunger Solutions will be hosting a Twitter chat from 1:00 - 1:30 pm with SNAP Challenge participants and partners to discuss the importance of SNAP, highlight the struggles that low-income Marylanders face and examine actions that we can take to defend vital safety net programs. Join the conversation and use the hashtag #SNAPChallenge to participate.

Friday October 2nd: Please join us for lunch at Our Daily Bread (725 Fallsway Baltimore, MD) at 11:45am. Our Daily Bread serves more than a quarter million meals to people struggling with hunger in Baltimore City every year. This meal is in addition to your $22, and highlights how SNAP benefits are often not enough to cover a month's worth of food, requiring people to use emergency food resources. If you plan on attending the lunch, you must be in line before 12 pm.

Monday October 5th: Join us for a post SNAP Challenge dinner and discussion at 5:30pm at Maryland Hunger Solutions (2002 Clipper Park Road, Suite 310, Baltimore, MD). Will we provide pizza and have a group discussion about the SNAP Challenge and areas for future action.

Join us and take the Challenge - Follow this link to SNAP Challenge rules and registration.

To RSVP for any of the events listed above, contact Rachel Tucker at rtucker@mdhungersolutions.org.


Are you up for the Challenge?

Be well,

Technicolor girl

image created by Ink + LLC

Food Supplement Program Changes

Maryland Hunger Solutions Alerts Beneficiaries, Retailers to Changes in Food Supplement Program

Contact: Brooke McCauley, 410-528-0021 x25
bmccauley@mdhungersolutions.org

BALTIMORE, Md., August 28, 2015 -- Beginning September 1st, 2015, two major changes to the state’s Food Supplement Program (FSP, or food stamps) will impact 800,000 low-income people, nearly 4,000 retailers and more than a dozen outreach organizations that connect eligible people to the program, according to Maryland Hunger Solutions. One of the changes to the program, which is administered by Maryland’s Department of Human Resources (DHR), will affect the timeframe in which benefits will be issued while the other changes will address program enrollment and limiting benefits for adults without children.

“Things are going to get a bit bumpy over the next several months, but we are hopeful that these changes will be a win-win for everyone involved with FSP,” said Michael J. Wilson, director of Maryland Hunger Solutions. “These changes are designed to make the program more efficient and to better serve beneficiaries and retailers that accept FSP.”

“But there are also other changes that can leverage more federal dollars for Maryland and for our neighbors who use the program.” said Wilson. “We can provide more nutrition for eligible Marylanders by being less bureaucratic and by making smart investments in health and nutrition.”

Changes in Distribution of Benefits Schedule
Currently, benefits are issued on a 10-day cycle, but the new schedule will be every 24 days to allow a larger window for retailers to serve FSP customers. This will be a gradual delay that will occur in alphabetical order depending on the first three letters of a person’s last name; those with names that appear later in the alphabet will be impacted more. According to Maryland Hunger Solutions, delays should be no more than four days for program participants to receive their benefits over the course of September through January. Everyone will be on the new schedule as of February 2016.

“Four days can seem like an eternity for someone who is hungry,” said Wilson. “That is why we will encourage people to dial 211 to find out how and where they can access emergency food sources.”

This change will allow retailers accepting FSP to better ensure food inventory, the monthly distribution of hours for retail workers, and the delivery of fresh goods throughout the month.

Changes to Program Enrollment
The second change to the nutrition assistance program addresses program enrollment as the DHR transitions from its current online application platform Maryland SAIL (Service Access and Information Link) to the new “MyDHR” platform. This will primarily impact those who are signing up for FSP benefits online, as well as DHR partners who are signing up beneficiaries, training outreach workers, and interacting with the agency, according to Maryland Hunger Solutions.

“While many of us acknowledge that SAIL is outdated and needs to be overhauled, our concern is making sure that the transition is smooth and that SAIL continues as a backup system,” said Wilson “After all, history has shown us that computer glitches can make accessing benefits a nightmare. It is our recommendation to keep SAIL online until the end of December 2015 to ensure greater customer service and less hardship for FSP beneficiaries.”

Fundamental Change Needed
The minimum FSP benefit is only $16 a month.

“We believe that increasing the minimum benefit -as our neighbors in Washington, DC, have done- is not just an investment in the health and nutrition of our low-income neighbors, it is also an investment in Maryland,” said Wilson,. “We know that FSP benefits are spent in local stores, at local farmers markets and buy local Maryland products. We also know that there is multiplier effect that helps the local economy. For every $5.00 of FSP benefits received, $9.00 is generated in the local economy.

