FRAC Chat

To address food insecurity and poverty in Maryland, more than 150 Marylanders came together for the eighth annual Maryland Food Access and Nutrition Network (MFANN) Fighting Hunger in Maryland conference in Annapolis on October 9. As the only statewide anti-hunger conference, MFANN Fighting Hunger in Maryland connects leaders from state and local agencies, nonprofits, schools, and advocacy organizations to inform, engage, and inspire action to reduce hunger and promote equity in food access and nutrition in Maryland.

Despite benefits generally agreed to be inadequate for a healthy diet through the month, SNAP helps lift millions out of poverty by increasing their purchasing power to afford adequate food. That’s according to the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), an annual report released by the Census Bureau. In September, the Census Bureau released the SPM as well as its report on income and poverty in the U.S., and the U.S. Department of Agriculture published the latest national rates of food insecurity. Collectively, the statistics vividly demonstrate how critical it is to continue to protect SNAP from proposed cuts.

As the number of Americans who are 60 and older increases, far too many seniors struggle with hunger and food insecurity. In the U.S., 1 in 10 households with seniors face food insecurity. Recently, six anti-hunger advocates from around the nation participated in FRAC’s State Leadership Workshop on Senior Hunger, which was generously funded by The Retirement Research Foundation, to identify strategies for ending senior hunger.

September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, which provides an excellent opportunity to take a closer look at the latest research on children’s obesity rates, consequences, causes, and solutions.

A key strength of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is its structure as an entitlement program that utilizes regular channels of commerce through public and private partnerships. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers SNAP, authorizes food retailers to accept SNAP benefits. SNAP customers then redeem those benefits by using Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) debit cards at authorized stores. This makes SNAP a cost-effective means for government to get food assistance to needy people. It also means that SNAP customers can shop where and how other customers shop for their groceries. And it means SNAP can respond quickly to increased need, whether due to economic downturns or natural disasters.