Advocacy Resources for Food Bank Partners

The farm bill can strengthen almost every federal nutrition program that helps ease the strain and stress of hunger in communities across the country.

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• Understanding TEFAP: The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) plays a crucial role in food banking, connecting farms to food banks and providing nutritious food to those who need it.
• Understanding SNAP: Learn key facts about the most effective hunger-relief program in the U.S.
• A Feeding America poll shows 85% of likely voters support increasing TEFAP funding in the next farm bill. 80% agree it is possible to invest more in SNAP while also addressing other national priorities.
• Hunger facts: Get the latest statistics on food insecurity and the importance of strengthening programs like TEFAP and SNAP.
• The Food Bank’s Public Policy Priorities.

Understanding and using these resources, will help better equip you to make a meaningful difference in the lives of people experiencing food insecurity.

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Hunger facts:

• 100% of counties and congressional districts are home to people living with hunger.
• Hunger exists in every zip code in the U.S.
• Food insecurity among Black or Latino individuals is higher than white individuals in more than 9 out of every 10 counties.
• Child food insecurity rates are higher than 40% in some counties in the U.S.
• 1 in 3 people living with hunger are unlikely to qualify for SNAP.
• People living with hunger report needing more than $20 more per week to meet their food needs.
• 8 out of 10 high food insecurity counties are in the South.
• 9 out of 10 high food insecurity counties are rural.
• There is demand for bipartisan action on hunger. A No Kid Hungry poll shows 9 in 10 Virginians say elected officials should do more to end childhood hunger, and nearly all say that ending childhood hunger in Virginia should be a shared, bipartisan effort.

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Lift up stories from neighbors – People living with hunger can speak directly to the impact food and nutrition programs have on communities. Invite people in your community to share their personal experiences and consider the following guidelines when gathering stories: 

• Demonstrate the many reasons people come to seek food assistance during hard times, such as job loss, reduced work hours, family or medical emergencies, or unexpected issues with housing or transportation. 
• Gather stories that highlight how hunger-relief programs support people in achieving their goals. 
• Show diversity among participants, including single- and two-parent households and multigenerational households; grandparents caring for grandchildren; parents attending college; small business owners who have recently fallen on hard times; students and military families.

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