SmartBrief Food & Beverage’s Post

*GRANT ALERT** Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger Community Food Grants available for food pantries. Colorado’s new Community Food Grants support all qualifying emergency food assistance providers with funding, specifically the procurement and distribution of healthy, culturally relevant foods in communities, while also championing local agriculture. The Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger administers the grant program, in partnership with the Colorado Department of Human Services. Both food pantries and food banks are key partners in addressing hunger across Colorado. With these funds, food pantries can acquire and distribute food directly to individuals and families as aligned with community needs and priorities. Similarly, food banks can buy food in bulk and distribute the entirety of their grant purchases to the 1,200 food pantries in their agency networks. This 2024 - 2025 funding opportunity is only open to food pantries; the Blueprint has already awarded food banks with their portion of the funding. Requests can range from $5,000 - $50,000, with a total of $1 million available for food pantries. The online application closes on Friday, September 6, at 5 p.m. MST. We intend to notify applicants about funding decisions by Tuesday, October 15. https://lnkd.in/gJNUaHvw

TGIF...skipped this last week but back at it. It's another edition of a #feelgoodfriday news story. This time, we tackle hunger. Something that shouldn't be an issue in this world given the wonders of resources we have, the amount we waste and access to it. Yet, here we are. The other issue with hunger is that those that can't afford food also feel a loss of dignity because they've hit hard times. Well today, I bring to you a food bank that's not only feeding people, but also giving back dignity. The Regina Food Bank has created the first free grocery store! " The Food Hub will be stocked like any old grocery store, and unlike similar projects that operate out of churches or community centers, it will feature a produce section, floor-to-ceiling display fridges, and be open all week." “When you give choices, you give not just dignity, but actually, we figure we can feed about 25% more people.” David Froh, MA, CITP Give this story a quick read. In 3 min, this will help you walk into the weekend with a little hope for #humanity! Take a bow Regina Food Bank and may others follow your lead! https://lnkd.in/eQPiSDXb

I invite you to read, comment, and share my last article in the CT Mirror about Food Insecurity and the reasons why we need to support our local food pantries. #foodinsecurity #endhunger

“The state is leaving nearly $3.5 billion in unused federal food benefits on the table because 30% of eligible residents aren’t signed up to receive them, one of the worst rates in the country,” reports Joe Garofoli with the San Francisco Chronicle. CalFresh is one of the most effective tools to address food insecurity. That’s why the San Francisco Marin Food Bank co-sponsored AB1967, a bill to create a cabinet-level food insecurity officer to reduce the bureaucracy that prevents families from getting benefits they’re eligible for and money needed to buy their children healthy food. We’re helping to lead the way, advocating for CalFresh reform, so that our state can unlock $3.5B in federal dollars for 2.7 million low-income individuals. Ending hunger requires taking action to make it a reality, and your support of the Food bank is vital. Read the full article: https://loom.ly/kEaaMFg

Here’s what you need to know about CalFresh! ➡️ May is #CalFreshAwarenessMonth, and ensuring that people have access to nutritious food is more urgent than ever. CalFresh EBT (or SNAP, as it is known federally) provides critical aid to help 5 million food-insecure Californians put healthy food on the table. However, as California faces a budget deficit, this successful statewide program is in danger of being completely cut, which would be devastating for food-insecure families and small and mid-sized family farms. Learn about the latest updates to CalFresh and what you can do to protect and preserve California’s food safety net. https://lnkd.in/ggWpb2cz

So many things to post about today! Check out this story. Everyday, I'm working to elevate the voices of our communities. Food cost is too high. More and more people, many of which are children, are being priced out of healthy meals. Food banks have less resources yet are expected to feed more people. You can help by sharing this post! Our #PAsenate and #PAhouse can help by strengthening #SFPP and #PASS in the #PAbudget. Our #USCongress can help by strengthening #TEFAP and #SNAP in the #FarmBill. #NWPAfoodbank ***The postings on this site are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Second Harvest Food Bank.

