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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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!