The mission of the Learning to End Hunger Food Stamp Enrollment Campaign is to increase food stamp enrollment and participation in the state of New Jersey through consistent volunteerism, service-learning, and civic engagement. The program is designed to connect current efforts of New Jersey colleges and universities, community partners, and governmental agencies, as well as, to increase the quality of campus-community partnerships around hunger.
New Jersey Food Stamp Outreach Project
According to [statistics from mid-2008,] the Food Research Action Center (FRAC), [determined that] only 58% of NJ residents who are eligible to receive food stamps [actually] participate in the program. To combat these weak numbers, volunteers serving as part of this outreach program in New Jersey will be assisting those potentially eligible with on-site One-App applications and will perform comprehensive follow-up advocacy, which is integral in increasing enrollment.
The Learning to End Hunger NJ Food Stamp Outreach Program is a project of the NJ Higher Education Service Learning Consortium, the New Jersey Anti-Hunger Coalition, and the Bonner Foundation. With the support of the County Boards of Social Services, groups such as AmeriCorps, Bonner Leaders, service-learning volunteers, and students from higher education institutions will be recruited, trained, and supported to do food stamp outreach, which will include outreach, One-App applications, and follow-up advocacy to help ensure that applicants complete the enrollment process.
The New Jersey program was developed by two full-time Bonner Leaders, Dimitrios Dogas and Heesun Cho, and is based on a highly successful food stamp enrollment campaign implemented by the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania and Phennd.
How Can My Campus Get Involved?
The project is now statewide in 8 Counties and on 7 College/University campuses in New Jersey. With over 200 individuals and families enrolled, and continuing to enroll on food stamps, service-learning students, Bonner leaders, interns, and federal work-study volunteers are now launching special food stamp outreach projects, such as community-based research, budget plans, and the development of a proposal to waive membership fee's for food stamp holders at Costo.
Training, supervising, and networking college students to act as a support system for clients and case-workers to ensure that more individuals will ultimately participate in the food stamp program, has already proven to be a successful, cost-efficient, and sustainable model.
Students supplement the existing staff and administrative structures, enabling more qualified applicants to submit completed applications and secure this important government benefit. Our statewide approach has allowed for high quality education, training, supervision and tracking to be delivered uniformly across a diverse array of county offices, non-profit organizations, and higher education institutions.With the working partnership of the Middlesex, Ocean, Mercer, Pissaic, Hudson, Essex, Union, Bergen, and Burlington County boards of Social Services, New Jersey Colleges and Universities are now expanding to other campuses and counties statewide. Students and volunteers will participate in the food stamp program by:
- Completing online applications (The One App) (3-6 hours a week)
- Participating in follow-up phone calls aimed at assisting clients with gathering necessary documents, and by encouraging those clients to enroll into and complete their applications within 30 days.
- Creating brochures and handouts with information on nutrition, transportation and smart budgeting
- Providing translating services
- Participating in Outreach Drives and special projects
Forms
Related websites
For more information
- Cynthia L. Douglas - cynthia.douglas@rutgers.edu - 732.932.1276
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