Texas Hunger Initiative

1. Texas Hunger Initiative Coming together to end hunger

2. OVERVIEW How we got started What we’re doing now The future of the Texas Hunger Initiative

3. The Beginning

4. Who we are? The Texas Hunger Initiative (THI) is a capacity-building and collaborative project. We seek to develop and implement strategies to end hunger through policy, education, Research, community organizing and community development.

6. Food Gap Calculator Designed in collaboration with the East Texas Food Bank and the Texas Food Bank Network to measure the gap in access to food in a community. Takes the number of people living at 185% of poverty and subtracts resources that are already being utilized in the community. The end result tells how many meals in a year need to be provided for a community to establish food security in their area.

8. Results Since the 2009-2010 school year, Texas increased free and reduced student participation in breakfast by 6.1%: 1,447,385 students THI is currently working with 10 ISDs which will increase BIC participation by 82,000 daily In 2010-2011, THI and state partners increased SNAP participation by 700,000 individuals which put $1 billion into the state’s food sector economy THI and our partners have increased summer meal participation by 1 million meals since 2010 Last summer, THI worked with school districts, faith communities, & non-profits to add more than 300 summer meal sites in Texas which was half of Michelle Obama’s goal for the entire nation This year THI has published the Blueprint to End Hunger and Advancing Childhood Food Security through Organizing Strategies

9. Hunger in Travis County 158,000 food insecure individuals More than 56,000 children use free/reduced price lunch program in school

10. Baylor University Research Model Assessment Plan Evaluation Implementation

11. Texas Hunger Initiative Offices Amarillo Austin Dallas El Paso Fort Worth Houston • Lubbock • McAllen • San Angelo • San Antonio • Tyler • Waco

12. Regional Staff Positions • Regional Director • Child Hunger Outreach Specialist • Summer Meals Specialist • NYCCAH FPA VISTA • (2) CPP Outreach Staff

13. THI Travis County Initiatives No Kid Hungry Campaign Community Partner Program

14. Summer Meals Map Sample

15. What is the Community Partner Program? An initiative of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to engage community-based organizations as Community Partners in helping people apply for, and manage, their public benefits on-line via the HHSC web portal:

16. Public Benefits on YourTexasBenefits.com • SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) • Formerly called Food Stamps • Provides cash assistance for purchasing food • Medicaid • Provides health insurance for low-income children and families, pregnant women, seniors and people with disabilities • CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program) • Covers children in families who have too much income or too many assets to qualify for Medicaid, but cannot afford to buy private insurance • TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) • Provides monthly cash assistance to help pay basic necessities for very low-income children and their parents

17. Texas Hunger Initiative(THI) is partnering with Texas Impact, a faith-based advocacy network, and the Texas Association of Community Health Centers (TACHC) to recruit community-based organizations across the state to become Community Partners. How is the Texas Hunger Initiative involved? Community-based organizations being recruited include:

19. The Benefits of YourTexasBenefits.Com • People can apply, in one application process, for multiple benefits, including SNAP, Medicaid, CHIP, and TANF • Can be accessed from any computer with internet access, 24/7 • Ability to report changes and renew benefits without re-entering information • Site can also be used to check application status, view benefits received and upcoming renewal dates, as well as download a temporary Medicaid card and see Medicaid services and health history • Applicants can upload all verification documents • Directly connects with HHSC computer eligibility system, freeing up staff from having to type in paper application information – streamlining the process • Has prescreening section to see which benefits one is likely eligible for

20. Community Partner Program Partnership Level I: Self Service Site • Provide access to a computer and an internet connection for people to apply online for HHSC benefit programs. • Display posters or other printed materials about www.YourTexasBenefits.com. Partnership Level II: Assistance Site • Provide a computer with an internet connection for certified employees and volunteers to help people use www.YourTexasBenefits.com • Certify and help maintain certification of employees and volunteers as “navigators” at one or both of two levels: • Application Assistance • Case Assistance • Display posters or other printed materials about www.YourTexasBenefits.com. • Maintain a client consent form for each person a navigator helps to ensure confidentiality of client information is protected. • Confirm confidentially standards are maintained by navigators.

