Dear Friend:

I recently read an amazing study that hit home for me.

Called “Your Heart Makes My Heart Move,” researchers from the University of Waterloo and Stanford University found that “a sense of social connectedness can cause shared emotions and physiological experiences, even among strangers.”

In other words, if you feel even on the smallest scale that you and another person are similar in any way—sharing a birthday, for instance, or liking the same author—your brain activity will begin to mirror the other person’s brain activity; your heart will beat in sync with the other’s heart.

Says the study, in a most scholarly tone, “If brief social ties can have such effects, the degree to which individuals’ psychological experiences arise in tandem with the psychological experiences of others may be more pervasive than now understood.”

To sum that up in my own Food Bank lingo: Each of us has an extraordinary ability to connect with one another, so let’s use that ability to get fired up!

We spend hours and hours at the North Texas Food Bank trying to find ways to connect you, our supporters, with the passion and purpose of what we do here every day.

We’ve created extraordinary volunteer experiences that cater to businesses, faith groups, civic organizations, families and individuals, bringing 30,000 people like you through our doors each year. We keep you up to date on legislation and regulations that affect our ability to feed your neighbors, and relay stories to you about people right here in our own backyard who are struggling to put food on their tables.

But it turns out what we've been trying to do all along - in our own unscientific way - is trying to find that one moment of commonality that will connect you with us; have your mind meet with our minds, and your heart beat with our hearts.

So I'm asking you to reach out to your coworkers, your neighbors, and especially your lawmakers and share how you are standing with the North Texas Food Bank and support our efforts to feed those in need.

Then together, in the beat of a heart, we’ll be one step closer to a North Texas that is hunger-free.

In gratitude,

Jan Pruitt
President and CEO

North Texas Food Bank

As most of you are no doubt aware, our elected officials at all levels are grappling with budget issues requiring very tough decisions, with a lot of pressure to ensure that tax dollars are spent on public programs and services that are both a priority and an effective use of funding.

When considering the value that we as Americans place on providing a basic level of assistance to those who are truly struggling to make ends meet, programs that are part of the safety net for very low-income families clearly should remain a priority. And specifically among those, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has proven to be very effective in providing access to healthy, nutritious food.

In Texas, SNAP benefits are limited to individuals and families who are at very low income levels – for example, a family of four earning just $28,000 per year or a senior with access to only $900 per month. Because there is such vulnerability for families and individuals at those low levels of income, we at the North Texas Food Bank are keeping an eye on how much is allotted for SNAP – especially as the economy continues to struggle – and on any changes that might be made to how SNAP is implemented.

Of particular concern is a proposal passed by the U.S. House of Representatives to provide funding for SNAP as a block grant beginning in 2015. Why does this matter?

• As now designed, SNAP funding can grow or shrink based on current needs, reflecting the short-term nature of the safety net it provides.
• Funding SNAP as a block grant would mean that states would have to set aside part of the grant as a rainy-day fund, or pursue some other similar measure, to accommodate any unforeseen economic emergencies – essentially limiting the number of current beneficiaries.
• SNAP is effective because it is able to operate as a temporary assistance program, growing with need and then shrinking again as Americans go back to work.

It’s also important to realize that SNAP fills a valuable role in the overall mix of how best to address hunger. Meeting the food needs of very low-income groups through SNAP not only enables program beneficiaries to shop for their own food, but also allows Food Banks like NTFB to meet the food insecurity needs of those who don’t qualify for assistance but who are still without adequate resources.

The bottom line is that the system works best when food needs are met using the most effective and efficient public-private mix of resources. We at NTFB are committed to pursuing a hunger-free community as part of a larger collaboration of public and private partners, and we are counting on your continued support as we do so.

Think you know everything about SNAP and the people who benefit from SNAP? Think again.

Myth: People on SNAP only buy unhealthy foods and other items.
Fact: Grocery data provided to the Texas Food Bank Network shows that the top 25 items purchased with SNAP are healthy foods, and that purchases get unhealthier as benefits run out. The problem isn’t SNAP; it’s the price of healthy food. Also, SNAP may only be used to buy food and food only. No diapers, no cigarettes, no alcohol, no pet food.

Myth: People on SNAP are always obese. It must be the program that’s increasing the obesity epidemic.
Fact: Low-income consumers suffer disproportionately from obesity, and researchers think that has to do more with the fact that healthier foods are often more expensive, prompting SNAP beneficiaries to buy foods that are less healthy just to stretch their food dollars. No study has demonstrated a direct association between SNAP participation and obesity.

Myth: People on SNAP are draining the system of dollars. They stay on the program for years and years.
Fact: The average healthy adult, ages 18 to 50 without children, typically only qualifies for no more than three months of benefits every three years, unless they meet strict work or job training requirements. The longest a family may be on SNAP is three years, but it could be as short as one month. In addition, 30 percent of people on SNAP are currently working. They are desperately trying to be productive members of society, but they simply cannot make ends meet.

