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During 2022, the country started to “return to normal,” while still grappling with the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. Millions of households were struggling to make ends meet and to afford the food that they and their families need. Without the federal nutrition programs, hunger prior and during the pandemic would have been far worse. The pandemic offered critical lessons on how to effectively address hunger.
Here are 10 ways that Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) took bold steps toward a nation free from hunger.

Reinstating the expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a historic opportunity to address hunger and improve the nutrition, health, and well-being of tens of millions of families across the country. That’s why more than 550 local, state, and national organizations working to end hunger signed on to a letter urging Congress to restore the expanded CTC and EITC in any end-of-year tax package.

This past year, FRAC created a new Unit dedicated to providing leadership and direction for building out our network of national, state, and local nonprofit organizations, public agencies, corporations, schools, health-care providers, and labor organizations. FRAC’s Director of Network Engagement, Betsy Kerrigan, and FRAC’s Network and Events Coordinator Nomi Small, are spearheading this work. Betsy and Nomi will focus on managing FRAC-sponsored events and supporting the expansion of our network.

One of the most important ways we can honor our nation’s veterans is by ensuring they have access to the nutrition they need to thrive.
Millions of veterans face food insecurity. According to a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service report, 11.1 percent of veterans between the ages of 18 to 64 lived in households reporting food insecurity. After controlling for demographic characteristics that normally predict food insecurity, such as age, educational attainment, and income, this report found that risk of food insecurity is 7.4 percent higher among veterans than nonveterans ages 18–64.

Disability is one of the strongest risk factors for food insecurity. In 2021, 28 percent of households that included an adult who was out of the labor force because of a disability were food insecure. This alarming rate is more than two and a half times the national rate of 10.2 percent.

To break the persistent link between disability and poverty — a root cause of hunger —, the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) joined forces with the Disability Economic Justice Collaborative (DEJC).

One important opportunity to address poverty among people with disabilities — as well as older adults — is to strengthen the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Program. SSI provides monthly cash support for millions of people who are disabled, blind, or age 65 or over with low incomes and limited resources.