Other issues that need to be addressed to solve hunger and poverty, according to Maryland Hunger Solutions, include more jobs with livable wages, having eligible school districts implement community eligibility, and having DHR utilize the “heat and eat” food assistance program to better leverage federal dollars.

The Food Research and Action Center established Maryland Hunger Solutions (MDHS) as a project to fight hunger and improve the nutrition, health and well-being of children and families in Maryland. Learn more at MarylandHungerSolutions.org.

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2015 Hear the Crunch !

Today is "Hear the Crunch" Day in Maryland , also known as Maryland Day. The event is organized by Maryland Hunger Solutions (MDHS)- Marylanders are asked to take a photo of themselves taking a bite into an apple to raise awareness about hunger in Maryland, especially  School Breakfast Programs for children.

I participated in the event in 2014, but I wanted more information about the organization's leadership and the event goals. Maryland Hunger Solutions' Executive Director, Michael J. Wilson, graciously granted me an interview.


Q: How did you get involved with Maryland Hunger Solutions? 
I spent nearly a decade on the Board of the national organization, the Food Research Action Center (FRAC) back when I was at the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW).  When there was an opening to lead Maryland Hunger Solutions, I spoke to the President of FRAC, and one thing led to another.  Eventually I resigned from the Board and accepted the position as Director.

Q:What's the goal of Hear the Crunch?
Our view is that everyone in the state of Maryland should start the day with a nutritious breakfast.  This is especially true of school aged students, but not exclusively.  This is also tied to our policy agenda of expanding school breakfast programs, enacting state legislation to expand the use of federal dollars for school meals, and to focus attention on the Child Nutrition Reauthorization which the Congress will consider this year.  We will be successful not just by the more than 800,000 folks who will participate on March 25th – but by how many folks are having breakfast on March 31st when there is no spotlight.

Q: What's the state of hunger in Maryland? Any data by county, gender, or age group that you can share?
One of the things that we are most proud of is our capacity to be the state’s leading resources for hunger data.  On our website is data for every county in the state, and shows the county and state participation rates for the Food Supplement Program (FSP ) which is how the food stamp program is known in the state of Maryland.  It also has data on school lunch programs, school breakfast programs, summer meal programs, after –school meals and the Women’s Infants and Children program (WIC).


It is not broken down by gender or age, but we have some demographic data.  We know that according to the most recently published information, that there are 72,519 FSP recipients in Montgomery County and 788,913 in the state of Maryland.  We also know that one in eight households faces a struggle with hunger, that 21 percent of households with children struggle to obtain enough food to provide regular healthy meals for their family, and that nearly 10 percent of Marylanders live below the poverty line.

Q: Does Maryland Hunger Solutions partner with other organizations?
Our mission is to eliminate hunger in the state of Maryland, but we know that we can’t do that alone.  We partner with dozens of government agencies, non-profit groups, and private entities to address hunger in the state.  That includes dozens of groups like Manna Food Center in Montgomery County, AARP, the Maryland Alliance for the Poor, Catholic Charities of Baltimore, and the Prince George’s County Food Equity Council.

Q: What should the public know about Maryland Hunger Solutions?
That our work to end hunger in our state begins with utilizing the existing federal nutrition programs.  Making sure that everyone who is eligible for FSP is getting benefits will not only help battle hunger, it will help the health and economy of our state.

Q: How can people get more involved with Maryland Hunger Solutions?
We utilize volunteers and interns to help maximize our work and can always utilize more.  In addition, as a non-profit, we are always fundraising to help on our mission.

Many thanks to Michael for the interview.  

This year,  L'Academie de Cuisine Professional School's Chef Brian Patterson, Sous Chef Angie Rosado and the Winter 2015 Culinary Techniques 101 class joined in on the "Hear the Crunch" effort with Technicolor dining.  Can you hear you hear our crunch?

Why do I participate? Why do I care? I care because I have been unemployed, looking for work and have gone to bed hungry. Access to food is a human right. No child should be hungry.

If you live in Maryland I hope you will consider participating in the "Hear the Crunch" event. If  you live outside of Maryland, consider taking a bite of your favorite variety of apple anyway.

Be well,

Technicolor girl

Crunch time

I received the invitation via Facebook this year.

Hear the Maryland Crunch is a state-wide synchronized apple crunch event that aims to reduce childhood hunger by expanding access to school breakfast. Hear the Maryland Crunch is held on Maryland Day, Wednesday, March 25, because every child in Maryland should have access to a healthy breakfast every day!

