[Antiracism] Advocacy for greater food security -- support needed

[jo comerford]

Greetings:

The Food Bank is engaged in three advocacy efforts to help meet the 
immediate demands of hunger and to work for greater food security in western 
Massachusetts.

Our sincere thanks to students at the UMass Dept. of Public Policy and AJ 
Juarez of the Massachusetts Public Health Association for all their counsel.

The three initiatives are as follows:

1.	An Act To Promote Proper School Nutrition (HB 2168), action steps:
http://www.foodbankwma.org/nhad/takeaction.html

2.	The McGovern/Emerson Feeding America’s Families Act (HR 2129), action 
steps: http://www.foodbankwma.org/nhad/takeaction.html

3.	Restore funding for the Massachusetts Emergency Food Assistance Program 
(MEFAP), action steps follow.

We’d be grateful if you would make some calls and help spread the word.

Jo

***

Restore funding for the Massachusetts Emergency Food Assistance Program.
Please take two minutes to call your State Senator.

***

The Message:

“It is crucial that the Massachusetts Emergency Food Assistance Program 
remain level funded in the FY08 budget. I urge you to support the amendment 
below:

Sen. Augustus MEFAP Amendment  EHS #665, restores MEFAP CORE FOOD (Item 
#2511-0105) to $12,000,000”

***

Senator Contact:

Stephen M. Brewer
(617) 722-1540

Stephen J. Buoniconti
(617) 722-1660

Gale D. Candaras
(617) 722-1291

Benjamin B. Downing
(617) 722-1625

Michael R. Knapik
(617) 722-1415

Stanley C. Rosenberg
(617) 722-1532

Senators Candaras and Downing are co-sponsors of this amendment.  Please 
thank them if they are your Senator.

***

Further Information:

With nearly 500,000 people—a third of whom are children—in need of emergency 
food assistance in the Commonwealth, we cannot afford a funding reduction.  
In the FY07 budget, the MEFAP Core Food line (#2511-0105) was funded at $12 
million. The proposed Senate FY08 budget would decrease that by $1.5 
million. This would have an immediate negative impact on the hungry people 
The Food Bank helps feed every month.

Questions? Please contact Jo Comerford, 413.247.9738 x 118.

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