U.S. Poverty Weekly Update April 24, 2018

U.S. Poverty Campaigns

Weekly Update | April 24, 2018

“Restricting SNAP benefits will only produce more hungry Americans, and I call on Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen as well as Rep. John Delaney, to fight work requirements and restrictions on access to SNAP.”

– RESULTS DC volunteer Lisa Peters in an April 19 letter to the editor in Baltimore Sun

Quick Media Action: Tell Lawmakers to Oppose SNAP Cuts in House Farm Bill

Got Two Minutes? Request Face-to-Face Meetings for Next Week’s Recess

On Thursday, House Agriculture Committee passed H.R. 2, the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018, i.e. the new Farm Bill, which now goes to the full House for a vote. Before that vote, both the House and Senate will be on recess, next week April 30-May 4. This is a critical opportunity to let your members of Congress know that House Farm Bill attacks on SNAP (formerly called food stamps) are unacceptable.

The House is proposing to drastically expand work requirements under SNAP and narrowing eligibility for SNAP and other programs (for details, see last week’s Update and join the webinar discussed below). It also places onerous new paperwork requirements on recipients and states. Because of these changes, it is estimated that SNAP will be cut by at least $20 billion over the next ten years resulting in 2 million people losing all or part of their SNAP benefits. Having just passed a $1.5 trillion tax cut for America’s wealthy, it is unconscionable Congress would now try to pay for it by depriving hungry families of food.

The full House is expected to vote on the bill right after the recess, which makes getting to them next week vitally important. We know that talking face-to-face with Congress is the most effective way to make your voice heard. Make sure you are talking to them next week about protecting SNAP.

TAKE ACTION: Take two minutes to contact House and Senate offices about scheduling a face-to-face meeting with your members of Congress during next week’s recess. Tell them you want to talk about protecting access to food assistance under SNAP. Follow up from a previous request or, if you’ve never requested a lobby meeting before, use our online template to submit your request today. If you cannot get a face-to-face meeting, ask to meet with their staff to talk about protecting SNAP. Once you get a meeting scheduled, please contact Meredith Dodson for materials and messaging strategy to make the most of your conversation (also read the updated SNAP Lobby Request and recent RESULTS Blog post on SNAP).

Got Ten Minutes? Bring Back-Up to Your Lobby Meetings Next Week (April Action)

With the House moving to vote on their new Farm Bill in early May, we want to send a strong message about protecting SNAP. The first step is setting up meetings with lawmakers and their staff during next week’s recess (see above). The second step is making a powerful argument against new work requirements and eligibility restrictions for SNAP (contact Meredith Dodson to help you get ready for your meetings).  The third step is bringing back-up to bolster your argument for protecting SNAP. Do this by inviting new people you’ve engaged through #LettersGetLOUD to attend the meetings with you. Give them first-hand experience at being in a lobby meeting. Also, bring your recent #LettersGetLOUD letters to hand-deliver to your members of Congress in your meeting. This will help show them that a wide-swath of constituents in their district oppose any efforts to prevent families from getting needed food assistance. If you don’t have any letters to deliver, write some before your meetings and urge others to write with you.

TAKE ACTION: Take ten minutes to make the most of lobby meetings next week by writing more #LettersGetLOUD letters to each of your members of Congress urging them to reject the House proposal to cut SNAP for up to 2 million people (see details above). Use the April Action for talking points in your letters. Gather as many letters as possible to deliver in your lobby meetings. In addition, reach out to people who have written #LettersGetLOUD letters to invite them to attend any meetings (or town halls) you get next week. Give them the opportunity to see their work in action. If you have questions or need assistance, please contact Jos Linn.

Got Sixty Minutes? Join Webinar Today at 3:30pm ET on How to Stop SNAP Cuts in the Farm Bill

Our friends at the Coalition on Human Needs, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Feeding America, and the Food Research and Action Center want to help you stop the House Farm Bill. Today at 3:30 pm ET, they are hosting the webinar “Strategies to Stop SNAP Proposals that Take Away Food Assistance from Millions.” On the webinar, you’ll more about how the House Farm Bill would harm SNAP participants and communities across the country, how best to talk about the Farm Bill, and actions you can take to protect SNAP. Take advantage of this free resource to use in your upcoming lobby meetings and letters to Congress.

TAKE ACTION: Take sixty minutes to listen to the Stop SNAP Cuts webinar today, April 24 at 3:30 pm ET. To participate in this free webinar, register at: https://chn.peachnewmedia.com/store/seminar/seminar.php?seminar=112719.

Get a Jump on our Media Work in May

To bolster the message your sending directly to members of Congress in meetings and letters about protecting SNAP, we’re going to focus on generating media in May. We want as many letters to the editor and op-eds as possible published letting Congress know that denying food assistance to families struggling to find work is wrong and unpopular.

