FRAC Chat

FRAC, along with other anti-hunger organizations underscored five priorities for the conference.  

To ensure these priorities are put into the forefront during the conference, FRAC nominated several people to speak about  their lived experiences with hunger during a series of virtual, regional listening sessions  hosted by the White House. They shared their stories and recommendations during these sessions.

In a blog series, we will share the remarks  of a few of the advocates who spoke during these sessions

Maria Judith Alvarez spoke at the White House’s Spanish language listening session. Her testimony has been translated from the original Spanish.

As soon as this fall, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Declaration (PHE) could end, and with it, boosts to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. That looming “hunger cliff” threatens greater hardship for many in Maryland and across the country.
Despite being one of the wealthier states in terms of per capita income, hundreds of thousands of Maryland residents rely on SNAP to meet their daily nutritional needs. These same households with low-income struggling to put food on the table have felt their food and nutritional needs exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to the increased need for assistance for so many residents, in March 2020, Congress enacted the Families First Coronavirus Response Act that provided for U.S. Department of Agriculture approving state requests to issue Emergency Allotments (EAs). SNAP Emergency Allotments increase SNAP monthly benefits in Maryland to the maximum allotment for households of their size and provide an extra $95 a month to the lowest-income SNAP households. SNAP EAs have been crucial in helping 701,000 residents put healthy food on the table.

More than 50 years have passed since the United States convened the White House conference that helped elevate hunger as a national priority and sparked major improvements and expansions to the federal nutrition programs.
This September, the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health will take place with the goal of ending hunger and reducing diet-related diseases and disparities in the U.S. by 2030.
FRAC, along with other anti-hunger organizations underscored five priorities for the conference.
To ensure these priorities are put into the forefront during the conference, FRAC nominated several people to speak about their lived experiences with hunger during a series of virtual, regional listening sessions hosted by the White House. They shared their stories and recommendations during these sessions.
In a blog series, we will share the remarks of a few of the advocates who spoke during these sessions
Martina Santos spoke at the White House’s Spanish language listening session. Her testimony has been translated from the original Spanish.

New guidance from U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) urges state Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) agencies to leverage federal SNAP reimbursement funds for SNAP outreach that prioritizes work to help participants transition to regular intake rules after the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) COVID Public Health Emergency Declaration (PHE) ends, and to connect more low-participating eligible populations with benefits. State SNAP outreach plans for fiscal year 2023 are due by Monday, August 15.

More than 50 years have passed since the United States convened the White House conference that helped elevate hunger as a national priority and sparked major improvements and expansions to the federal nutrition programs.

This September, the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health will take place with the goal of ending hunger. Read FRAC’s strategies on how to end hunger in the U.S. by 2030.  In addition, FRAC, along with other anti-hunger organizations underscored five priorities for the conference. 

To ensure these priorities and strategies are put into the forefront during the conference, FRAC nominated several people to speak about their lived experiences with hunger during a series of virtual, regional listening sessions hosted by the White House. In this blog series, read the remarks from some of these advocates. 

Here are the remarks from Benyamin Chao.