SNAP Outreach in Schools Toolkit

This toolkit was created to help you get the word out about Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits available to support families with groceries and ensure kids have the food they need to fuel their education.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Social Media Graphics and Posts
• Website Button
• Website/Newsletter Blurb & Text Message/Robocall Script
• Parents/Caregivers Letter/Email
• Customizable Flyer

**Assets are available in this toolkit in English and Spanish. For Chinese, Vietnamese or Tagalog, visit this link**

Introduction

What is SNAP and Why is it Important for Schools?

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) provides monthly grocery benefits on a ‘debit-like card’ to purchase food from places families normally shop like grocery stores or farmers markets.

Any U.S. citizen and certain lawfully present non-citizens can receive SNAP benefits if they qualify. The program is available nationwide and may have a different name depending on where you are located (such as CalFresh in California and FoodShare in Wisconsin). To qualify for SNAP, a household’s income has to be below a certain amount based on a state’s requirements. Benefits levels are based on a household’s income and expenses, for example benefits can be up to $939 a month for a household of four (benefits amounts are higher in Alaska and Hawaii). Learn more about SNAP.

SNAP supports families and kids to have the food they need, but it also supports schools to:

• Reach more kids with free school meals while saving administration costs and staff time. SNAP participation also boosts school nutrition department revenue by increasing the number of meals that get full federal reimbursement.
• Secure money for education programs and supports like libraries and internet access.
• Improve student education outcomes including increasing the chance of high school graduation.
• Provide more resources for students, families, and their communities like discounted internet service and identifying areas eligible for free community-wide afterschool and summer meal programs.

Learn more about the ways SNAP supports schools.

Outreach

SNAP is a valuable resource for families, but many families may not know about it. Families generally trust schools, which make schools an important messenger for sharing about SNAP benefits and ensuring families know about and can access this food assistance.

Conducting SNAP outreach helps eligible families know about the program while also expanding the reach of school meals and boosting school revenue. There are many ways schools can increase awareness of SNAP and this toolkit helps provide customizable tools for outreach. Learn more about SNAP outreach strategies in schools.

Think about the families in your school and community—how do they typically receive information? Utilize the channels that families are familiar with to share information about SNAP.

Helpful outreach resources

• The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) links to each state’s SNAP information and application. This link will also help you confirm the name of the SNAP program in your state. Make sure the below messages have the correct name.
• No Kid Hungry has a webpage in English and Spanish with information about SNAP for families that you can use to share about the program. It includes basic information about the program, how to apply along with connections to each state’s application, and a link to a SNAP eligibility screener.
• mRelief provides an online and text based SNAP eligibility screener that can be integrated into outreach materials and messaging. Your state or a local partner might offer a SNAP application assistance hotline which you could add to your materials.
• There are communities, such as immigrant and rural communities, that have increased barriers to SNAP access and it’s important to provide targeted messaging and support. This toolkit integrates proven messages for these communities, in particular immigrant communities and mixed status families (households where family members have different citizenship and/or documentation statuses). Learn more about efforts to increase awareness about SNAP for immigrant communities from the Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition and find additional outreach tools from UnidosUS and No Kid Hungry.

Organizations and schools around the county have developed great resources for SNAP outreach in school settings. Here are examples of their work:

• Hunger Solutions New York: SNAP outreach for schools resources
• San Diego Hunger Coalition & No Kid Hungry California Calfresh campaign: Campaign resources, social marketing toolkit
• SNAP in School Toolkits: Second Harvest Heartland, Tennessee Justice Center, End Hunger Connecticut!
• SNAP & mixed-status families social toolkit: UnidosUS & No Kid Hungry
• Hunger-Free Oklahoma flier

Social Media Graphics and Posts

Graphics

Customizable Flyer