The partial shutdown of the federal government has hit children hard. Parents who rely on SNAP to feed their children are struggling, free school meals are threatened and federal employees who are furloughed (or working without pay) are looking for help.
We welcome today's news of a temporary end to the shutdown and we hope our elected leaders keep hungry kids in mind as they work towards a permanent resolution.
In the meantime, here's what No Kid Hungry is doing to help:
- $100,000 in emergency grants to local organizations feeding kids and families of federal workers, including food banks in the DC area and nonprofits we support in states with large federal workforces, like California, Texas and Florida.
- We work closely with the restaurant industry, and many of our corporate partners have reached out asking how they can help. We're encouraging them to offer free or discounted meals and services to furloughed workers and helping them identify local organizations who are doing great work.
- We're spreading the word about the impact on SNAP benefits so that low-income parents know they need to stretch their dollars even further in February.
