Resources
Hunger & Poverty in America
Explore the DataFood Insufficiency during COVID-19
Explore the DataAfterschool Suppers: A Snapshot of Participation – October 2021 and October 2022
Read our latest reportSummer EBT Resource Center
Learn moreHealthy School Meals for All
Learn MoreExpanded Child Tax Credits: A Transformational Opportunity to Help Families Put Food on the Table Research Brief
Learn moreBudget Reconciliation 101
Explore our reportUSDA Guidelines on Using Existing Authority to Implement SFSP and SSO Meal Delivery
Q&As from the USDA on the logistics of delivering meals through the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and the Seamless Summer Option (SSO) while using existing authority.
News
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Every year on October 16, World Food Day, founded in 1979 by the United Nations, aims to raise awareness of hunger and malnutrition, and create an opportunity to promote healthy diets for all. Opportunities to combat hunger and improve nutrition cannot be for a short-term fix. Sustainable solutions are needed.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, people living in America learned very quickly that our own food supply chain is far from sustainable and is in fact quite frail, and that our safety net is tattered. Thankfully, we had the resources to create additional supports, such as Emergency Allotments for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), expanded and inclusive child tax credits, and healthy free school meals for all students, for a true safety net.
This National School Lunch Week, the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) is rallying support for a crucial initiative: a nationwide Healthy School Meals for All policy. This would ensure all students have access to the nutritious school meals they need to learn and thrive.
Soon, D-SNAP will help those impacted by Hurricane Helene — heralded as the worst hurricane of the modern era.5 With each passing year, people in America have experienced some of the costliest and most destructive storms on record.6 The climate crisis is increasing the frequency, intensity, and destruction of extreme weather events across the U.S.7
Hunger is compounded by disasters and emergencies that affect food distribution, including extreme weather events, and D-SNAP fills the gap by providing participants with emergency benefits for food.
Recent Publications & Data
See More Resources- Advocacy Tool
On September 18, 2024, FRAC Interim President Crystal FitzSimons testified in front of the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Food and Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Organics, and Research. The hearing, entitled “Keeping Kids Learning in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program,” is available to watch on the committee webpage. Read FRAC’s written testimony.
Read the testimony - Guide
FRAC’s Guide to Federal Nutrition Programs During Disasters explains how federal nutrition programs work during disasters and what advocates, elected officials, and programs service providers can do to help meet nutrition needs before, during, and after a disaster.
Read the guide - Report
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) is a critical program that provides people with low incomes, including women, LGBTQIA+ people, and their families with essential food assistance. SNAP helps ensure that women and LGBTQIA+ people can meet their basic needs and supports their well-being. But while SNAP plays a crucial role in alleviating food insufficiency for women and families, currently, there are barriers that prevent food-insecure women, especially those facing multiple forms of discrimination, from fully accessing and benefiting from SNAP. Learn more in FRAC’s updated 2024 research brief with the National Women’s Law Center, Gender and Racial Justice in SNAP.
Read the research brief - Report
FRAC’s Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation: Summer Nutrition Status Report reveals a drop in the number of children receiving nutrition over the summer following the loss of pandemic-era waivers. Download the report to learn more.
Read the report