INCREASE HPNAP
Help Hungry New Yorkers This Thanksgiving
Call Bob King, NYS Budget Director(518) 474-2300 - Ask for $25 Million for the Hunger Prevention & Nutrition Assistance Program
The Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly the SNAP Homeless and Destitute Program) is the major source of state funding for food pantries, soup kitchens shelters and food banks to assist them in their effort to provide food to hungry and homeless individuals.
The current level of state assistance to food pantries and soup kitchens ($10.8 M) is the same as it was in 1990. According to recent reports by the NYS Department of Health, US Conference of Mayors and Hunger Action Network, emergency food programs feed more than 1.5 million low-income New Yorkers a month - more than double the level of service of a decade ago.
In August, 1997, the full federal Welfare Reform package cut billions from the Welfare budget. The largest cut, $27 billion, came from the funding for food stamps.
The households hit hardest by the cuts are those that make less than 50% of the federal poverty level (less than $6700 annually for a family of three).HPNAP pays only a small portion of the costs involved in running the state’s network of emergency feeding programs. However, HPNAP is invaluable in enabling these emergency feeding programs to purchase foods with a high nutritional quality. HPNAP also assists programs in meeting their transportation and capital equipment needs.
Hunger Action Network is calling on Gov. Pataki and our State Legislators to increase HPNAP funds to $25 million for the 1999-2000 state budget. Many actions are planned over the coming months (release of EFP survey results, statewide postcard campaign, Peoples’ State of the State Rally, letter writing campaign, key visits with legislators, and more).