In this week's newsletter:

If you have anything you would like to include in the weekly newsletter, or if you would like to add someone to the distribution list, please email Lauren Vance, Communications Manager, at Lauren.Vance@NetworktoEndHunger.org.

(0)  NEW: 'Meals On Wheels St. Petersburg' Program Flyer (to print/distribute)

(1)  Summer Meals Matter Webinar: Tips and Tricks for Training Program Staff - November 7 (tomorrow)

(2)  When You Learn What Seniors Want: Community Assessment Survey of Older Adults Public Results Launch (CASOA) - November 15

(3) Pinellas Sheriff's 7th Annual Police Athletic League Benefit Breakfast - November 22

(4) Food Justice & Sustainability Internship Showcase - December 5

(5) Hunger On Campus - An article from The Nation

(6) 'They go to work, come back, and starve.' Why immigrant families are avoiding food assistance - An article from Civil Eats

Summer Meals Matter Webinar: Tips and Tricks for Training Program Staff
November 7, 2019  - 1 p.m. Eastern (12 p.m. Central, 11 a.m. Mountain, 10 a.m. Pacific)
A critical part of running any successful summer meals program is providing staff with comprehensive and continuous training before summer begins. Successful summer meals training gives staff the tools they need to manage meal count requests, reporting methods, meal service, and site maintenance. Join this 30-minute deep-dive webinar to learn about best practices for effective trainings that can be incorporated in your program.

College Students Are Hungry and Homeless – and Not Getting Enough Help (The Nation, October 30, 2019) Research is showing the extent of college student hunger and homelessness, as college tuition and living costs continue to rise and state investment in public higher education has dropped, with more costs transferred to students. A response has been to try to expand college student access to SNAP. A Government Accountability Office report found that 1.8 million students, or nearly 60 percent of those eligible for SNAP benefits, did not participate in the program in 2016. “SNAP benefits are so meager that even when we can open up access to the program, whether it’s to needy college students or others who need assistance, we’re still dealing with a benefit of about $4 a person a day,” said Ellen Vollinger of FRAC.

(Civil Eats, October 14, 2019) A man recently came into the office of the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) in Dearborn, Michigan, insisting that he be disenrolled from nutrition assistance and health care benefits. Though he has a job, the programs are an important source of support for his family. Rima Meroueh, the community engagement manager at ACCESS, said her client was fearful of jeopardizing his permanent resident status. And he’s not the only one: Every day, five or six people come in asking the same question, Meroueh said, even if they will not be affected by the rule change. “I think I convinced him, but I’m not sure,” Meroueh said. “He said, ‘let me think about it.’” Late last week, a federal judge imposed a preliminary injunction on sweeping changes to the “public charge” rule proposed by the Trump administration. The changes, which were expected to go into effect on October 15, aimed to broaden the categories of public assistance that could be taken into consideration in applications for permanent resident status. Immigrants who receive food assistance through the SNAP program, health care through Medicaid, or federal housing assistance for certain lengths of time, would have been be ruled “public charges,” and as a result would have had their green card applications rejected.

If you have anything you would like to include in the weekly newsletter, or if you would like to add someone to the distribution list, please email Lauren Vance, Communications Manager, at Lauren.Vance@NetworktoEndHunger.org.