On Nov. 27th, 2019, Empower Missouri submitted a comment to the U.S. Department of Agriculture regarding their proposed change to how SNAP benefit allocations are calculated. Please use the link below to download or view our comment. Empower Missouri USDA Comment – State Heating and Cooling Standard Utility AllowancesDownloadRead More

Hunger is not a partisan issue. This is one of the messages that was interwoven throughout the Building Blocks for Missouri's Success Conference that was held last weekend in Columbia. It was a conference full of hope and plans of action to move us forward in our fight against hunger in our state!Read More

The St. Louis City Police Department covers one of the largest and most racial diverse jurisdictions in Missouri - roughly half of the city’s population is Black, and the other half is White, according to census data from 2010, the most recent available.Read More

Each year, the months of September and October seem to serve as conference season. In the last 60 days, each staff member from Empower Missouri has attended at least one summit, gathering, or conference on a variety of topics. JMO, our executive director, and Christine Woody, our Senior Policy and Advocacy Lead, recently attended a...Read More

The image used in this article is from NBC News. Matthew Charles embodies the mission statement of Empower Missouri’s Criminal Justice Issues Team. We advocate for: Healing rather than vengeance;Community-based alternatives to prison;Increased public safety through preventive activities that address social issues of people at risk; and Systemic and individual responses that enable persons who commit...Read More

On October 26, the Missouri HIV Justice Coalition met for its final strategic planning meeting of the year. Just over half of the group was present in Kansas City and engaged in a full day of activities and conversations looking ahead to the next legislative session and beyond. The underlying theme of the day was...Read More

We learned about successful campaigns to increase benefit levels, create child support pass throughs, add a diaper or toiletries allowance, or end a flawed policy like the “family cap” in some states.Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEOctober 23, 2019Contact: Conner Kerrigan, Communications Director815-263-1261 (cell)[email protected]  (JEFFERSON CITY, MO)…On Nov. 9th, Empower Missouri will be holding their Annual Conference, entitled Building Blocks for Missouri’s Success, at Hickman High School in Columbia, MO. Ellen Teller, Director of Government Affairs, Food Research and Action Center in Washington, DC. will serve as the keynote...Read More

Empower Missouri has repeatedly called you to action during the past year to oppose proposed regulations from the Trump Administration. Another dangerous proposal has been published in the Federal Register, open to public comment, so we must call you to stand in solidarity with families that are food insecure yet again. We recognize that The-Little-Boy-Who-Cried-Wolf...Read More

On Tuesday, October 8th, The Subcommittee on Health Care Reform held a hearing for “Discussion on Medicaid and Medicaid expansion.” Rep. Helms from District 135 in Springfield is the chair of the committee. I testified on behalf of Empower Missouri, and you can find a copy of my testimony here. You can find our full...Read More