United

Methodist
Womens
Legislative
Event
No Texas
One
Shall
Make
Them
Afraid

A Secure Texas For All

No One Shall Make Them Afraid

seeking a secure Texas for all

January 25-27, 2015 Holiday Inn Midtown Austin, Texas

presented by Texas Impact

Statewide, interfaith advocacy

Membership based
Citizen leadership development
Policy implementation

Faith-based issue education

Policy and theology research and analysis

Orientation
What should I expect at UMW Legislative Event?
Whats in this enormous binder?
Who are all these people?
Who should I ask if I have questions?
When can I go to the bathroom/bookstore/auction?
Should I leave my cell phone on during presentations?

What should I expect at UMW

Legislative Event?
Up-to-date information on important policy issues
Grounding in how United Methodist social principles relate
to the Texas Legislature
New ideas about connecting faith and public life in your
local community
New and/or deeper relationships with lawmakers and their
staffs
Become part of Texas Impacts network

What should I expect at UMW

Legislative Event?
Beloved Community
Dr. Kings Beloved Community:
the kind of society in which every person is valued
and where all conflicts
are reconciled in a spirit of goodwill
and mutual benefit.

No One Shall Make Them

Afraid

Seeking a Secure Texas for All

He shall judge between many peoples,
and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away;
they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more;
but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees,
and no one shall make them afraid;
for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.
Micah 4: 3-4

Agenda Overview
Sunday 1:
Issue Workshops
(2 out of 4)

Monday 1:
Issue Presentations
(plus lunch)

Tuesday 1:
Travel to
Capitol

Sunday 2: Theological
Framing

Monday 2:
Conference Caucuses

Tuesday 2:
Lobby Visits

Sunday 3:
Young Women

Monday 3: Lobby
Training

Tuesday 3:
Closing

Tuesday PS: Capitol Tour

Whats in this enormous binder?

Inside the FRONT: Information about Texas Impact including a
membership form
TAB #1: Information about the event like the agenda and roster of
participants
TAB #2: Information about your legislative visits
TAB #3: Information about the caucus process
TAB #4: Issue handouts for workshops and plenary sessions
TAB #5: Homework! Ideas, projects and assignments to take Legislative
Event back to your community
Inside the BACK: Cover Texas Now Postcard Kit and sample copy of
Better Neighbors

Who are all these people?

Legislative Event Committee

Texas Impact/Interfaith Center Staff
Americorps VISTA Members
Texas Impact Board Members
UNITED METHODIST WOMEN

Whom should I ask if I have

questions?
CARA Chiodo: EVERYTHING!
CORINNA Whitaker-Lewis: Questions about the SCHEDULE
AMY Chamberlain: Questions about LOBBY DAY
SADIA Tirmizi: Questions about TEXAS IMPACT
JOSH Houston: Questions about the LEGISLATURE
SCOTT Atnip: Questions about YOUR CHURCH/UMW
TERRY Schoenert: Questions about BUSSES
BETSY Singleton: Questions about the HOTEL

Time to Act
Your 2015 Guide to Climate Ac6on


Yaira A. Robinson
Texas Interfaith Center for Public Policy

a project of Texas Impact

The rst law of

our being is that
we are set in a
delicate network of
interdependence
with our fellow
human beings and
with the rest of
Gods creaDon.

Archbishop Desmond
Tutu
a project of Texas Impact

2014 was the

ho<est year on
record.
a project of Texas Impact

Na6onal Climate Assessment

Released in 2014

300 experts guided by a 60-member Federal

Advisory CommiQee
Summarizes the impacts of climate change on
the United States, now and in the future, and
by region

hQp://nca2014.globalchange.gov/

a project of Texas Impact

Na6onal Climate Assessment:

Great Plains Region
1. Rising Temperatures
2. Changes to crop growth cycles
3. Landscape fragmentaDon
4. Vulnerable communiDes
5. Building resilience

a project of Texas Impact

U.S. Policy
Updates
a project of Texas Impact

Clean Power Plan:

