1. Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Advocacy
United Way of Pennsylvania

2. Agenda Overview of the Farm Bill and SNAP
How SNAP impacts Pennsylvanians
UWP messaging around SNAP
Advocacy efforts to protect SNAP
United Way of Pennsylvania

3. Overview of the Farm Bill and SNAP
United Way of Pennsylvania

4. What is the Farm Bill and why does it matter?
The Farm Bill is the major agriculture and food legislation providing policies and programs that help support the United State’s agriculture economy and supports rural communities
Revisited every 5 years by Congress for reauthorization
What does the Farm Bill do:
Provides a safety net to farmers and ranchers;
Provides funding for conservation programs;
Promotes agricultural exports;
Support producers of fruits and vegetables;
Provides opportunities for better health;
Helps support economic development for rural areas of the state; and
Provides funding to promote infrastructure
United Way of Pennsylvania

5. Overview of SNAP

6. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
What is SNAP?
SNAP, was formally known as the Food Stamp Program, is the nation’s largest anti-hunger program.
Program provides timely, targeted, and temporary support to low-income households for the purchase of food.
How does SNAP work?
SNAP serves households with income up to 130% of the federal poverty line that meet asset limitations.
SNAP amounts are based on the Thrifty Food Plan
Average month SNAP benefit per person in 2017 was about $126, roughly $4.13 a day or $1.38 per meal
Benefits are delivered monthly through an EBT to allow only the purchase of food
United Way of Pennsylvania

7. Impacts of SNAP in Pennsylvania

8. How Does SNAP Impact Pennsylvania?
In FY 2017, SNAP reached 1,843,000 of residents (14% of the population)
Over 63% of SNAP participants are in families with children
Nearly 42% SNAP participants are in families with members who are elderly or are disabled
Over 44% of participants are in working families
90% of eligible individuals participated in SNAP in 2015 and 78% of eligible workers participated

9. How Does SNAP Impact Pennsylvania?
Many PA households struggle to put food on the table:
12.5% of households were “food insecure,” or struggled to afford a nutritional diet
12.9% of the population lived below the poverty line
18.1% of children lived below the poverty line
7.8% of elderly lived below the poverty line
SNAP kept thousands of Pennsylvanians out of poverty
10,400 authorized retail locations are available for SNAP recipients to purchase food from

10. UWP SNAP Messaging

11. Goals of United Way of Pennsylvania and our Network
Protect and strengthen SNAP to maintain its responsiveness to combat hunger and provide financial stability
Ensure policies promote access and facilitate enrollment rather than create roadblocks

12. SNAP Supports Work and the Economy
SNAP helps stretch working families’ budgets to provide the basics.
SNAP helps workers who have fallen on tough times in-between work
SNAP enrollment is counter-cyclical making it one of the most responsive programs in stabilizing families
For every $1 increase in household SNAP generates about $1.70 in economic activity

13. SNAP is Efficient, Temporary, and Reduces Poverty
SNAP has a rigorous systems to determine eligibility upfront
SNAP is accurate, with more than 96% of SNAP benefits issued correctly to eligible households
73% of SNAP participants are from households at or below the federal poverty level
Between 2009 and 2012, SNAP kept an average of 342,000 people out of poverty in PA
More than 80% of SNAP participants are working in the year before or after getting SNAP

14. SNAP Helps People from Vulnerable Populations and All Communities
On average, SNAP reaches 944,462 households per month
SNAP helps 1 of 8 rural and metro households and 1 of 7 small town households
In PA, nearly 700,000 of the people on SNAP are children
About 185,000 of PA’s SNAP beneficiaries are seniors
Seniors who are enrolled in SNAP have better health
About 688,000 PA SNAP participants are people with disabilities

15. Advocacy to Support SNAP

16. How to Engage in SNAP Advocacy
Send a letter to PA’s congressional delegation and ask your staff/donors/volunteers to engage
Ask for SNAP stories from your communities
Share social media messages to engage your followers on SNAP

17. How to Engage in SNAP Advocacy
Plan an op-ed or LTE to discuss the impacts of SNAP in Pennsylvania and your community
Plan to include SNAP education in already planned events relating to food security
Utilize tools available on UWP’s members’ only page for education to your boards, volunteers, donors, and partner agencies
Respond to UWP’s calls-to-action as they are sent out