Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
Food and Agriculture Policy Collaborative is a partnership of national and local organizations working to promote the vision of healthy food and healthy economies through the advancement of four policy priorities: defending and improving SNAP benefits and eligibility; increasing consumer access to fresh, healthy food and creating jobs and vibrant communities through the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI); improving access to healthy fresh food and supporting local farmers and economies through healthy food incentives; and strengthening local and regional farm and food systems infrastructure. The Collaborative released a guide to Building Healthy Communities (pdf) in January 2015.
Breakfast
Breakfast for Learning Education Alliance encourages schools, states, and the education community to adopt and support successful strategies to increase school breakfast participation, such as Breakfast in the Classroom. Members include: the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC); The Education Trust; the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) Foundation; the National Education Association Foundation (NEA Foundation); National PTA; the American Federation of Teachers (AFT); the National Rural Education Association (NREA); and AASA, The School Superintendents Association. Alliance members work together to host webinars, develop materials, and utilize their networks to raise awareness of the important educational benefits of school breakfast and to promote the broader implementation of proven strategies to increase school breakfast participation, such as Breakfast in the Classroom. Read its statement.
Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom, funded by a grant from the Walmart Foundation, is working with high-need school districts in 20 states to support and maintain successful breakfast in the classroom programs. Members include: FRAC, the NAESP Foundation, the NEA Foundation, and SNF. Visit the website to learn more.
Out-of-School-Time Programs
CHAMPS: Cities Combating Hunger, a partnership with the National League of Cities (NLC), helps cities reduce hunger in their communities by expanding participation in federal nutrition programs. Funded by the Walmart Foundation, FRAC and the NLC currently work with six select cities—Allentown, Pennsylvania; Durham, North Carolina; Jackson, Mississippi; Little Rock, Arkansas; Miami Gardens, Florida; and Winston-Salem, North Carolina—providing city teams with grants, technical assistance, and training opportunities. Since the project started in 2012, funds have been dispersed to 77 cities.
The YMCA of the USA, with funding from the Walmart Foundation and technical assistance from FRAC, has helped provide meals and snacks to 460,000 kids and teens at 1,500 locations in communities throughout the nation. By supporting local YMCA efforts to expand access to the Summer and Afterschool Nutrition Programs, the project promotes access to nutritious meals and snacks and fun learning enrichment activities to keep youth healthy, active, and well-nourished all year long.
Hunger and Health
Partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics: Food insecurity is a critical child health issue that affects millions of children in all communities. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released a policy statement, Promoting Food Security for All Children (pdf), to address the devastating consequences of food insecurity on children’s health. In order to assist pediatricians in meeting the recommendations contained in the statement, AAP and FRAC created a toolkit [link to AAP section] to help pediatricians and their practice teams:
- screen for food insecurity in practice, using the Hunger Vital Sign*, a validated two-question screening tool developed by Children’s HealthWatch;
- connect families with food and nutrition resources in the community; and
- support national and local policies that increase access to adequate healthy food for all children and their families.
Partnership with the AARP Foundation: Nearly 1 in 5 older Americans lives in a household that struggles with hunger — a rate well above the national average. FRAC, with support from the AARP Foundation, is helping to improve older Americans’ food security by developing a free, online course and resource materials to educate health care providers on how to screen and actively address food insecurity among adults 50 years of age and older. A leadership team, with expertise in screening for food insecurity and connecting older Americans to nutrition programs, is assisting with these efforts.
*The Hunger Vital Sign Community of Practice, convened by Children’s HealthWatch and FRAC, works to facilitate conversations and collective action among a wide range of stakeholders interested in addressing food insecurity through a health care lens. The group seeks to identify research on the connections between food insecurity and health, promote the use of the Hunger Vital Sign to screen for food insecurity, and champion effective interventions to address food insecurity at practice and policy levels. The group includes individuals representing the American Academy of Pediatrics, Feeding America, The Root Cause Coalition, ProMedica, doctors, nurses, anti-hunger advocates, and public health researchers.
