From Feeding America Foundation

On February 13, President Barack Obama released his 2013 Budget Proposal and Hunger Champions nationwide were encouraged that the proposal recognized the importance of strong investments in hunger-relief programs—particularly when so many are still struggling—while still making strides to reduce the deficit.

As Feeding America President and CEO Vicki Escarra said in a statement of support for the President’s budget, “Feeding America applauds the President’s new budget proposal for providing strong funding for federal nutrition programs, which help millions of struggling Americans put food on the table.” Read her full statement here.

Now we need you to help get the word out in your community. In honor of “Random Acts of Kindness Day,” please share your thoughts about the President’s budget and why we should invest in hunger-relief programs with your social networks—Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc. Here are some sample posts you might use:

Facebook: “In honor of Random Acts of Kindness Day and as a Feeding America advocate, I’m raising awareness of President Obama’s 2013 budget. Thankfully, the budget includes funding for federal hunger relief and nutrition programs. With so many Americans facing hunger, we should all help make hunger relief a top priority in Washington!”

Twitter: “2013 Pres budget recognizes need for investment in #hunger relief programs #HungerCostsUsAll.”

By sharing this news with your online circles, you can help raise awareness and be a “social voice” for hunger relief. You can also join the conversation by following us on Facebook and Twitter.

How does the new budget proposal support hunger relief?

• It restores SNAP benefits used to help pay for the Child Nutrition Reauthorization.
• It fully funds the purchase of nutritious commodities for TEFAP (The Emergency Food Assistance Program), a critical source of food for our nation’s food banks.
• It provides sufficient funding for CFSP (Commodity Supplemental Food Program), which provides monthly packages of food primarily to low-income seniors who are struggling to make ends meet.
• It provides funding for WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children), which ensures America's children - our future - get the nutrition they need.
• It supports implementation of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which improves child nutrition programs.

The decisions our elected officials make really do matter—to families struggling to get by, to seniors whose savings have been decimated by the recession, and to the millions of kids all across America who go to bed hungry.

Stay tuned to Feeding America and the Hunger Action Center. We’ll keep you up-to-date at key junctures as Congress and the President debate our nation’s priorities—and we’ll let you know when it’s time to take action! Together we can ensure hunger relief remains a priority.