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Sacramento Hunger Commission: November 2002 Minutes
- The meeting was called to order by the chair, Rebecca Fuller.
- The October 15, 2002 meeting minutes were approved unanimously (Schroeder/Wilson).
- Commissioner and Staff Reports
- Food Stamp Program/DHA Update (Juan Valdez)
- Some recent changes in Food Stamp Program: As of 10/1/02,
there has been an increase in household allotment: for a single
individual (from $135 to $139) and for 2 people (from $248 to
$256)
- There needs to be more outreach at all levels (local, state
and federal) to raise awareness of the Food Stamp program and
eligibility requirements. Many eligible California residents
do not take advantage of the Food Stamp Program.
- USDA is planning PSAs at the local and state level.
- DHA is in the process of making a food stamp video to be
played in the lobby of DHA Buildings. The message will promote
the fact that applicants could be eligible for emergency food
stamps (to receive their first coupons within 3 days). The video
will be in the 8 main languages spoken in Sacramento County,
and when complete, will be available to anyone interested in
showing it to their clients and others.
- DHA is also in the process of printing about 3000 posters
with the title “Who Qualifies for Food Stamps?”
- DHA has started providing trainings to Homeless Providers
on the FS Program. This will continue on an annual basis.
- The FS Application process is being modified at all Bureaus-they
want to ensure that all individuals are informed that they have
the right to apply for emergency food stamps. Periodic case
reviews will be done to ensure this information is getting to
the public.
- ServSafe Food Safety Training Nov. 16 (Jenny Holliday)
Jenny Holliday, new Hunger Commission VISTA, attended the training
on Saturday that was co-sponsored by the Sacramento Hunger Commission
and California Emergency Foodlink. Thank you to the volunteer trainer,
Commissioner Nancy Magana-Alexander, Diana Maffei of FoodLink and
Peggy for all their hard work in planning and carrying out this
training. It was 8 hours and culminated in an exam to become Food
Safety certified. She reported that the material was presented in
an effective way and good questions were asked by the participants.
- Hunger Commission 2003-Recruitment and Application Process
Bylaws state that the HC can have 16-25 members. So far eight current
Commissioners have asked to be reconsidered for 2003 and 5 new applications
have been submitted. Current members were asked to please let Peggy
know in writing if they would like to be reconsidered. There is
a 5-year term-limit and you need to be reconsidered each year to
renew your membership. The deadline is December 9th. If you know
of any interested individuals, you can either put them in touch
with Peggy or direct them to the CSPC website, communitycouncil.org
- Hunger Commission Holiday Party
Our annual party will be Wednesday, December 4th, from 5-6:30 PM
at the South Natomas Library off Truxel. We will be auctioning off
art work from the Women's Wisdom Project-proceeds will all go to
the artists from the program. Judie will be the auctioneer, so come
on out, bring a friend (and some finger food if you'd like). Free
parking! Call Shana with questions.
- Pots and Pans Drive 2002 (Richard Schroeder)
This year's drive has been very successful. Cheryl Davis has been
an amazing support with her promotion of the drive at Public WORKS
meetings at 5:30 AM. We can help Richard and the Drive in two ways:
1) Let your clients know that all of these kitchen supplies are
at Mather available for pick-up 2) Collection of pots and pans is
on-going, please donate and encourage others to donate any items
having to do with the kitchen. Cindy Nelson commented that this
drive has really helped her clients. She praised Richard and the
whole program for providing these items to individuals in a very
respectful manner. Individuals can go and pick out what they want.
It would be great to outreach to youth aging out of Foster Care.
- Salvation Army Needs More Volunteers (Kevin Bond)
More volunteers (Hmong, Russian, Spanish interpreters and individuals
to sort toys) are greatly needed for the Food and Toy Drive this
winter. Please also encourage your clients to sign up (by December
16th-closed Wednesdays and weekends) to receive items from the drive
(up to 10 persons per household can sign up). Salvation Army is
collaborating with Marine Toys for Tots. They could use up to 100
people to help with toy sorting on December 9th. They also sponsor
a holiday meal on November 27th and December 23d. The December meal
serves 1500 people at 1200 North B Street at the Shelter. If you
have questions or want to volunteer please call either Kevin, John
(442-0331x3011) or Karen Gier (442-0331x3029). Kevin will provide
us all with flyers.
