Community Outreach
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a federal nutrition program, provides eligible households with funds that can be used at a variety of retailers and markets to purchase food. Yet many people don’t know if they are eligible for the benefit, or struggle to navigate the application process. Our trained, bi-lingual SNAP outreach team visits agencies to assist guests who may be eligible to apply.
With the new administration, SNAP and other federal programs were under attack, and our team’s work became even more important. In FY25, our team completed 88 outreach visits, reaching more than 1,470 households to determine eligibility, assist with applications, answer questions and offering other service referrals if needed. As a result, eligible households claimed more than $1.1 million in SNAP benefits that may have otherwise not been received.
Feeding America SNAP Grant
The Food Bank received a grant from Feeding America, kicking off a three-year initiative to protect and strengthen SNAP at the state level. The grant will allow the Food Bank to dedicate efforts to build advocacy capacity not only at the Food Bank level, but with our member agencies as well.
The Food Bank will develop a state specific workplan that will include building statewide coalitions, addressing program barriers, engaging with key state elected and appointed leaders, and advocating for policies that improve food security.
The Food Bank joins a cohort of seven states, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Delaware, Maryland and Washington DC to share best practices and learn from each other to create strong SNAP policies.