TESTIMONY
Raquel Grant, Chief Development Officer at The Campaign Against Hunger, on Addressing Hunger and Funding Issues in City Programs
5:18:35
·
110 sec
Raquel Grant addresses three key issues faced by The Campaign Against Hunger, including food contract reimbursement, benefits work assessment, and workforce development support.
- Grant emphasizes the impact of food inflation and the need for improved reimbursement processes for organizations.
- She calls for the Department of Social Services to evaluate benefit programs for underrepresented families, highlighting SNAP and the child tax credit.
- Advocates for more support for workforce development programs to help families achieve financial stability.
- Notes the organization's operational deficit and the threat of budget cuts, advocating for sustained and increased funding for food assistance programs.
Raquel Grant
5:18:35
Good afternoon, Deputy Cherry Yalla.
5:18:38
Thank you for allowing the campaign against honor to testify.
5:18:41
My name is Raquel Grant.
5:18:42
And the chief development officer and intensifying doctor Melanie Samortes said.
5:18:46
The campaign against under the twenty five year old organization, we 1,400,000 Straubman, New Yorkers every year, and a 145 ZIP codes, and a 14,000,000 meals.
5:18:56
There are three areas of concern for the organization.
5:18:59
Firstly, we'd like to address food and contract reimbursement, which has been echoed by a lot of our colleagues we're supporting 205 organizations and advocates who are working day and night to ensure families can access food.
5:19:12
As we know, food inflation is a serious problem.
5:19:14
We're seeing more families on the line, including migrants, and we're being asked to front out of pocket 1000 of dollars to purchase food and do critical work but have to go through the arduous contract process that can take years for reimbursement.
5:19:28
We currently have an operational deficit, which moves in tied to contract reimbursement, and we are at risk.
5:19:34
There are also anticipated budget cuts, but no cuts on the food lines.
5:19:38
They keep growing.
5:19:39
So the campaign against hunger join our colleagues in food to echo that funding needs to be maintained and increased for these programs.
5:19:46
We also want to echo what Speaker Adams mentioned earlier that agents need much prioritized backlogs so that organizations can get the funding needed to execute critical programs and service is, secondly, we want to implore DSS to assess the scale and scope of our benefits work for underrepresented families, including snap screening for your nearest Medicaid child tax credit and other services.
5:20:09
Lastly, we're advocating for increased support for workforce development programs.
5:20:13
Which are a crucial interface of providing families with financial stability and to lift them out of poverty.
5:20:19
We have submitted written testimony we can be agently then literally cancel for their continued support.
5:20:25
Thank you.
