Staff members for Tennessee nutrition advocacy groups who attended the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health hope the event will galvanize the movement to end hunger for families, seniors and other low-income populations after the pandemic.
On Wednesday, the Biden administration hosted the conference and invited policymakers and nutrition advocates from across the nation to discuss a coordinated and accelerated strategy in ending hunger, improving access to nutrition and physical activity, and closing the disparities that prevent vulnerable groups from accessing government programs.
Attendees were invited to share their testimonials on how programs have benefited people eligible for food programs and their collaboration with federal officials and national organizations in nutrition advocacy. Signe Anderson, the director of nutrition advocacy for the Tennessee Justice Center, addressed some of the barriers faced by low-income communities and how pandemic-related benefits greatly assisted in providing access to food. Anderson was joined by Memphis Tilth, an organization dedicated to sustainable food systems for local communities.
Anderson said one benefit of the pandemic was that free and accessible meals became a staple in keeping vulnerable populations fed.
When the pandemic caused schools to shut down or transition to remote learning, families and children who relied on school meals were able to access Pandemic-Electronic Benefits Transfer, an emergency program that provided funds to replace the lost meals.
"We heard from families during the P-EBT period that they were finally able to buy their kids fresh fruit and vegetables because they had money they could spend on food," Anderson said. "Whereas if you don't, your number one priority is making sure you feed your family as cheap as you can so you can afford the other necessities of life."
State and federal officials also waived many of the requirements for receiving Pandemic-Electronic Benefits Transfer and other food programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, a separate food program for residents living on or under the poverty line. To qualify for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance, applicants are typically required to find work unless granted exemptions, but the requirements were waived during the pandemic.
As a result, these and other programs, such as the child tax credit, lessened the effects of the pandemic-related food insecurity for thousands of families, seniors and other vulnerable populations.
But many of these programs are set to end following the pandemic. While the child tax credit program will cut payments in 2022, Pandemic-Electronic Benefits Transfer is expected to stop following the 2022-23 school year.
"We're hopeful that some of those strategies from the pandemic will live on," Anderson said.
Anderson and other attendees emphasized the positive impacts on Tennesseans due to improvements to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance, school meals and the Women, Infants and Children Program. Some of the issues that were raised at the conference were boosting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance benefits, providing free school meals and improving access points for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance customers, such as access to online grocery and allowing families to use their benefits to purchase hot meals. Currently, families are only allowed to shop for processed and packaged food.
Anderson also hopes state and federal officials reevaluate current barriers for seniors, convicted felons and the homeless. While Supplemental Nutrition Assistance applicants were able to apply online or through mail, seniors are not as easily able to access the internet or mailing services, and phone services are complicated procedures with long wait times. For ex-felons, certain drug charges prevent them from receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance after prison without documentation on their recovery.
"Anyone will argue that taking away food will not help them stay out of prison," she said.
And Supplemental Nutrition Assistance applicants were also previously required to work, and while exemptions were made for certain groups, being homeless did not qualify as an exemption.
"If someone is homeless, how do you maintain work?" she said.
The Biden administration plans to end hunger by 2030, which is a bold goal, Anderson said.
"We hope the energy that comes from out of this will actually lead to some significant change," she added.
Read more at TennesseeLookout.com.