Advocating for a Stronger Tomorrow

Starting Out in Advocacy 2 Why Advocate? Advocacy vs. Lobbying How can we use our resources to tell our stories?

We Play a Role in Feeding America 3 202Food Banks202Food Banks 63,000Agencies63,000Agencies 25,000,000Americans Served25,000,000Americans Served

If We Don’t Tell Our Story Who Will? 4 More than 15% of the total US population or 46 million people fall below the poverty level 15.8% of Ohioans, nearly 1 in 6 Ohioans live in poverty

Foodbank Sources of Food 5 34% Local Donors 21% USDA 17% Feeding America 15% State of Ohio 7% Purchase Program 4% Food Drives 2% Other Food Banks

Foodbank Advocacy Work 6 What We’ve Done: Sharing Stories Community Conversations with State Legislators Lobby Days: Visits to the Statehouse Network Sign-on letters Action Alerts Where We’re Headed: Greater Participation in Network Advocacy Activities Greater Agency Advocacy in Local Communities Providing tools for advocacy Providing an avenue for agencies to share their activities and stories

Why it Works 7 Personal stories From Constituents Strength in Numbers Unconventional Method

Why it Matters 8 State funding supports the Ohio Food Purchase Program, the Agricultural Clearance Program and the Ohio Benefit Bank Agency Level Client Level?

The Bigger Picture of Advocacy 9 Building value for health, human services and early care & education in the public debate.

Health & Human Services Losing Ground 10

Our Work in the Last State Budget 11 Ohio’s General Assembly creates a biennial budget every 2 years. The advocacy work of AOF and its coalition helped secure an additional: $38 million for PASSPORT $27 million for behavioral health $26 million for adoption and kinship services $5 million for Federally Qualified Health Centers $4 million for Intermediate Care Facilities $1 million for emergency food ($12.5 million total per year for Ohio’s food banks)

How Do We Build Our Power? 12

Speaking With One Voice 13 Ohio needs to support families and communities still struggling in the current economy Our communities need critical work force supports, including food and housing assistance, child care, and health insurance. Our message:

Message Delivery Principles 14 Sticky Stories Personalize / Customize Concise Clear Compelling: emotional appeal or vivid imagery Story of Self: personal, emotional appeal Story of We: big picture, how does this impact all of us Story of Now: call to action

Discussion Topic 15 Tell a story of how your organization has strengthened one family or strengthened your community.

Example from Ohio Speaks 16 I am unemployed, but receive a V.A. pension of $1459 per month for a family of three. I do not have insurance for health nor does my wife who is also unemployed. My daughter receives health care free. I am thankful my mother is letting me and my family stay with her. We help take care of her since she is unable to move too well. Her home is in need of major repairs, but we can’t afford them since we prioritize food and health above shelter. After trying to pay off student loans and other bills, our livable assets are just over $7,000 for the year. If it were not for food stamps (SNAP) and soup kitchens in the area that we patronize we would seriously be worse off. These services enable my family to feel more secure. The support has allowed me to seek out employment in the social service field, but it seems my bachelor’s degree is not enough. As a result, one of my goals is to go back to school and to seek employment.

Advocacy Toolkit 17

What Now? 18 Connect with Advocates for Ohio’s Future Resources for Telling the Story of We and Now Contact information and Online Resources Start Advocating and Sharing with the Foodbank 1.Join the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank’s Advocacy Network to receive Action Alerts. 2.Submit your stories, pictures and videos at 3.Connect to resources using the Advocacy Toolkit in the Agency Zone section of