Monument is proud to work with Feeding America, the nation’s network of nearly 200 food banks, at this critical time in our nation’s history. Even before COVID-19 was a cause for major concern in the U.S., Feeding America has led the charge to help seniors, students and families have access to healthy, nutritious foods, and as often as possible they work with USDA to accomplish that.
As the House and Senate discussed what their immediate response should be to COVID-19, Feeding America, as a trusted partner, laid out the needs of the nation’s hungry. Kate Leone, the Chief Government Relations Officer at Feeding America, told the House and Senate leaders “the greatest challenge facing our network is preparing to provide food for those affected by COVID-19 and related disruptions while continuing to meet the nutritional needs of the more than 37 million Americans struggling with food insecurity we already serve.”
Feeding America advocated for policy priorities including flexibility for schools, flexibility for getting food to hungry students, additional food for food banks, and a recognition that now was not the time to make drastic changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), other than to potentially allow for wider use of the Online SNAP pilot program that has been expanding to new states quickly.
When the House passed the Disaster Supplemental on Saturday, several of these major priorities were part of the bill, and it was a recognition of their work in the community that led to policy wins that will benefit Americans. As the crisis continues to unfold, Monument looks forward to working with Feeding America to advocate for our nation’s most vulnerable and ensure they are part of the solutions put forward.
To learn more about Feeding America’s work in policy, follow @hunger on Twitter, and consider volunteering at your local food bank. Volunteers are the lifeblood of our nation’s food banks, and as much as people can do that and maintain social distancing, please consider giving back so that seniors, children, and families can get the food they need. Check out @FeedingAmerica or www.feedingamerica.org to find your local food bank or pantry or donate online.
Find out more about how you can support our nation’s food banks at the critical time at www.feedingamerica.org
Contact: T.A. Hawks, tahawks@monumentadvocacy.com