Anti-Hunger Advocacy Opportunities for the Upcoming Biden Recovery Plan
As the Biden Administration prepares to release its American Family Plan (aka Human Infrastructure Plan), there are a number of opportunities for anti-hunger advocates to weigh-in. Urge the Biden Administration to:
- Establish Healthy School Meals for All so that all students are hunger-free and ready to learn. Send a direct email and/or tweet to your Members of Congress through the FRAC Action Network.
Make long-term investments in SNAP benefits and infrastructure - Expand the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and the Afterschool and Summer Nutrition Programs as part of childcare priorities. Working parents rely heavily on these programs while children are in childcare, afterschool, and summer programs.
- Make the Child Tax Credit improvements permanent to cut child poverty in half.
American Rescue Plan Amendment Summary
What are the latest amendments to the American Rescue Plan?
Budget Reconciliation 101
Curious about Budget Reconciliation? Unsure about the process or special rules to look out for? Explore this three-page report that explains what you need to know.
FRAC’s Priorities for the Current Budget Reconciliation Bill, S. Con. Res. 5
FRAC urges Congress to pass a bold reconciliation package necessary to lift the country out of the devastating economic and health crisis that has been inflicted by COVID-19. FRAC supports a $1.9 trillion package that will supply desperately needed relief that is commensurate to the harms that the entire nation is grappling with, and that includes key interventions that will help ensure tens of millions of people who are struggling with hunger get the nutrition they need.
FRAC Urges House Education and Labor Committee to Vote on Budget Reconciliation Bill to Deliver Much-Needed Hunger Relief
The Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) commends House Education and Labor Committee Chair Robert C. “Bobby” Scott for introducing a budget reconciliation bill that will significantly alleviate food hardship for children, toddlers, and families as the health and economic fallout of COVID-19 continues to unfold.
Omnibus and Coronavirus Response Package
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 includes a number of provisions that will support the implementation of the Pandemic EBT program during fiscal year 2021 and provides emergency funding for School Nutrition Programs and Child and Adult Care Food Programs (CACFP). The Act also provides $42 million for Summer EBT, $30 million for school meal equipment grants, and $12,000,000 for Farm to School Grants.
Congress Passes Year-End Package with COVID Relief and FY 2021 Appropriations
Before leaving for the holidays, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, a package that provides an immediate and essential downpayment on nutrition and other critical assistance for tens of millions of people across the country whose lives have been upended by the pandemic. The relief package boosts the SNAP maximum benefit by 15 percent for six months (through June 30, 2021), among other nutrition and anti-poverty provisions. Check out FRAC’s statement for more information, as well as the Congressional division-by-division summaries of the COVID relief provisions, appropriations provisions, and authorizing matters of the package.
Congress Passes Year-End Package with COVID Relief and FY 2021 Appropriations
Before leaving for the holidays, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, a package that provides an immediate and essential downpayment on nutrition and other critical assistance for tens of millions of people across the country whose lives have been upended by the pandemic. The relief package boosts the SNAP maximum benefit by 15 percent for six months (through June 30, 2021), among other nutrition and anti-poverty provisions. Check out FRAC’s statement for more information, as well as the Congressional division-by-division summaries of the COVID relief provisions, appropriations provisions, and authorizing matters of the package.
Universal School Meals Sign On Letter
FRAC joined 63 other national organizations in signing a letter to urge President-Elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Harris to implement universal school meals. This would ensure that every child in the U.S. has access to the nutritious breakfast and lunch at school that can help support their academic success. The current pandemic has highlighted the critical role that school meals play for children, particularly those from low-income households and will be an important educational and health support as the nation recovers from the pandemic.
Food Research & Action Center’s Transition Recommendations: “This is the Time to Heal in America,” and It Begins With Addressing Hunger
FRAC’s transition recommendations provide a roadmap for the Biden-Harris Administration to address hunger in America. It sets forth the harms of food insecurity, summarizes the strengths of the federal nutrition programs, and concludes with high-priority recommendations for administrative and legislative asks that need to be taken to reduce hunger and poverty.
CR That Takes Important Steps to Address Childhood Hunger is Signed Into Law
On September 30, the Senate passed and the President signed into law H.R.8337, a continuing resolution (CR) that will carry government programs at FY 2020 funding levels until December 11. It was passed by the House of Representatives on September 22. The CR included provisions that will go a long way in addressing childhood hunger, including strengthening and expanding Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) through fiscal year 2021; extending the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) authority to issue child nutrition waivers and extend WIC administrative waivers through Fiscal Year 2021; and providing state SNAP agencies with needed flexibilities to adjust operations during COVID-19 without prior USDA approval. See FRAC’s statement and this section-by-section summary from the House Appropriations Committee for more information.