To participate in Hear the Maryland Crunch --
1) Grab an apple and take a bite!
2) Take a photo or video of your best crunch face and share it with your friends. Enter the best photo in the #HearTheCrunch photo contest!
3) Tell your state legislators (find yours at mdelect.net) to support increased access to school breakfast:
Dear Legislator,
Will you Hear the Maryland Crunch? I will crunch an apple on March 25 to spread the message that every child should have access to a healthy breakfast every day. Please support full funding for Maryland Meals for Achievement. Please vote for the Hunger-Free Schools Act of 2015 (SB334/HB965) to allow more schools to elect Community Eligibility.

Are you in?

I responded that I'll participate.  Will you join me?

Be well,

Technicolor girl

image created by Ink+ LLC

An Invitation and a Challenge

I received the invitation below in today's email:

Take the SNAP Challenge with Us – October 6 to 12

Maryland Hunger Solutions, along with D.C. Hunger Solutions and Virginia Hunger Solutions, invite you to join us in taking the SNAP Challenge (October 6 -12, 2014) to highlight the struggles faced by too many throughout our region who can’t afford the food they need.

SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, previously known as food stamps) is an essential lifeline that helps millions of Americans keep food on the table, but the current benefit level is far too low. (In Maryland, the program is known as the Food Supplement Program.) Currently, the average benefit is about $33 for the week – or about $1.57 per person, per meal. By taking the SNAP Challenge and using that average benefit as your budget for food and beverages for a week, participants can see the difficult choices that low-income families are forced to make while food shopping with limited resources, realizing how difficult it is to avoid hunger, afford nutritious foods, and stay healthy.

Why Take the Challenge?

photo by TEP

• Because hunger isn’t getting better in this country. One in eight Maryland households still struggles with hunger.
• Because SNAP benefits remain too low, resulting in people having to struggle to afford healthy and adequate food for their families.
• Because you believe it is time for the nation to act and make ending hunger in this country a priority.

I'm in.  Watch for details about my SNAP Challenge journey in October.


Be well,

Technicolor girl 

image courtesy of InkPlus, LLC

Hear the Crunch!

I am grateful for the opportunity to experience aspects of dining and culinary arts. I am also very aware that not everyone has the opportunity. Today I want to talk about hunger.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) (U.N. 1948), Article 25, states, “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including food..."

I live in Maryland. Maryland is one of the wealthiest states in the United States and yet one in eight Marylanders struggle to put food on the table each day. I am concerned about all who don't have access to the food they need, but especially children. A hungry school aged child is less likely to be able concentrate on tasks and is more likely to be tardy or absent from school.


Michael J. Wilson, MDHS Executive Director

Today,  Maryland Hunger Solutions (MDHS)  hosts "Hear the Crunch", an educational and fun event informing the public about the impact of hunger on school aged chilren. I asked MDHS Executive Director, Michael J. Wilson, to tell me a little more about  "Hear the Crunch".

"Maryland may be the wealthiest state in the nation, but hunger runs deep. It affects old and young alike, but it can be solved by connecting all who are eligible to the federal nutrition programs. If we start with breakfast,we know that about 56% of student who qualify for free and reduced lunch are actually getting breakfast in school. How do we get that to 100% where it should be? What if we create something to celebrate breakfast, to focus on the importance of breakfast? Not just breakfast, but on the health and the nutrition and importance of breakfast?

We are not the first state to do an apple crunch; D.C. has done it, New York City did what it called "The Big Apple Crunch", and there was even  a school in Prince George's County that did it once. But our goal was to have kids crunching an apple from the Allegheny Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, from the D.C.suburbs to Baltimore. People have really rallied to it; apples will be served on the menu in hundreds if schools. Not only that, but apples will be served in Head Start centers in Howard County and senior centers throughout Baltimore. Offices in Montgomery County, food banks, and dozens of organization have pledged to take photos biting an apple, in solidarity with their neighbors from across the state.

 

Focusing on health and nutrition should start with breakfast and in Maryland, #HearTheCrunch is the beginning part of the continuing conversation of the addressing hunger in our state."

The event concludes with  thousands of Marylanders state wide taking a bite into a crunchy apple to help fight childhood hunger. I will take a bite into an apple later this morning and I have opted to participate in the "Hear the Crunch!" Paper Apple activity.

Why do I care you ask? I care because I have been unemployed, looking for work and have gone to bed hungry. I have tried to purchase a week's worth of  groceries with less than $5. Access to food is a human right.

If you live in Maryland I hope you will consider participating in the "Hear the Crunch" event and. If  you live outside of Maryland, consider taking a bite of your favorite variety of apple anyway.

No child should be hungry.
#HearTheCrunch!