Myth: SNAP costs us too much to be sustainable.
Fact: SNAP is actually a very efficiently run and effective program, useful as an economic development tool. The National Journal wrote that SNAP is “a government reform that worked” and Moody’s Analytics puts the economic return of every dollar spent on SNAP as a return of range $1.73 to $1.79. Finally, the Wall Street Journal reported in July 2009, “Money from the program ... percolates quickly through the economy. The U.S. Department of Agriculture calculates that for every $5 of food-stamp spending, there is $9.20 of total economic activity, as grocers and farmers pay their employees and suppliers, who in turn shop and pay their bills.”

Myth: We have to make getting SNAP benefits harder because so many people cheat the system.
Fact: It is actually quite difficult to defraud the modern SNAP system. The old system of “food stamps” has been replaced by an electronic debit card, like a bank card. This creates an electronic record of every transaction and makes detecting any fraud cases much easier. Beyond that, SNAP outreach workers are extensively trained. No benefits may be awarded to those who do not qualify.  States that make mistakes can be sanctioned by the USDA, and people who are awarded benefits in error must repay them, face more fines and jail time and/or can be barred from SNAP benefits for life.

-Information courtesy of the Texas Food Bank Network, USDA  and Texas Health and Human Services Commission

We’ve always heard “get them where you live,” but since we can’t go door to door, school is a pretty strategic place to start. We’re excited to announce several new programs that NTFB has worked to place inside local schools.

• This spring, Newman’s Own helped the North Texas Food Bank launch a school-based food distribution, outreach and education program called FIRST -- “Families Involved in the Restoration of Supper Time” at KIPP Truth Academy.  Their generous $48,000 investment in one of two South Dallas pilot sites means that twice a month, families receive a pre-packaged 35-pound box of food.

• We also want to thank Big Thought for opening, and Chase for funding, a Kids Cafe in the Thriving Minds after-school program at Charles Rice Learning Center in South Dallas. This marks the first time a Kids Cafe, which serves hot meals after school, has been available on a DISD campus! See Dallas Morning News coverage of the grand opening with NTFB’s Program Services Manager Isaac Burren here.

• Finally, we are very excited to be a part of a new partnership that’s funded by Walmart. Breakfast in the Classroom (BIC) brings together a strategic partnership with the USDA, the Food Research and Action Center, the National Association of Elementary School Principals Foundation, the National Education Association Health Information Network, and the School Nutrition Foundation to provide breakfasts to all students in a school, not just the ones that qualify for free or reduced-price meals. 

We're pleased our own Dallas ISD was selected as one of the first five major school districts to share the $3 million grant. At Harrell Budd Elementary, the first school to implement BIC, students receive a sack breakfast first thing in the morning, but each school is free to choose a breakfast model that best suits their needs.

"I used to have students who were referred to me early in the morning because of their behavior. Now that doesn't happen. They want to go to class and eat their breakfast,” said Dr. Maya Lagbara, principal of Harrell Budd Elementary. She’s seen breakfast participation go from 120 kids eating daily to 575—a 75 percent increase!

At a community meeting held here at our Food Bank on April 20, Jeremy Everett of the Texas Hunger Initiative at Baylor University pointed out one unexpected benefit from BIC he was surprised to see.

"We're hearing from a lot of teachers that their [elementary] students are having trouble learning to count. They just can't believe 2 always follows 1, 3 always follows 2. Their lives are so chaotic, they are having trouble learning to think linearly and systemically. Having Breakfast in the Classroom every single day actually helps them learn because it adds stability to their lives,” he said.  

The North Texas Food Bank staff has taken on the responsibility of “adopting” Budd Elementary, filling sacks with juice, milk and other breakfast items in the morning, but as more schools take on BIC next year, we’re going to need YOUR helping hands too. To volunteer with BIC, or if you would like your organization, company, or faith group to adopt a DISD school, please contact NTFB Volunteer Coordinator, Rebecca Finberg at volunteer@ntfb.org. We need YOU to make BIC a success.

Summer is on its way. But did you know that only nine Texas children receive summer meals for every 100 who get a free or reduced-price school lunch? The reason for our low participation rate is primarily a lack of sponsors where the kids can eat, causing summer to be the hungriest time of year. 

That’s why one Texas bill making its way through legislative channels is so important. SB 89 requires school districts with 50 percent or more students who qualify for free or reduced price meals to offer Summer Food Service, meals that are federally reimbursed, and don't cost the state a dime. 

SB 89 passed through the Senate, now it must be passed by the House Agriculture committee, then by the House as a whole.

Please contact your Texas House Representatives (find who those are here) and let them know you support SB 89!