FindYourFunds webinar 2/16, seeking student stories, training opportunities & more

FoodSNAP
02/11/22

A number of resources below! Our next SNAP Coalition meeting will be Tuesday, February 22 from 10-11:30 AM. Zoom link here. Agenda to come!

 

This eblast includes:

 

  1. FindYourFunds webinar on 2/16! Register here!

  2. Collecting student and college staff stories for advocacy 

  3. Slide deck and recordings from Tuesday’s Coalition meeting on federal tax dollars for low income families /FindYourFunds.org and how to maximize SNAP with deductions.

  4. Daily Table now accepts SNAP for online ordering!

  5. Training opportunities through the MCLE Basic Benefits Training Series + upcoming 2/16 Language Access conference. 

 

  1. Register for next Wednesday, 2/16 Webinar to connect families with federal tax dollars  

 

This year, families and individuals with low or no incomes across Massachusetts could get thousands of dollars in federal payments due to recent policy changes - even if they have never filed taxes before or don’t usually file. Some examples of those who could get money from taxes who historically could not:

 

  • Families with children - even if they had no income or very little income in 2021 - can get the Child Tax Credit - up to $3,600/child!

  • Low income college students who worked in 2021 and are homeless, former foster youth, or 24+ can get EITC - up to $1,953 for a single person!

  • Older adults 65+ who worked in 2021 can get EITC- - up to $1,953 for a single person!

 

Federal payments could include any missed Stimulus Payments, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and the expanded Child Tax Credit. To get this money, people need to file a tax return- even if they haven’t filed taxes before or haven’t filed in the past few years because they have very low income. 

 

The FindYourFunds.org coalition is hosting a webinar next Wednesday, Feb. 16th at 12pm and 5:30pm for schools, cities, community organizations, providers and others to learn more. We encourage you to register (click the time you want to register for)! Please also share the FindYourFunds.org outreach materials in 11 languages.  

 

  1. Collecting student and college staff stories/statements for federal and state advocacy

There’s a LOT going on in the student food security space:

  • On the state level, the Jt. Committee on Higher Education is working hard on finalizing two bills - the Hunger Free Campus Initiative (S. 1368/S.822) and the Community College Hunger Pilot (S.487/ H. 1350). We are optimistic both will move forward favorably! 

  • On the federal level, we are working to build momentum for Rep Gomez/Senator Gillibrand’s EATs Act and support Senator Warren/Rep Hayes Student Food Security Act.

  • We are working with the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) to collect stories/statements from students and college staff to push the federal bills, and we can use the MA responses for the MA Hunger Free Campus campaign.

Please circulate this Google Form, Strengthen SNAP for College Students, to students and colleagues. (Note - we will not use any names without getting permission - but want to build a library of stories and comments for more advocacy on both levels!)   

  1. Slides and recordings on FindYourFunds.org and maximizing SNAP through deductions 

 

From our special second Tuesday meeting this week: 

 

Slides on taxes here and recording here. A huge thanks to Ancel Tejada at MASSCAP and Sarah McKitterick at the Shah Family Foundation for joining us and sharing this critical information with the Coalition!

 

MLRI slides on deductions/maximizing SNAP here and recording here. 

 

  1. Daily Table now accepts SNAP for Online Ordering!

 

SNAP households can now use SNAP for online grocery orders and receive grocery delivery from the Daily Table, a nonprofit food store with locations in Roxbury, Dorchester, and Cambridge. Daily Table customers, including those purchasing groceries with SNAP benefits, who live within a two-mile radius of any Daily Table location are eligible for free delivery.

 

See up to date information on online ordering here: Mass.gov/snap-online-purchasing-program

  1. Upcoming trainings & 2/16 Language Access conference 

 

Basic Benefits Trainings on:

  • Health Care Access: Tuesday, 2/15/2022, 9:30 am – 4:00 pm

  • Tenant’s Rights: Wednesday, 2/23/2022, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm

  • Income Maximization for the Working Poor: Tuesday, 3/1/2022, 9:15 am – 3:00 pm

  • Unemployment Benefits: Thursday, March 10, 2022, 1:00 pm–4:30 pm

 

To see all of the upcoming Basic Benefits training sessions and to register for a training, visit MCLE.org/main/MLRI 

 

Also, on February 16 the Language Access Conference will take place virtually from 9 AM - 3:30 PM. Nearly 1 in 10 Massachusetts residents speak a primary language other than English - this conference has a fantastic line up of sessions speaking to the basics of language access law, best practices for working with interpreters, trauma-informed language access practices, and more! Register and learn more here.