Get Involved

Board of Directors

Foodlink’s Board of Directors is comprised of community leaders who are passionate about our mission and committed to using their unique skill sets to help us reach our goals. The principal responsibility of our board of directors is three-fold:

• To give Foodlink direction, establishing its vision, mission and values.
• To provide oversight, especially in financial matters, to ensure accountability.
• To ensure Foodlink has the resources it needs to do its work.

If you are interested in joining Foodlink’s Board, we recommend that you first serve as a volunteer on one of our board committees.  As a committee member, individuals have a chance to get to know the organization better, and to develop relationships with board members and key staff. After serving on a committee for a year or two, individuals are more equipped to understand the commitment of board service and the leadership culture.

Committees

The role of Foodlink board committees is to ensure best practices in the activities, or the major function, that the committee is assigned to.  Foodlink committees allow volunteers and potential board members to apply their existing expertise or build knowledge in an interest area.  Currently, the Foodlink board has an:

• Executive Committee
• Finance Committee
• Business Development Committee
• Development/Fundraising Committee.

If you are interested in learning more about becoming a board/committee member, please contact Julia Tedesco at (585)328.3380 x141

Advocacy

Speak up and reach out.

HPNAP FUNDING IS AT RISK. CLICK HERE for more information.

CLICK HERE for the HPNAP Petition

CLICK HERE for the HPNAP Petition in Spanish 

DOWNLOAD an advocacy postcard here.

IDENTIFY YOUR LOCAL REPRESENTATIVES

Emergency Agencies CLICK HERE to access a full list of your NYS representatives.

CLICK HERE to download contact Information for all state representatives in our 10 county service area. 

Not sure who your representatives are? Visit these sites and enter your address:

NYS Assembly:
http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/?sh=search

NYS Senate:
http://www.nysenate.gov/senators

 Advocacy is critical to fighting hunger, and becoming a hunger relief advocate offers many ways to become active not only in important public policy issues, but also within our community. Being an advocate means communicating with your legislators about hunger issues. It can also simply mean talking with friends and family, posting on social media, and raising awareness about the need for a solution to hunger.
 

We encourage you to join us as a hunger relief advocate today. Look below for our current initiatives and get involved in fighting hunger in our community, in New York, and across America.

Contact your representatives to urge Congress to secure adequate funding for the 2012 Farm Bill.

The 2012 Farm Bill: safeguarding and strengthening the food assistance safety net

As Congress works to reauthorize the 2012 Farm Bill, help Foodlink urge our legislators to safeguard and strengthen critical anti-hunger programs. With unemployment still stuck near 9%, food banks are pressed to meet need in their communities and the need for food assistance will remain high for the foreseeable future.

A few points worth noting:

• One in eight Americansreceives food assistance each year through the Feeding America network of over 200 food banks and the over 61,000 local pantries, kitchens, and shelters we serve, 55% of which are faith-based. Together we serve37 million Americans—a 46% increase in the number of clients between 2006 and 2010.
• Communities are relying on food banks for more than just short-term, emergency food. Fifty-four percent of Feeding America clients reported visiting a food pantry for at least 6 months or more during the previous year.
• The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) commodities account for approximately 25% of the food moving through Feeding America food banks. Food banks combine TEFAP with private donations to maximize TEFAP benefits far beyond the budgeted amount for the program. In this way, food banks exemplify an optimum model of public-private partnership.
• Federal nutrition programs provide support not only to struggling families but also to America’s farmers and the agricultural industry.
• Declines in Section 32 funding and strong agriculture markets resulted in a 30% decline in TEFAP purchases during FY2011. This decline is expected to continue in FY2012 as food banks continue struggling to meet increased need. The shortfall between supply and demand will only worsen when the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) benefit boost expires, as many participants turn to food banks to make up for the reduction in benefit levels.
• As the number of people unemployed grew 110% from 2007 to 2010, SNAP responded with a 53% increase in participation over the same period. As the economy slowly recovers and unemployment begins to fall, SNAP participation and costs too can be expected to decline.
• Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) is an efficient and effective program. While the cost to USDA to purchase commodities for this package of food is about $20 per month, the average retail value of the foods in the package is $50. 

The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP):

The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) is a means-tested federal program that provides food commodities at no cost to Americans in need of short-term hunger relief through organizations like food banks, pantries, soup kitchens, and emergency shelters. Nutritious food commodities provided through TEFAP are an essential resource for Feeding America food banks. As the demand for food remains high at food banks across the country, a continuous stream of TEFAP is necessary for the provision of a steady emergency food supply.

Farm Bill Priorities for TEFAP:

• Make mandatory funding for TEFAP food more responsive to changes in need by providing a trigger that ties funding to unemployment levels

• Enhance Secretary of Agriculture’s authority to purchase bonus commodities in times of high need for emergency food relief in addition to times of low commodity prices so the program is responsive both to excess supply and excess demand

• Reauthorize funding for TEFAP Storage and Distribution Funds at $100 million per year

• Reauthorize funding for TEFAP Infrastructure Grants at $15 million per year 

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): 

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the cornerstone of the nutrition safety net, providing over 46 million low-income participants with monthly benefits via a grocery debit card. Eligibility is based on household income and assets and is subject to work and citizenship requirements. SNAP is one of the most responsive safety net programs, expanding quickly to meet rising need during the recession. The program is targeted at our most vulnerable; 76% of SNAP households contain a child, senior, or disabled member, and 84% of all benefits go to these households.

Farm Bill Priorities for SNAP:

• Protect SNAP by opposing proposals to cap or reduce funding, restrict eligibility, reduce benefits, or otherwise impede access or benefit adequacy. Recent proposals to block grant the program would prevent it from responding effectively to fluctuations in need, and efforts to limit broad based categorical eligibility would increase administrative costs and access barriers.

• Restore the cut to the SNAP ARRA benefit boost used to pay for the 2010 child nutrition bill and phase out the boost in a way that protects families from a cliff in benefit levels.

• Encourage better nutrition by maintaining nutrition education, incentivizing the purchase of healthy foods, and ensuring that retailer standards balance adequate access to stores with access to a range of healthy foods and moderate prices.

• Build on SNAP’s strong record of integrity and payment accuracy by issuing guidance to states on the eligibility of lottery winners and college students and upgrading resources and technology for trafficking prevention. 

Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP): 

Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) leverages government buying power to provide nutritious food packages to approximately 599,000 low income people each month. Nearly 97 percent of program participants are seniors with incomes of less than 130% of the poverty line (approximately $14,000 for a senior living alone). Currently, 39 states and the District of Columbia participate in CSFP. Another 6 states (CT, HI, ID, MD, MA, & RI) have USDA-approved plans, but have not yet received appropriations to begin service.

Farm Bill Priority for CSFP:

• Transition CSFP to a seniors-only program by phasing out eligibility of women, infants, and children – which is duplicative with the WIC Program – while grandfathering in current participants.

For more information regarding advocacy efforts contact Martha Brown at (585)328.3380 x136