Partnerships in Promoting Food Stamps
Coalition Against Hunger
2901 W. Hunting Park Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19129
Phone: 215-430-0555
Fax: 215-223-3073
E-mail: info@hungercoalition.org
Food Stamp Hotline: 215-430-0556
Area Colleges and Universities
The participation of area colleges and universities has been critical to the efforts of the Food Stamp Enrollment Campaign over the past four years. Educators, outreach workers, screening and application assistants, researchers, writers and advocates, faculty, staff, and students at many of the region's schools have made significant contributions to the Campaign. Recently, Mary Summers, Senior Lecturer at the Fox Leadership Program and the University of Pennsylvania, released a report about the Coalition's Food Stamp Enrollment Campaign, entitled Making Food Stamps Work. Penn's press release highlights the important roles that area colleges and universities have played in this effort.
Partnerships with those involved in service-learning programs have proven particularly successful. Click here to find out more about connecting with the Coalition's service learning opportunities.
"The Coalition Against Hunger's Food Stamp Enrollment Campaign was pioneered in an academically based community service seminar at the University of Pennsylvania. The faculty, students, staff, and volunteers who participate in this Campaign provide a direct service to low-income people throughout Philadelphia; they also learn face-to-face about the many challenges poor people encounter in accessing public benefits. An example of service-learning at its best, this campaign teaches the critical need to mobilize our campuses and our communities to work together to address the critical problems associated with poverty."
— Ira Harkavy, Founding Director and Associate Vice President, Center for Community Partnerships, University of Pennsylvania
County Assistance Offices - the Building Bridges model
Campaign experiences over the past four years have consistently demonstrated that food stamp outreach is not enough; administrative barriers to enrollment in the Food Stamp Program must also be addressed. While this is a long and complex process, the Coalition has learned that there is no better way to tackle these issues than through strong, active partnerships with the County Assistance Offices (CAOs), which administer the Food Stamp Program.
Out of this philosophy grew the Coalition's Building Bridges Project - an effort designed to promote more mutual understanding, support and referrals between the CAOs and community organizations. The shared vision of Coalition and CAO staff is a revitalized County Assistance Office where agencies and neighbors are comfortable referring clients, family and friends to access a variety of needed services and where staff feel supported by and accountable to the community.
The Coalition formed its first Building Bridges partnership with the West District Office, which serves a portion of West Philadelphia. Initiatives there have ranged from gathering donated books and magazines for clients to read in the waiting room to hosting two CAO open houses for community leaders and local service providers. In 2005, the West District Office was one of only six offices nationwide to receive the Hunger Champions Honorable Mentor Award from the US Department of Agriculture. The Coalition nominated West District for this honor due to its willingness to change service delivery to improve access to the Food Stamp Program.
Why are food retailers such critical partners in the Food Stamp Enrollment Campaign? Without food stamp revenue, stores in low-income areas could be forced to close their doors, so many retailers recognize the value of promoting the Food Stamp Program to their low-income customers who might not be participating. Supermarkets and corner stores can be a great place to reach potentially food stamp recipients - they see a large volume of shoppers who all have food and their budgets on their minds as they're winding their way through the aisles.
As a result, the Coalition has developed a number of fruitful partnerships with retailers in Philadelphia. They help to promote the Food Stamp Program in a variety of ways, from simply hanging a sign with the Hotline number in their front window to hosting Food Stamp Information Fairs at their stores to installing an in-store kiosk where customers can apply on-line for benefits.
Recently, the US Department of Agriculture conferred its first ever Golden Grocer Hunger Champions award on Pathmark Stores, Inc. in recognition of their untiring support of the Food Stamp Program and their larger effort to combat hunger in the region. Presented at the 5th Annual Healthy Philadelphia Nutrition Fair at the Pathmark on North Broad Street, the award also recognized Pathmark's commitment to improve service to current food stamp recipients, promote healthy eating habits, and identify low-income customers for food stamp eligibility.
In accepting the Golden Grocer award, Rich Savner, Director of Public Affairs and Government Relations for Pathmark Stores, said, "The additional support which food stamps provide to needy individuals is readily seen in our stores that serve customers in low-income areas. This benefit not only helps those who require some additional assistance in making ends meet, but is also an aid to the supermarkets making a commitment to serving economically challenged communities."