We’ll have more resources about this action on our May 1 U.S. Poverty Webinar (8:00 pm ET) and the May Action Sheet, but you can get a head start on your May media work by checking out our new RESULTS Blog post with a sample letter, links to local data, and tips for getting published. If and when you get published, please send a link to your piece to Jos Linn. And remember to send copies to your congressional offices too!

Quick News

Come See Marianne Williamson at the RESULTS Conference. Renowned author and speaker Marianne Williamson is coming back to the RESULTS International Conference! She is hosting a workshop on Saturday morning, July 14 to help us look at the inner issues contributing to our current political dysfunction and how we can break free from them. Ms. Williamson is an extraordinary speaker so make your plans today to come get inspired.  Register for the Conference today at www.resultsconference.org.

Register for the Conference before Early Bird Expires. The discounted Early Bird registration fee expires three weeks from today on May 15. Don’t miss out on this chance to save some money – register today!

Join our May Friends and Family Fundraising Campaign. Help support the work of RESULTS by joining our Support Moms, Championing Kids online fundraising campaign in May. Use our quick and easy online fundraising tools to ask friends and family to donate to our work. Your participation will help us secure the funds needed to continue our work to end poverty. For help in getting started, visit the campaign page or contact Mea Geizhals. Also, join our Campaign Kick Off Training next Thursday, May 3 at 8:30 pm ET. Join online at: http://fuze.me/37000190 or dial (408) 610-1042, Meeting ID: 37000190#.

Nominate a Journalist for the Cameron Duncan Award. Help us recognize a great journalist who cares about issues of poverty. Nominate a writer or editor you know for this year’s Cameron Duncan Media Award – someone who demonstrates a commitment to fairly and accurately covering issues of U.S. and/or global poverty in the news.

Consider the REAL Change Fellowship.  If you know an emerging leader aged 18-30 who would make a welcomed addition to RESULTS’ anti-poverty work, urge them to apply for the REAL Change Organizing and Advocacy Fellowship to Fight Poverty.

Kerner Report Reminds Us that Inequities Still Exist. This February marked the 50th anniversary of the Kerner Report, a seminal publication that shed a light on various forms of systemic discrimination that had been levied against African Americans in the U.S. The report warned that the country was sinking into division becoming, “two societies – one black and one white–separate and unequal," and called for an end to racial discrimination along with targeted investment in African American communities to mend the chasm. 50 years after the Kerner Report, many of the racial inequities detailed in the report remain in the U.S. today. Read the new RESULTS Blog post by RESULTS 2018 Emerson Hunger Fellow Funke Aderonmu about the anniversary and the unresolved issues it calls on us all to address.

Upcoming Events

Go to the RESULTS Events Calendar to see a full list of RESULTS events. Also, find a list of the RESULTS U.S. Poverty staff with contact information on the RESULTS website.

Upcoming U.S. Poverty staff time out of the office: Meredith Dodson, April 20.

House and Senate Recess, April 30 – May 4. After any lobby meeting, please complete the RESULTS Lobby Report Form to let us know how it went.

RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Webinar, Tuesday, May 1 at 8:00 pm ET. Participate at http://fuze.me/32255914 or (201) 479-4595, Meeting ID: 32255914#.

RESULTS May Fundraising Campaign Kick Off Training, Thursday, May 3 at 8:30 pm ET. Join online at: http://fuze.me/37000190 or dial (408) 610-1042, Meeting ID: 37000190#.

U.S. Poverty Free Agents Calls, Tuesday, May 15 at 1:00pm and 8:00 pm ET. Login at http://fuze.me/32256018 or dial in by phone at (201) 479-4595, Meeting ID: 32256018#.

RESULTS Anti-Oppression Training Webinar, Tuesday, May 15 at 9:00p m ET. We will do "cultural sketches" understand how our identities influence our values, decisions, behaviors, and opportunities. Login at http://fuze.me/33986526 or dial (201) 479-4595 Meeting ID: 33986526#.

Memorial Day, Monday, May 28. All RESULTS offices closed.

2018 RESULTS International Conference, July 14-17, 2018, Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, D.C. Registration is now open – register today. Watch our new 2018 Conference video and share it (along with our flyer) with others you know!

Other Resources

Get Your RESULTS Promo Materials. If you need banners, pens, stickers, or business cards for your local RESULTS work, fill out our Materials Order Form and we’ll send them to you.

Got a Question for the RESULTS Board? If you have a question, comment, or suggestion for the RESULTS/RESULTS Educational Fund Board, please e-mail them to RESULTS Grassroots Board Member Steven McGee at [email protected]. View the most recently published Board minutes on the RESULTS website, as well as RESULTS’ most recent Annual Report.

Please Fill Out the Lobby Report Form. After any lobby meeting, please fill out the RESULTS Lobby Report Form to let us know how it went. When you have a meeting where both U.S. and global poverty issues are discussed, please fill it out twice.