How You Can Help
Your voice is powerful! Take action and express your concern on issues that affect Kentucky’s most vulnerable populations!
- Call 1-800-372-7181.
- Ask to leave a message with your Representative.
- Message: “Please vote NO on HB 1 to reject measures that would harm Kentuckians by erecting barriers to food and other assistance.”
Contact the KY House Appropriations and Revenue Committee
We are grateful that Governor Beshear’s 2020-2022 Budget Proposal includes funding for Farms to Food Banks. However, the amount is $100,000 less than what had been proposed by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture — which would mean 700,000 fewer meals filled with half a plate full of fruits and vegetables. We need the Kentucky House Appropriations and Revenue Committee to restore full funding to Farms to Food Banks in their budget bill.
Call 800-372-7181 and ask to leave a message with the members of the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee. (Even better: ask for your legislator by name if he or she is a member of the committee. Click here for a list of members).
Message: “Restore funding for Farms to Food Banks to $600,000/year — the amount requested by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture.”
2020 State Legislative Priorities
- Funding for Farms to Food Banks.
- Allowing schools to consider up to 15 minutes as instructional time when students consume breakfast in the classroom.
- Protecting access to SNAP benefits by opposing proposals to alter core components of the program, such as drug testing and even stricter work requirements. In fact, we propose lifting the lifetime ban on SNAP food assistance for people convicted of drug felonies.
- Allowing cities, urban-county governments and consolidated local governments to accept food donations to nonprofits in lieu of parking fines.
2020 Federal Legislative Priorities
- Oppose structural changes to SNAP. Proposals to block grant or make structural changes to the program would prevent it from responding effectively to fluctuations in need, and efforts to limit broad-based categorical eligibility would increase administrative costs and access barriers.
- Reduce hunger through federal spending legislation.
- Appropriations legislation should support strong funding for TEFAP, including providing full funding for TEFAP food purchases at $350 million a year and $100 million for TEFAP storage and distribution funds to support the infrastructure and distribution capacity necessary to meet need.
- Appropriations legislation should support strong funding for CSFP by fully funding the current caseload at $245 million a year to provide monthly nutritious food packages to low-income seniors. Congress should also provide additional funds to serve any new states with USDA-approved plans.
- Appropriations legislation should provide sufficient funding for the Older Americans Act’s home-delivered and congregate meals programs.
- Strengthen summer feeding sites by
- Streamlining regulations for community-based providers so that they can feed children year-round.
- Allowing kids to consume meals off-site when accessing congregate sites is a barrier.
- Allowing alternative strategies to reach unserved children.