Your neighbor is hungry. Help us ensure our lawmakers prioritize food security for every Kentuckian. Your advocacy can make a difference in ensuring fresh, wholesome food reaches our neighbors facing food insecurity. How you can help: Urge Congress to Pass a Strong Farm Bill (https://lnkd.in/ej6e64pH). Help combat hunger by advocating for a robust farm bill! A strong farm bill would include vital provisions such as increased nutrition and agriculture funding, maintaining USDA's authority to support U.S.-grown food during market disruptions, and strengthening programs like The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) to meet rising food needs. Maintain SNAP Benefits for All The Kentucky House has passed HB367 (bit.ly/housebill367ky). This bill would jeopardize SNAP benefits for 24,500 households, cost Kentucky taxpayers $2.3 million in unnecessary annual administrative costs, and remove $110.4 million in consumer spending from the Kentucky economy. Reach out to your state senator (https://lnkd.in/efM4mnHv) and members (bit.ly/legislaturekygov) of the Senate Committee for Economic Development, Tourism, and Labor. Tell them that HB367 is a bad bill that is harmful to the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Support Farms to Food Banks Help provide nutritious, locally grown produce to those in need by urging the Kentucky General Assembly to fund Farms to Food Banks (https://lnkd.in/eNDRUnD5). This initiative not only fights hunger but also promotes healthier eating habits, addressing chronic health issues prevalent among food-insecure households. Tell your state legislator (https://lnkd.in/efM4mnHv) to support Farms to Food Banks. Join Hunger Free Kentucky Day Make your voice heard at Hunger Free Kentucky Day on March 13, 2024! Join Feeding Kentucky and fellow advocates at the State Capitol in Frankfort for a day dedicated to addressing hunger issues. Register now (bit.ly/HungerFreeKYDay) to be a part of this impactful event!

Feeding the Other: Whiteness, Privilege, and Neoliberal Stigma in Food Pantries - PDF: https://lnkd.in/g_Q8iBWD How food pantries stigmatize their clients through a discourse that emphasizes hard work, self help, and economic productivity rather than food justice and equity. The United States has one of the highest rates of hunger and food insecurity in the industrialized world, with poor households, single parents, and communities of color disproportionately affected. Food pantries--run by charitable and faith-based organizations--rather than legal entitlements have become a cornerstone of the government's efforts to end hunger. In Feeding the Other, Rebecca de Souza argues that food pantries stigmatize their clients through a discourse that emphasizes hard work, self help, and economic productivity rather than food justice and equity. De Souza describes this "framing, blaming, and shaming" as "neoliberal stigma" that recasts the structural issue of hunger as a problem for the individual hungry person. De Souza shows how neoliberal stigma plays out in practice through a comparative case analysis of two food pantries in Duluth, Minnesota. Doing so, she documents the seldom-acknowledged voices, experiences, and realities of people living with hunger. She describes the failure of public institutions to protect citizens from poverty and hunger; the white privilege of pantry volunteers caught between neoliberal narratives and social justice concerns; the evangelical conviction that food assistance should be "a hand up, not a handout"; the culture of suspicion in food pantry spaces; and the constraints on food choice. It is only by rejecting the neoliberal narrative and giving voice to the hungry rather than the privileged, de Souza argues, that food pantries can become agents of food justice.

Great to speak with Newsday Media Group about Island Harvest Food Bank’s record year of emergency food distribution. During our last fiscal year (July 2023 - June 2024), we provided approximately 18.7 million pounds of emergency food to our network of 300 member agencies and directly to our neighbors in need. This is a record amount of food, more than we provided any year during the pandemic, and nearly double from 2019. The need for emergency food is greater now than ever before. If you’re interested in learning more and getting involved, please message me. Food banks face more demand, potentially fewer shipments Long Island food banks are seeing more community demand amid concerns a proposed bill in Congress could delay shipments. https://lnkd.in/e8dN9YSz