Carbon Pollu6on Standards
Summer 2015 - EPA to issue nal rules on:
Carbon PolluDon Standards for New
Power Plants
Carbon PolluDon Standards for ExisDng
Power Plants
Summer 2016 Proposed due date for
states to submit compliance plans
hQp://www2.epa.gov/carbon-polluDon-
standards
a project of Texas Impact

Ozone & Methane Standards

EPA Proposed updates to naDonal air quality
standards for ground-level ozone, or smog, in
November, 2014

InformaDon about the proposal - h<p://www.epa.gov/

groundlevelozone/ac6ons.html
January 29, 2015 Public Hearing in Arlington, TX - h<p://
www.epa.gov/groundlevelozone/hearings.html

EPA to develop proposal for methane

standards for oil & gas industry, Jan. 2015

a project of Texas Impact

The Road to Paris

a project of Texas Impact

Rio Earth Summit, 1992

United NaDons Conference on
Environment and Development
255 governments
(of those, 144 heads of state)
Produced the Climate Change
Conven7on Kyoto Protocol

a project of Texas Impact

Kyoto Protocol, 1997

InternaDonal environmental
treaty
Set binding targets for
greenhouse gas reducDons, 37
industrialized countries

U.S. signed but did not raDfy

a project of Texas Impact

2014 COP 20, Lima

November, 2014 U.S. China Climate
Agreement announced
December, 2014 20th Conference of the
ParDes (COP 20) talks in Lima, Peru

a project of Texas Impact

COP 21 Paris, 2015

Goal: Inclusive, ambiDous, &
durable internaDonal agreement.
Keeping warming to 2 degrees
Celcius will be dicult
Public pressure & involvement is
important!

a project of Texas Impact

Road to Paris: Be Involved

1. Intended NaDonally Determined
ContribuDons (INDCs)
2. Popes Encyclical on Climate
Change
3. OurVoices acDviDes: h<p://
www.ourvoices.net/Texas-IPL
4. Stay tuned!

a project of Texas Impact

What People of Faith Bring to the Table

Our unique voice:
Another way is possible

Long view: Future generaDons

Environmental JusDce

a project of Texas Impact

For more informaDon

Yaira A. Robinson, Associate Director
Texas Interfaith Center for Public Policy
yaira@texasinterfaith.org

hQp://texasinterfaithcenter.org
hQp://www.txipl.org

Thanks to the Audubon Society for some slides

a project of Texas Impact

Everyone at the Table: How We

Can End Hunger
Kathy Green
Capital Area Food Bank of Texas
January 25, 2015

The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

Who Is Hungry?

The employed
The underemployed
Elderly
Children
Veterans
Currently Enlisted Military
Single Parents

The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

Food Insecurity vs. Hunger

Food insecurity = a household-level
economic and social condition of limited or
uncertain access to adequate food.
Hunger = an individual-level physiological
condition that may result from food
insecurity.

The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

Why Is There Food Insecurity?

Unemployment is the strongest predictor of
food insecurity.
Many people who are food insecure are in
poverty, but not everyone. Some are working
enough to be just above the poverty level.
Food Insecurity:
14.5% of people in the United States
18.3% of people in Texas
27.4% of Texas children
The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

Cost of Living
In Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos Metro
Area, for a family of four (two adults, two
children), it takes a salary of $50,016 to
get by. ($13 per hour, per worker)
If they are paying their own health
insurance, it goes up to $63,012

The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

Food for Thought

Is hunger in America an issue of food
supply or food access?
Forty percent of food in the U.S. is
wasted, and goes into the landfill.

