National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week

Each year, one week before Thanksgiving, National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) and the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness co-sponsor National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. The goal of this week is to bring greater awareness to the problems of hunger and homelessness and your club can help.  To help your club members understand the issues, use the Club Activity below and print out the Homelessness - Facts for Kids and Healthy Eating - Facts for Kids, before you choose a Kids Care Clubs project to implement.  Other facts and resources follow the projects.

Club Activity - Hunger and Homelessness Awareness
Find the minimum wage, housing rental costs and Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program [SNAP] (formerly Food Stamps) information for your state.
Discuss your findings and the reasons why people could be hungry or homeless in your area.

Materials Needed:

Flip chart, or blackboard
Computer with internet
Calculator
Local newspaper - real estate listings

Steps Involved:
 

1. Determine what the Minimum Wage is in your state.  Click on  US. Department of Labor Minimum Wage in States 2010.
2. Determine what a one bedroom apartment costs to rent per month in your area.  Look in the local newspaper, ask a realtor, or go on line to find the cost.*
3. Pretend you qualify for SNAP (formerly food stamps). The average montly benefit per person is $101, per household it is $227.  To read more about the program Click on SNAP Eligibility.
4. Put the numbers on a chart. For example, the Federal minimum wage $7.25 per hour, if you work 40 hours a week, = $290 per week time four weeks in a month =  $1160.  (Look up your own state for accuracy)
5. Determine what a one bedroom apartment costs in your area.
6. Check out the SNAP Eligibility per person. One person is eligible for food stamps if he or she makes $1,174 or after taxes $903.  This person would most likely be eligible to receive $101 per month or $25.25 a week to buy food.
7. Line up the numbers:
   Net income $903 per month.
   Rent $678 per month.
   SNAP - $101 per month. 
8. Calculate the numbers.  Ask your club members what other items families might need to spend money on besides rent and food each month.
9. Using your findings discuss why people might be homeless or hungry in your community or state.

*Example: Doing a quick internet search for one bedroom apartments in Baltimore, Maryland, where the minimum wage is also $7.25 per hour, studio and one bedroom apartments can rent from $678 to $736 per month.

Using the US Department of Labor Minimum Wage website and the SNAP website, you can customize the numbers for your state. 

Additional Resource:  The EPI -- Budget Family Budget Calculator will give you additonal costs for specific areas in your state.      

Issues Education - Fact Sheets for Kids
Download the factsheets below to help you club members understand the issues.

Homelessness -- Facts for Kids

Healthy Eating -- Facts for Kids

Kids Care Clubs Projects
Hunger and Homelessness 

Your Club can help the hungry and the homeless with the following projects: Before donating to a shelter, soup kitchen or food bank, call first to check on their needs and what they accept. 

Kids Care Clubs Healthy Kid Kits 
Collect and assemble toiletry kits for kids.  

Kids Care Clubs Blanket Hugs
Make fleece blankets for families living in homeless shelters. 

Kids Care Winter Wear Share
Collect clean and gently used coats, hats, mittens, scarves, fleece jackets, and winter boots for families living in shelters. 

Kids Care Clubs Holiday Hope Chests
Create a special holiday gift filled with fun and useful items for children living in shelters. 

Kids Care Clubs Dimes for Diapers 
Check with the shelter or food bank if they accept diapers.  Collect all sizes along with baby wipes. 

Kids Care Clubs Feed the Hungry
Read about the many project ideas and resources to help your club feed the hungry in your community.  

Kids Care Clubs -- Just Bring One!  Food Bank Collection 

Are you hosting a school or community event?  Collect items for pantries, food banks and soup kitchens by asking guests to "Just Bring One! item of non-perishable food to the event.
 

Other collection ideas:
-Collect NEW socks and underwear
-Collect household goods or other items such as kitchen utensils, cleaning supplies, toilet paper, paper towels, books, toys or games

Recent facts from the National Coalition for the Homeless,  Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) and Feeding America: 

The National Coalition for the Homeless believes that homelessness and poverty are inextricably linked. Below are some reasons:

-Housing absorbs a high proportion of income and poor people are often unable to pay for housing, food, health care and education.

-Foreclosures have increased the number of people who experience homelessness.

-More than the minimum wage is required to afford a one or two bedroom apartment in every state.

-The unemployment rate is 9.6% and jobs are not easy to find in this economy.

FRAC reports that according to the USDA, 50 million Americans (one in seven) including 17 million children lived in food insecure (low food security and very low food security) households in 2009.

Feeding America, the nation’s leading domestic relief charity reports hunger in American is on the rise. They estimate:

-Nearly 14 million children are served by Feeding America, over 3 million of which are ages 5 and under.

-20% or more of the child population in 16 states and D.C. are living in food insecure households.

-Their nationwide network of food banks is feeding 1 million more Americans each week than we did in 2006.

-Thirty-six percent of the households they serve have at least one person working.

 
Recomended Reading

 

Homelessness

Hunger 

Internet Resources
National Coalition for the Homeless 
The goal of this national agency is to end homelessness.

Feeding America  
This is the nations leading domestic relief charity alleviating hunger.

Food Research and Action Center
This national anti-hunger organization lobbies on behalf of those using food stamps, the Women and Children's (WIC) food program and other national nutrition initiatives.

Economic Policy Institute – Family Budget Calculator
EPI’s Family Budget Calculator compiles the costs of essentials such as housing, food, child care, transportation and health care in different regions of the country to provide an estimate of how much families need to get by.