Hunger Action Team Update: Nov. 2021
What’s happening at Kansas Appleseed to fight hunger in Kansas
Hunger Action Team Regional Meetings Coming Soon!
Tajahnaé, Thriving Campaign Advocate here, and I’m excited to let you know what’s happening this month with Kansas Appleseed’s Thriving Campaign team!
My colleague, Martha, and I have been working for months connecting and building relationships with you all! We met with advocates and faith-based organizations from Northeast, Southeast, Central, and Southwest Kansas so far to invite experienced community leaders to join our Hunger Action Team. We met with experts from live individual experiences, domestic violence shelters, sexual assault advocacy, family reunification organizations, and faith-based organizations from multiple denominations. These groups work with people experiencing hunger or who have experienced it themselves.
At Kansas Appleseed, our goal is to provide Kansans with tools and resources to empower all community members to utilize their stories to create solutions to hunger. We know Kansans’ truth and expertise can guide the way, and we want to build on each other’s skills and power to create change. We had the pleasure of meeting with people one-on-one, and we are excited to work with everyone together!
Those we’ve met with so far will be hearing from our team about attending their regional meeting. If you are interested in joining, be sure to check out our social media for more information or reach out (contact info below)! You can follow us on Twitter @KansasApple, Instagram @KansasAppleseed, and Facebook at Facebook.com/KansasAppleseed.
Martha Terhaar, SWKS Thriving Advocate, mterhaar@kansasappleseed.org
Tajahnaé Stocker, Thriving Campaign Advocate, tstocker@kansasappleseed.org
Haley Kottler, Thriving Campaign Director, hkottler@kansasappleseed.org
What state and national policy proposals mean for Kansans
On November 8, 2021, Governor Laura Kelly announced her administration’s plan to eliminate Kansas’s food sales tax. Axing the state food sales tax would apply to food you buy at your local grocery store, at the farmer’s market, and anywhere grocery food items are sold.
“This plan would directly impact and help our Kansas families. The Kansas food sales tax — the second-highest food sales tax in the nation — has always created a regressive, undue burden for working Kansas families who spend hundreds of dollars each year just in taxes on their groceries. It’s past time for the Kansas Legislature to act. As food prices continue to rise, as rural grocery stores continue to struggle, and as structural racism continues to shape food policy and outcomes, axing the food sales tax is an investment in Kansas families.” — Haley Kottler, Kansas Appleseed Thriving Campaign Director
Additionally, on October 28 of this year, the Biden Administration announced the Build Back Better Framework that will aid in pulling Kansas families out of poverty and provide the necessary safety nets so Kansas individuals and families can thrive. On November 19th, we saw U.S. House of Representatives vote to pass this historic bill that will provide historic funding and resources to Child Nutrition Programs. It’s now in the U.S. Senate’s hands to take up and pass this bill!
Here is our official statement on this important moment!
“The Build Back Better Act will strengthen Kansas and communities across our state — from our most rural towns to the largest cities. We live in the breadbasket of the world, yet too many Kansans and their families still face hunger. We saw how our communities banded together and how anti-hunger programs stepped up to fill the gaps during the pandemic. Food assistance programs work, and the provisions within the Act that bolster food assistance and Child Nutrition Programs will be critical to Kansas families. Among the investments made through the Build Back Better Act are expanding access to free school meals to an additional 42,000 Kansas students and providing over 233,000 students with resources to purchase food over the summer when school’s out. The Build Back Better Act offers a pathway for Kansans to not only recover from the pandemic but to thrive. We applaud the House of Representatives’ stake in our communities.”
Kansas saw some big steps forward in policy from both our state and national governments. Removing the food tax in Kansas is long overdue for our state— for too long, Kansans have been paying more in state taxes for groceries than nearly any other state. With the introduction of a plan to remove the tax and a federal plan to increase support for families, Kansans should be able to breathe easier, save more, and provide for themselves and their families if these initiatives pass.
To help these policies make it over the finish line, make sure you’re up-to-date and ready to take action by keeping up with our Hunger Action Team: www.kansasappleseed.org/hat
