FRAC Chat

Veterans Day provides an opportunity to salute the brave individuals who have served our country. For me, the day begins with wondering why so many men and women who have served our country now struggle with hunger. It’s simply unacceptable in one of the world’s wealthiest nations. Beyond an empty stomach, food insecurity is associated with serious and costly health problems, which no veteran should experience.

The State of Obesity recently released a collection of firsthand accounts from SNAP participants. The collection of SNAP stories goes beyond facts and figures and uses personal experience to discuss the critical support SNAP provides to individuals from all walks of life across the nation. StoryCorps and Upworthy produced the narratives with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

To address food insecurity and poverty in Maryland, more than 150 Marylanders came together for the eighth annual Maryland Food Access and Nutrition Network (MFANN) Fighting Hunger in Maryland conference in Annapolis on October 9. As the only statewide anti-hunger conference, MFANN Fighting Hunger in Maryland connects leaders from state and local agencies, nonprofits, schools, and advocacy organizations to inform, engage, and inspire action to reduce hunger and promote equity in food access and nutrition in Maryland.

Raise your hand for the many school districts across the country that are stepping up to the challenge of fighting hunger in their schools by adopting community eligibility. Below are just a few model school districts that show how invaluable community eligibility and school meals are for students.

FRAC’s Afterschool Suppers: A Snapshot of Participation report released this week finds that in October 2017, 1.2 million children received an afterschool supper, an 11 percent increase from October 2016, and 1.6 million children received a snack on an average weekday. More than 46,000 afterschool programs provided a supper, a snack, or both through the Afterschool Nutrition Programs in October 2017.