We are starting today’s communication with some very sad news. Late Thursday we learned that our beloved anti-hunger hero Congressman Jim McGovern lost his daughter Molly unexpectedly on April 23rd. She’d been visiting friends in Europe following a semester abroad in Australia. This is truly devastating for the McGovern family. As folks may recall, Congressman McGovern and his staff have often joined our SNAP Coalition meetings over the years, and many of you know him personally. We do not have any further details at this time. Cards and condolences can be sent to his DC or District offices, and we wish to note that his wife Lisa McGovern is also Executive Director of the Prevent Cancer Foundation.
SNAP Day of Action - April 30th
There’s a LOT going on this week, but just want to get in your calendars Wednesday’s SNAP Day of Action. MLRI, Project Bread, the MA food banks have joined forces with sister states in the Northeast Region to raise awareness of threatened cuts to SNAP. We hope you’ll engage your colleagues, family and friends in emails, phone calls, social media and more on Wednesday! Look out for the Quorum action link (thanks to Project Bread) to activate on Wed
AM!
And, for those of you on LinkedIn, see powerful message posted last week by former USDA Under Secretary Cindy Long defending the hundreds of FNS staff being pushed out of USDA as the Trump Administration seeks to dismantle federal programs. Please amplify.
FY26 State State Budget - Action needed TODAY re Stolen SNAP and other Key Amendments!
Replacement of stolen SNAP - Amendment #390: If the MA legislature does not provide state funds to replace stolen SNAP, victims of SNAP theft will continue to struggle and fall behind on bills to buy food. Please urge House Reps TODAY to replace stolen SNAP - co-sponsor Amendment #390! Use this fact sheet from MLRI. So far, 37 Reps support replacing stolen SNAP - let’s get that number up! Replacing stolen SNAP is an urgent issue - on the front page of Friday’s Boston Globe and the Worcester Telegram on Saturday. Let's make sure we add to the noise!
HIP Amendment #20 and Hunger Free Campus Amendment #290: Please also reach out to your Reps to support Amendment #20 to restore HIP funding by $5M, and the Hunger Free Campus Amendment #290 seeking $2M of Fair Share funding (Millionaire’s Tax) to boost food security initiatives at our public 2 and 4 year campuses. See all critical Food Security and Economic Security critical amendments HERE.
