{"id":822,"date":"2021-11-05T13:04:01","date_gmt":"2021-11-05T17:04:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.senatorwaltertimilty.com\/?p=822"},"modified":"2021-11-17T13:06:22","modified_gmt":"2021-11-17T18:06:22","slug":"timilty-hosts-briefing-on-food-insecurity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.senatorwaltertimilty.com\/timilty-hosts-briefing-on-food-insecurity\/","title":{"rendered":"Timilty Hosts Briefing on Food Insecurity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Senator Timilty Hosts Legislative Briefing on Food Insecurity<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

(BOSTON) State Senator Walter F. Timilty cohosted a Legislative Briefing on \u201cFood Insecurity: Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic\u201d recently, with the Greater Boston Food Bank, in an effort address hunger throughout the Commonwealth.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pandemic has fueled a hunger crisis, unlike any other in our lifetime,\u201d said Timilty. \u201cNorfolk County\u2019s childhood food insecurity rose by 163% from 2018 to 2020. That figure is staggering. Behind that staggering figure is a lot of pain and a lot of hardship.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the briefing, Timilty highlighted two bills he has filed to combat hunger.<\/p>\n

Senate Bill 145, An Act establishing a commission to study childhood hunger in Norfolk County as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic<\/em>, would establish a Commission to study what led to the large increase in childhood hunger in Norfolk County during the pandemic.\u00a0 By establishing a Commission to specifically examine Norfolk County, the county can serve as a case study and draw conclusions as it relates to the growth of food insecurity throughout the Commonwealth.<\/p>\n

Senate Bill 146, An Act relative to establishing an emergency food assistance committee<\/em>, would establish a permanent emergency food assistance committee under the Department of Agriculture.\u00a0 While an Emergency Food Assistance Program has existed since 1995, the language in Timilty\u2019s bill codifies a committee, lists required members of the committee, and establishes annual reporting requirements.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is our responsibility in the Legislature to understand the root causes of this large increase in hunger and to adopt informed legislation ensuring that this never happens again,\u201d Timilty said.\u00a0 \u201cThe goal of this legislation is to ensure that all partners in the Commonwealth, including the state and private non-profit groups, are working together to combat hunger.\u00a0 It is a further goal of this legislation that we are evaluating and improving upon resources.\u201d<\/p>\n

Catherine Lynn, Senior Director of Communications and Public Affairs, and Molly Kepner, Senior Government Relations Coordinator, both from The Greater Boston Food Bank, discussed the food bank\u2019s experience as a member of the COVID-19 Command Center Food Security Task Force. The task force has since disbanded.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the beginning of COVID-19, back in early March 2020, the Greater Boston Food Bank was on the phone with many of our state agencies making sure the food pantries were deemed essential providers so they could stay open during the lock down. Many people often forget that we work with closely with the Department of Transitional Assistance, Department of Public Health, Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, and so many others. Food touches so many different programs and state agencies. The Commonwealth was really trying to figure out what to do and they pulled together the task force,\u201d Lynn said. \u201cSenator Timilty\u2019s bill is looking to continue that collaboration on a permanent basis and address food security in an ongoing basis,\u201d stated Lynn.<\/p>\n

However, even with an infrastructure in place to deliver much-needed food, there are still barriers. Two such factors are the misconceptions on eligibility for assistance and the perception of social stigma.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere need to be more unified communication to the public.\u00a0 Food pantries should have the least barrier for access to food and we must remove the stigma associated with assistance,\u201d said Lynn.<\/p>\n

The statistics during the pandemic show that more residents than ever have been impacted by food insecurity.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must enact a comprehensive plan, with better access to and awareness of food resources here in the Commonwealth,\u201d said Timilty. \u201cAs we are all, painfully, aware, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated food insecurity because of increased unemployment and financial hardship. According to a May 2021 Greater Boston Food Bank report, food insecurity in Massachusetts rose by 55% during the pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n

The briefing also included Lauren Bartell, Executive Director of Healthy Living from Old Colony YMCA, and Beth Collins, Manager of In-House programs from My Brother’s Keeper Food Pantry.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe legislation filed by Senator Timilty is a win for all of us and most importantly, for the people we serve, and the Greater Boston Food Bank has been there to offer us support,\u201d said Bartell.<\/p>\n

To watch the Legislative Briefing on \u201cFood Insecurity: Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic,\u201d click here: www.tinyurl.com\/bj75wayz<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Senator Timilty Hosts Legislative Briefing on Food Insecurity \u00a0 (BOSTON) State Senator Walter F. Timilty cohosted a Legislative Briefing on … <\/i>Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.senatorwaltertimilty.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/822"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.senatorwaltertimilty.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.senatorwaltertimilty.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.senatorwaltertimilty.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.senatorwaltertimilty.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=822"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.senatorwaltertimilty.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/822\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":823,"href":"https:\/\/www.senatorwaltertimilty.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/822\/revisions\/823"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.senatorwaltertimilty.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.senatorwaltertimilty.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.senatorwaltertimilty.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}