Push for stronger nutrition and human needs programs to support low-income people during the current economic downturn and time of rapidly rising food prices.

Over the next four weeks, there are a number of actions you can take to reinforce the need for Congress to act on behalf of low-income families. While members of the House and Senate are back in their home districts until Labor Day, you can take action - click on the following action ideas to find out more:

• Meeting with your Members of Congress and urging them to make nutrition programs investments a priority in any economic stimulus legislation.


• Urging your Member of Congress to support expansion of the refundable Child Tax Credit.


• Attending and speaking at a USDA Child Nutrition Reauthorization Listening Session.


• Organizing a Summer Food Site Visit with your Member of Congress.


• Getting nutrition program priorities into the election-year debate.


• Educating your Members of Congress and the media about the important changes in the Farm Bill.


• Hosting a Food Stamp Challenge.

Meet with your Members of Congress and elected officials
and urge them to make nutrition programs investments a priority in any economic stimulus legislation.

What you can do: Ask elected officials to take public shopping trips to see how much more it costs a family for groceries - check out Boston Mayor Menino's shopping trip:

Most important is a temporary increase in food stamp benefits, which is desperately needed to help low-income Americans grapple with rising food prices and shrinking incomes. Also needed are: additional food stamp administrative support; and increased funding for WIC, the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) and The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). FRAC and allies also are urging funding for state fiscal relief, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), Head Start, Child Support Enforcement, Unemployment Insurance and other programs that support families in need.

Urge your Member of Congress to expand the Child Tax Credit
by lowering the threshold from the current $12,050 to $8,500, and demand the Child Tax Credit be included in any tax legislation that moves through this Congress.

Click here for state data.
Click here for a sign-on letter signed by over 1,100 organizations.

Attend and Speak at a USDA Child Nutrition Reauthorization Listening Session

Three sessions will be held during the August recess:

August 6 - Mid-Atlantic Region States Listening Session, Baltimore, MD

August 6 - Western Region States Listening Session, San Francisco

August 20 - Southeast Region States Listening Session, Atlanta, GA

Follow the links above for more information on attending each listening session.

Organize a Summer Food Site Visit While Members Are Home

August recess is the perfect time to “do lunch” with your elected official at a Summer Food Site. Reps. George Miller (D-CA), Howard "Buck" McKeon (R-CA), Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO) have sent a "Dear Colleague" letter to Members of Congress urging them to visit summer sites and experience the program first-hand.

FRAC just released Hunger Doesn't Take a Vacation: Summer Nutrition Status Report 2008. The report, which gives data (summer 2007) for all states and looks at national trends, finds that the Summer Nutrition Programs continue to fall far short in reaching eligible low-income children. Click here for press release.

Download FRAC's step-by-step Planning a Summer Food Site Visit (pdf).

For technical assistance, contact Crystal FitzSimons, Ellen Teller or Etienne Melcher.

Get Nutrition Program Priorities into the Election-Year Debate

• Host and/or attend candidate forums (in a non-partisan manner).
• Ask candidates about their commitment to addressing hunger and poverty in the U.S. and what specific policies and investments they will support.
• Send candidates a questionnaire about their policy positions on hunger and poverty.
• Participate in non-partisan voter registration activities.
• Meet with reporters and editorial writers and urge them to ask candidates about their positions on hunger and poverty.

Educate your Members of Congress and the media about the important changes in the Farm Bill

1. Thank Members of Congress who supported the nutrition title of the Farm Bill and invite them to visit food stamp offices, food stamp outreach events, farmers’ markets that accept Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards, and food banks and food pantries to learn more about the Food Stamp Program and to let the media and public know about the important law changes that will take effect October 1.


2. Explain to members why a food stamp benefits boost still is needed as economic stimulus and to help struggling families.


3. Write a letter to the editor or op-ed in support of the new law changes and/or a stimulus boost. For technical assistance on Farm Bill implementation work, contact Ellen Vollinger.

Host a Food Stamp Challenge

...and ask your Members of Congress and candidates to participate. Click here for a Food Stamp Challenge toolkit prepared by The Hatcher Group and here for here for FRAC’s Food Stamp Challenge webpage. For technical assistance in mounting Challenge activities, contact Ellen Vollinger.