While the CR’s temporary investments are an important step for children who are learning remotely or in a hybrid learning model or in child care, millions of families are still struggling. We urge Congress to address quickly overall household hunger and economic turmoil through a longer-term comprehensive COVID-19 relief package that includes benefit boosts to SNAP and makes investments in other critical programs that assist people in meeting their basic needs during COVID-19. Check out FRAC’s COVID-19 Actions page for more information.
Want to help fight hunger during the pandemic? Check out our COVID-19 Actions page.
Looking for the latest information from FRAC on the coronavirus? Our COVID-19 page has all the updates.
Action: Contact your Representatives and Senators and urge them to support SNAP in any future COVID-19 relief packages by:
- boosting SNAP maximum benefits by 15 percent;
- increasing the minimum SNAP benefit from $16 to $30;
- and suspending all SNAP administrative rules that would terminate or weaken benefits.
Check out FRAC’s action alert for more information.
Past action: Senators called
Urge Passage of H.R. 6201 – Families First Coronavirus Response Act
As the coronavirus pandemic grips the nation, the House is poised to take a very positive step in responding to the needs of households, especially low-income and vulnerable individuals and families. This is a public health and economic crisis that requires swift action.
Act Today! Call your Senators TODAY at (202) 224-3121 and urge them to quickly pass H.R. 6201 – Families First Coronavirus Response Act. All Senators need to hear from their constituents that we need these protections NOW to take a critically important first step toward addressing this public health and economic crisis. Families and workers across the country need access to vital programs and basic needs. The bill protects people most in need, and so protects all of us.
Take Action: Trump administration wants to cut the Power of SNAP for Hungry Households
Tell the administration that USDA’s proposed rule on SNAP Standardization of State Heating and Cooling Standard Utility Allowances, which would cut program benefits by a total of $4.5 billion over five years, would cause 19 percent of SNAP households to get lower SNAP monthly benefits, and exacerbate the struggles many low-income people have paying for costs of both food and utilities.
Check Out the Bills We’re Supporting
As Congress begins the Child Nutrition Reauthorization (CNR) process, find information on the current child nutrition bills, as well as others, on the Bills We’re Supporting page. And look for the latest CNR news and resources on the Child Nutrition Reauthorization page.
Proposed Changes to SNAP Could Leave Nearly 1 Million Children Without Access to Free School Meals
A surprise release of data that the USDA should have disclosed earlier underscores the deep harm of its proposed rule to limit access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): eliminating food assistance for 3.1 million people and jeopardizing free school meals for nearly 1 million children.
President Signs Farm Bill
President Trump signed the Farm Bill into law on December 20. Read FRAC’s analysis. The final Farm Bill conference report was filed the evening of Monday, December 10. On December 11, the Senate passed the conference report, 87-13. The House passed the bill on December 12 by a vote of 369-47. Check out FRAC’s statement.
10 Facts Every Candidate Should Know About Hunger
With the upcoming presidential election, FRAC’s one-stop-shop for anti-hunger advocates provides the facts and tools that are needed to ensure every candidate knows about the extent of hunger in America and the solutions that exist to solve it.
Take Action
Urge Congress: Do Not Leave D.C. Until SNAP Boost is Included in Final COVID-19 Deal
COVID-19 Actions Page
Read FRAC’s Farm Bill Primer
Read More
Prohibit Lunch Shaming: Endorse S. 1064 and H.R. 2401
Organizations: Take action here
Organize a Site Visit
Read MoreThe Anti-Lunch Shaming Act of 2017
Read more
Recent Publications & Data
See More Resources- Report
This brief explains how states have provided vital food assistance for noncitizens with legal status who are not eligible for SNAP due to their immigration status.
Read the Brief - Graphic
Explore these graphics and share them on social media to show your network the importance of the Community Eligibility Provision.
Read the report - Guide
The American Rescue Plan includes a provision that expands access to fruits and vegetables for mothers and children participating in the Special Supplemental Nutrition
Explore the Guide
Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). - Advocacy Tool
Congress has an important opportunity in 2021 to improve the health of millions of our nation’s children by passing a strong reauthorization bill that protects and strengthens the child nutrition programs. These successful, cost-effective federal nutrition programs play a critical role in helping children in low-income families get access to child care, as well as to educational and enrichment activities, while improving their overall nutrition, health, development, and academic achievement.
Explore the Advocacy Tool
News
FRAC Chat
The Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program, created in March 2020, provides an EBT card with the value of free school breakfast, lunch, and a snack to make up for the free or reduced-price meals that children have missed due to schools that have closed or reduced their hours. For the millions of struggling families who have received P-EBT benefits — the program has offered a lifeline during unprecedented food insecurity and economic hardship.
Community eligibility election season is here! Community eligibility allows more than 32,000 high-poverty school districts across the country to offer free breakfast and lunch to all students on a 4-year cycle.
A recent “NCSEA On Location” podcast, sponsored by the National Child Support Enforcement Association, focused on how the child support program and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) work to address food insecurity within families. In general, child support refers to the ongoing payments made by one parent to another parent to provide financial support for a child.