21. Value of Being a Community Partner • Gain a tool for your organization to help your clients get the benefits they are eligible for • Utilize your existing relationships with clients to provide them with a better experience applying for and managing their benefits • Help your clients take advantage of all the benefits of using www.YourTexasBenefits.com over paper applications • Receive a monthly report on-line with the number of people your organization has helped submit applications and renewals for, as well as the results of those applications • It’s FREE!

22. Community Partner Implementation Options • There are many different ways that organizations that become Community Partners can provide application assistance through www.YourTexasBenefits.com. • Each organization should determine the method that works best for them.

23. Community Partner Implementation Options At Community Fairs Benefits Outreach Staff Using Computer Lab With VITA (tax assistance) During Set Hours Case Manager By Appointment Only Home Visits

24. Steps to Become a Community Partner Steps to Become a Community Partner Submit an online interest form. http://tinyurl.com/cppinterest Select the level of service your organization would like to provide. Level I - Self-Service Level II - Application Assistance Sign a non-financial Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with HHSC. Ensure staff and volunteers helping clients with using www.YourTexasBenefits.com get required training and are certified to provide assistance.

26. What support is available? On-line training tutorials on the HHSC CPP web site, including updates as YTB gains new features Monthly HHSC CPP conference call to provide updates and answer questions THI has regional staff to answer questions, to meet individually with organizations to help them through process of becoming a Community Partner, and to provide ongoing support In-person application assistance trainings as well as webinars will be available

27. Next Steps • If you’re interested in becoming a Community Partner, fill out the online interest form at http://tinyurl.com/cppinterest • Contact THI if you have any additional questions THI Austin CP Recruitment Coordinators: Elizabeth Hakey (407) 761-0726 elizabeth_hakey@texasimpact.org Blair Baugher (404) 680-6376 blair_baugher@texasimpact.org Griffin Kelp THI Austin Regional Director (513) 312-8627 griffin_kelp@baylor.edu

28. The future Where we’re going

29. Areas of focus Research Public Policy

30. Summer Meals Sponsor Survey Worked with students to conduct survey Compiled and organized the data from non-profits and schools Asked questions: Will you serve again as a sponsor? What were the biggest barriers you faced? What type of outreach did you find most effective? Etc. Found at www.texashunger.org

31. Texas School Breakfast Report County-by-county analysis of all schools in Texas utilizing the School Breakfast Program. Identified best practices and ways to improve program. Found at www.texashunger.org

32. Public Policy Informing legislators based on our research Local/State government is part of the discussion HB749 – Texas Hunger Initiative and Texas Department of Agriculture 5 year plan

33. Statistics Nearly one in five Texans, 4.6 million people (18.5%), lives in poverty. That's 2.6% higher than the national average. Of the more than 2.3 million Texas students who get a free or reduced price lunch at school in 2011-2012, only 59.7% participate in the school breakfast program. Only 9.4% of the 2.3 million Texas children who qualify for free or reduced priced meals during the school year participate in the Summer Meals program.

34. References • Brown, J., Martin, T., Orwat, J., Shephard, D. (2007). The economic cost of domestic hunger. Retrieved from http://www.sodexofoundation.org/hunger_us/newsroom/studies/hungerstudies/costofhunger.asp • Burton, H., Fisher, A., Joseph, H., Pothukuchi, K. (2002). What's cooking in your food system? Retrieved from http://www.foodsecurity.org/pubs.html#cooking • Cohen, B., Kantor, L., Andrews, M. (2002). Community food security assessment toolkit. Retrieved from http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/efan02013/ • Sustainable Food Center. (1995). Access denied: An analysis of problems facing east Austin residents in their attempts to obtain affordable, nutritious food. Retrieved from http://www.sustainablefoodcenter.org/_files/reports/ Access_Denied.pdf • Mark, N., Coleman-Jensen, A., Andrews, M., Carlson, S. (2009). Household food security in the united states. Retrieved from http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/err108/ • Everett, J., Anderson, B., Dwyer, J. (2012) Blueprint to End Hunger. Retrieved from https://bearspace.baylor.edu/Tariq_Thowfeek/public/blueprint.pdf • Singletary, J., Everett, J., Nolen, E. (2012) Advancing Childhood Food Security through Organizing Strategies. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/childrenatrisk/vol3/iss1/19/