The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

Food Insecurity
Rates substantially higher than the national
average for:
households with incomes near or below the
Federal poverty line
households with children headed by single
women or single men
Black and Hispanic households
large cities and rural areas than in
suburban areas
The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

Hunger Profoundly Affects

Our Children
In early childhood, cannot learn as much, as fast, or as well
because it harms their cognitive development during this
critical period of rapid brain growth, actually changing the
fundamental neurological architecture of the brain and
central nervous system,
Have lower academic achievement because they are not
well prepared for school and cannot concentrate,
Have more social and behavioral problems because they feel
bad, have less energy for complex social interactions, and
cannot adapt as effectively to environmental stresses.

The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

Hunger and Health

If poverty creates hunger, it teams up
with the food system to create another
form of malnourishment: obesity (and
whats called hidden hunger, a lack
of micronutrients).
--Mark Bittman

The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

Hunger and Health

Low-income populations:
Have higher incidence of chronic disease;
Often limited access to full service groceries
with unprocessed food;
Often a glut of access to fast food and
convenience stores: food swamps

The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

Federal Nutrition Programs

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAPfood stamps): entitlement program that
provides a monthly benefit to households to purchase
food.
Loaded on Lone Star Card (EBT)
Used at groceries, convenience stores, farmers markets
Cannot buy alcohol, tobacco, hot foods, vitamins, or medicine
Unemployed can get benefits only 3 months in a 3-yr period
Those with felony drug convictions (but not other felonies)
cannot get benefits.

The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

Federal Nutrition Programs

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAPfood stamps)
Limitations:
Amount received is small for some populations
elderlyoffset by SS payments; avg payment/hh (can
be more than one person) is $274/mo
Application is longalthough now electronic
Can purchase any type of foodpro or con?
Drug felons cannot receivewhy an issue?

The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

Food for Thought

Should the U.S. federal government
limit what types of food people can
purchase with their SNAP benefits?
What is a healthy food?

The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

Federal Nutrition Programs

National School Lunch/School Breakfast
Programs: federally-assisted meal program for
children in public, non-profit private, and residential
child care institutions.
Provides reduced-cost or free meals for qualifying children
Schools are reimbursed for numbers of meals served at each
ratepaid, reduced, or free
Schools must meet certain requirements in their lunch
programnutritional, financial, civil rights, and others
Schools may receive USDA commodities to offset their food
expense.

The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

Federal Nutrition Programs

National School Lunch/School Breakfast Programs
Texas Legislature passed breakfast bill during 2013 session
provides universal (free) breakfast for all students in schools
with 80% or more free and reduced population.
Limitations:
Reimbursement not adequateespecially with improved
nutrition standards. Current: .28 to $3.21 per mealdepending
on many factors
Abiding by new competitive food standards
Stigma about school meals, especially breakfast

The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

Federal Nutrition Programs

Summer Food Service Program: serves free meals to
children under 18 during summer months at sites in
schools, non-profit organizations, summer camps,
and local government facilities.
Children do not have to qualify for mealsthey show up
Sponsors contract with Texas Department of Agriculture to
provide meals at sites
Sponsors must meet certain requirements in their program
nutritional, financial, civil rights, and others.
Sponsors are reimbursed a per meal ratedepends on rural vs.
urban; self-prep vs. vended

The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

Federal Nutrition Programs

Summer Food Service Program
Limitations:
Requirements are cumbersome for sponsors
Attendance at sites is lowtransportation, awareness, lack of
interest
Reimbursement rate isnt adequate--$3.48-$3.54 for lunch
Schools have little incentive to serve past 30 days (state law)

The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

Federal Nutrition Programs

The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP):
provides USDA Commodities to qualifying agencies
(primarily food banks) to distribute to low income
populations:
Provided at no cost to food banks
Commonly includes canned fruits and vegetables, dried beans,
peanut butter, cereals and pasta, meats/poultry/fish, dairy
Food banks redistribute to clients through partner agencies
pantries and soup kitchens

The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

Federal Nutrition Programs

The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP)
Limitations:
Supply is dependent on funding from federal government
fluctuates greatly
Higher quality food (lower sodium, etc.) costs more
Items like peanut butter have increased in price, so we are
inclined to choose less expensive foods

