Foundation Journal

A discussion about food stamp outreach at Harvesters taught me to remember the difficulty many working poor people face when making ends meet. The trend in the charitable food assistance world shows a steady pattern of people living in poverty and with food insecurity. Many individuals neglect to apply for SNAP benefits even though they are eligible for those benefits. An AmeriCorps worker performing SNAP outreach duties at Harvesters shared how Kansas City, Kansas residents have increasingly applied for food stamps because of the instructions provided to social service workers at El Centro . The outreach worker shared how even immigrants with permanent residency status neglect to apply for these government benefits over fears they could lose their path to citizenship, despite situations which allow non-citizens to receive benefits.

The Interdisciplinary Center for Food Security at the University of Missouri  released a booklet offering "tips and strategies for linking food pantries and community partners to get healthier food onto the shelves of pantries and into the homes of food pantry customers" in January 2015. Download the 24-page PDF document for information on healthy nutritious food options.

Missouri SNAP/food stamp applicants needlessly wait longer than expected when they apply for well-deserved food assistance because application are hand-written and submitted by mail. Anything that can be done to help workers fill a gap in stagnant wages helps Missouri communities. New Jersey has pending legislation that would provide information to SNAP applicants on when their application was received. “There is a hunger crisis in New Jersey that is being made worse by a mismanaged food assistance program that leave some families without food waiting up to six months for assistance,” said Sen. Ray Lesniak, D-Union in a January 26, 2015 NewJersey.com article . “It is unconscionable to make families and children go hungry that long.” In Misssouri applicants are required to mail or deliver in person hand-written applications to a Social Services office. Once applications are sent, people applying do not receive a notice that Missouri office received the applications. In fact, appli

Organizers with Empower Missouri, formerly the Missouri Association of Social Welfare, and Catholic Charities of Central and Northern Missouri will hold a public forum titled "There’s No Plate Like Home: Health, Food &Power." The event will be Monday February 23, 2015 at 6:30 p.m. in Room 100 in the Inman E. Page library at Lincoln University, 712 Lee Drive, Jefferson City, Missouri. Here are details of the event from the organizers: This public forum will examine the connections among health, food, farming, and public policy with an aim to promoting local, sustainably-grown food, healthy food choices and availability, and the public policies surrounding these concerns. We will look at: the programs and projects that promote healthy, locally-grown food, its access, and its producers and growers in communities throughout Missouri.  how public policies and the actions of corporations affect our access to locally-grown, healthy food, and the sustainability of a

This message is directed to friends, encouraging you to make a financial donation to KKFI 90.1 FM community radio, one of my favorite KC organizations. I currently serve on the board of directors of KKFI. KKFI is a community radio station serving listeners in a 65-mile area around Kansas City. It's run by volunteers who have devoted themselves to bringing you the best music, arts, cultural, and public affairs radio programming. In a phrase, KKFI radio hosts bring voices and stories about Kansas City and our world to the airwaves that you won’t hear anywhere else. The music aired is local and vibrant in genres you rarely hear anywhere else on the radio dial -- reggae, bluegrass, hip-hop, folk, blues, and jazz. The public affairs shows focus on local and national issues with a progressive bent, and the news shows cover topics -- climate change, war and conflict, race, gender, poverty -- from a different angle.  Most importantly, the radio station airs hopeful stories from

An NPR news report on the impact on Kansas hospitals because of failed efforts to expand Medicaid aired this week. The report shares how "Governor Sam Brownback and Republican legislative leaders have shown no interest in expanding Medicaid," while documenting the loss of federal funds and hospitals' case to press Kansas legislators to pick up the Obamacare subsidies. Missing from the report is an update on the impact on the lives of people eligible for health services in Kansas.