- Hope Awards Luncheon, November 21, 2002 (Judie Wilson, Chair of Hope
Awards Committee)
Judie is very pleased with the great work of the committee (Thank you
to: Kevin, Richard, Ernie, Shana, Peggy, Bill, Sharon, Michael and others).
Approximately 140 people are signed up for the Luncheon. Darrell Steinberg,
Congressman Bob Matsui, and the County and City are all providing the
28 nominees with certificates. Kim Wade from the Northern California
Food Banks will be the keynote speaker and will unveil new findings
on food insecurity from the CHIS Study. Six awards will be given out
to Hope Award winners. Commissioners were asked to come at 10:30 if
possible to help set up. The committee is already thinking about next
year's Hope Awards Luncheon --so please remember throughout the year
to watch out for exceptional people doing work around hunger. Several
donations were acknowledged.
- Policy Update: (Peggy)
Preparing for Child Nutrition Reauthorization at the federal level:
Peggy passed out some current information; if you are interested and
were not at the meeting, please contact her. Child Nutrition Reauthorization
will be a priority of ours this year and the November elections will
most likely have an impact on how legislation important to us is passed
this year. The most important thing we can do right now is to advocate
to get more money into the Child Nutrition Reauthorization-minimizing
barriers is key! This will be harder to sell than last year's focus
on the Farm Bill. A motion was made and seconded (Judie/Albert) to have
staff begin drafting an advocacy letter. WIC, Summer Lunch, Child and
Adult Care program, School Lunch, School Breakfast-there are lots of
programs under the Child Nutrition Reauthorization umbrella that we're
concerned about this year.
On the local scene: Measure G passed and Measure T failed. Families
with incomes under $25,000/year can get a rebate from the City Utilities
Tax. Eligible individuals may not know this. DHA is trying to get the
word out, though there is currently no specific strategy that we are
aware of. Gary said there could be some City funds for outreach, and
the Commission will look into how it could be involved.. PG&E Care
Program, SMUD Program, Libraries and Community Centers are all avenues
through which we could get the information out. .
- The Hunger Commission in 2002: A Look Backward and Forward
We just had time to begin with this-because there are so many accomplishments
from the past year. Our goals include: Educate, Advocate and Coordinate.
Here's what Peggy reported so far on the 2002 work plan:
Educate…Public Education for the general public
- Food for Thought newsletters reach 630 people about every 3 months.
This allows us to get out to the larger community.
- Hunger 101-facilitated more than our target of 8 times. Rebecca
worked at the State level with WIC representatives to created a
more nutrition-focused version of Hunger 101 that has been used
as an opening exercise for several joint WIC/Food Stamp training
conferences throughout the state. Hunger 101 will also be part of
the Health and Social Services Institute put on by the Community
Services Planning Council in January 2003. Kevin Bond noted that
it may get national exposure at a national consortium meeting on
low-income/utility issues in June 2003. If anyone has suggestions
of other groups who could benefit from Hunger 101 please let us
know.
- The Hunger Commission Website has been significantly delayed and
is still being developed, though we're very close to having it ready
to launch. Emily reported that she would like all Hunger Commissioners
to consider their 5 favorite hunger related websites in your specialty
area-she will make sure they are linked to our own website. Please
contact her at epiltch@communitycouncil.org with input. It was recommended
that “what we're doing currently” should always be on
the website.
- We never found the time for Hunger Hits Home 2002, so now we
are looking at 2003 -- though there is currently no funding for
concentration on this local study. We might report first on the
utilization of Emergency Food Systems and Federal Food Assistance
Programs in Sacramento, without dealing with all the issues related
to community food security. Several Commissioners noted that such
a report would provide focus and credibility to the Commission's
work.
- We should meet with City Council Members and Board of Supervisors
on a regular basis to get our ideas and advocacy out there locally.
Hunger Commissioners and Staff need to be more systematic in their
approach to working with policy makers.
- Media Coverage: Thanks to Judie we have had more media coverage
than in the past, mainly with Summer Lunch, though our goal is to
have more.
- Speaking Engagements: Kevin Bond has spoken twice now at events
and a Sunday School class; he is our current “Speakers' Bureau”.
Peggy noted that all the above represented only about half a page
of a three-page work plan.
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