The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

Federal Nutrition Programs

Women, Infants and Children Supplemental
Nutrition Program (WIC): money provided for
supplemental foods, health care referrals, and
nutrition education for low-income pregnant,
breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum
women, and to infants and children up to age five
who are found to be at nutritional risk.
States receive a set amount to be redistributed to clients on
EBT cards
Clients can purchase only approved foods (WIC Package)

The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

Federal Nutrition Programs

Women, Infants and Children Supplemental
Nutrition Program (WIC)
Limitations:
Only certain foods allowedWIC package redesigned recently
Set amount of fundingNOT an entitlement program
Lower breastfeeding rates among clients than general
population

The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

Food for Thought

What is the proper role of government in
ensuring access to food?
SNAP is an $82.5 Billion program
Our deficit is $564 Billion

The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

Food Banks/The Food Bank System

A Food Bank is a repository for both donated
and purchased food which is then
redistributed to smaller agencies that service
clients directly
Feeding America
200 food banks across the country

Feeding Texas
Texas has 21 food banks across the state, covering
all 254 counties

The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

Food Banks vs. Food Pantries

Food Banks
Generally large distribution centers
Do little direct distribution to clients
Do more than just distribute food
Food Pantries (like ATMs)
Church Pantries, Soup Kitchens, Homeless
Shelters etc.
Distribute food directly to the client

The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

Our Programs
Kids Caf
Weekend Backpack Programs
Healthy Options Program for the Elderly
(HOPE)
Fresh Food For Families
Summer Feeding Service Program
Choicesnutrition education
Mobile Food Pantry
Social Services Enrollment

The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

Who We Serve
Most of our clients are children, the elderly, and
the working poor
75% of our clients households had at least one
working adult
Only 7% of our clients report being homeless
80% of our client households report choosing
between paying for food and paying for medicine or
medical care
66% of our clients households report choosing
between food and paying the rent
Many report having to rely on food assistance for
the first time in their lives
The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

Public Policy and Hunger

Local, State and Federal issues impact our
ability to end hunger
Local plastic bag ban; utility rates
State funding for HHSC staff; limitations
on who gets access
Federal funding for SNAP and TEFAP;
federal subsidies for certain food industries
World issues affect access to food
oil $
gas $
food $

The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

What is Our Call?

What does God call us to do?
What can we actually affect?
Can we ever truly end hunger?

The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

Our Call
Our commitment to doing good
Social principle to food justice
Called to support the poor
Micah 6:8
Matthew 25
The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

Why Hunger?
The difference between you and the hungry
is not production levels; its money. There
are no hungry people with money; there
isnt a shortage of food, nor is there a
distribution problem. There is an I-dont have
the land-and-resources-to-produce-my-ownfood, nor-can-I-afford-to-buy-food problem.
Mark Bittman
The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

What You Can Do

As advocates to elected officials:
Adequate funding for nutrition
programs
Increase access to healthy food
No barriers to enrollment
Education about the true face of
hunger
The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

What You May Hear

Welfare Queens
Denial of the issue
Belief in the Bootstraps
Poor cant be trusted with $$$
Competing budget issueseducation,
health care, etc.

The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

What You Can Do

In Your Community and Church:
Feed the Need, but Shorten the Line
Education
Workforce training
Financial literacy
Food policy councils
Coalitions
Creative approaches: Fresh Chefs, Double
Dollars
Train the future
The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

What You May Hear

We dont have the money
No one has time
This is how we have always done it
We cant compete with
Whats one voice going to do?

The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

Questions?

The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

Great Resources
Feeding America www.feedingamerica.org
FRAC (Food Research & Action Center)
www.frac.org
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
www.cbpp.org
Center for Public Policy Priorities (Texas org.)
www.cppp.org
Family Budgets (budget estimator)
www.familybudgets.org

The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.