RI Food Bank asks you to advocate for change

Speak Out for Vulnerable Families
By the RI Community Food Bank

Thousands of Rhode Island families are unable to meet their basic needs, including the daily necessity for food. According to the USDA, 15.4 percent of Rhode Island households are food insecure and at risk of hunger, which is the highest rate in New England.

Working Hard, Earning Less

While there are some signs of economic recovery in Rhode Island, 50,000 adults remain out of work. And having a job is no guarantee of economic security. Workers at the bottom of the pay scale have seen their wages drop $1 an hour since 2006. As a result, many working families don’t earn enough to afford adequate food.

Click here to read the Providence Journal's November 25, 2013 article on working families who are struggling to put food on the table.

Food Donations Down

The Rhode Island Community Food Bank’s statewide network of emergency food pantries now feeds 68,000 people each month. But food donations are down as a result of greater efficiency in the food industry. This has created a significant gap in the food supply, with food donations dropping at the same time the need for food assistance remains at a record-high level.

SNAP Benefits Cut

Over the past five years, due to lost jobs and less income, more Rhode Islanders became eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, previously the Food Stamp Program). Today, 101,500 households are enrolled in SNAP, including many low-wage working families.

Unfortunately, SNAP benefits were reduced on November 1 and Congress is proposing further cuts in the Farm Bill. These cuts will increase food insecurity and hunger in Rhode Island at a time when charitable programs are already at capacity.

Read the Food Bank’s 2013 Status Report on Hunger to get all the facts.

Advocate for Rhode Island’s most vulnerable families:

• Tell our Congressional Delegation to stop harmful cuts to SNAP.
• Send an email to your state representative and senator and ask them to increase state funding for the Food Bank to meet the growing need for food assistance.

For your convenience, below are email addresses for Rhode Island’s Congressional Delegates and a link to email addresses for members of the General Assembly.

Click here to email your Rhode Island Senators.

Click here to email your Rhode Island Representatives.

If you wish to share your opinions with the Governor or our U.S. Senators and Representatives, their contact information is below.

Governor Lincoln D. Chafee
Office of the Governor
82 Smith Street
Providence, Rhode Island 02903-1196
Governor's email: governor@governor.ri.gov
Governor's telephone: 401-222-2080

Senator Jack Reed
Rhode Island Office Address:
100 Chapel View Boulevard, Suite 290
Cranston, Rhode Island, 02920-5602
Washington, DC Office Address:
728 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Sen. Reed's email: visit http://www.reed.senate.gov/help/contacting-jack
Sen. Reed's telephone: 401-943-3100

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse
Rhode Island Office Address:
170 Westminster Street, Suite 1100
Providence, Rhode Island 02903
Washington, DC Office Address:
717 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Sen. Whitehouse's email: visit http://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/contact/
Sen. Whitehouse's telephone: 401-453-5294

Representative David Cicilline
Rhode Island Office Address:
1070 Main Street, Suite 300
Pawtucket, Rhode Island 02860
Washington, DC Office Address:
128 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 20515Rep. Cicilline's email: visit https://cicilline.house.gov/contact-me/email-me Rep. Cicilline's telephone: 401-225-4911

Representative James Langevin
Rhode Island Office:
300 Centerville Road, Suite 200 South
Warwick, Rhode Island 02886
Washington, DC Office:
109 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 20515
Rep. Langevin's email: visit http://langevin.house.gov/contact-me/email-me
Rep. Langevin's telephone: 401-739-9400