It seems hard to believe that we’re only a month away from the start of a new year, and a new legislative session. Pre-filing opens for the Missouri legislature today, a process where legislators from both chambers can begin filing their bills ahead of the 2024 session. Bills that are filed on December 1st are...Lee mas

We’re nearing the end of Hunger Action Month, and to wrap things up, we’re bringing you more resources and information to aid in our continued fight against hunger in Missouri!  Led by Feeding America, Hunger Action Month is an annual nationwide campaign to spread awareness and inspire action to end hunger in America. 12% of...Lee mas

We’re nearly through Hunger Action Month, and this week, we are highlighting one of our (many) incredible partners in the Food Security Coalition, KC Healthy Kids! Andrea Clark, Director of Food System Planning at KC Healthy Kids, has been a member of the Food Security Coalition for the past three years representing the Greater KC...Lee mas

As advocates in Missouri much of our time is spent working the halls of Jefferson City, especially from January-May. Many of us use summer as a time to relax and take a breath. This summer, though, has not been a time of relaxation. Our work has merely shifted from Jefferson City to Washington DC.  This...Lee mas

For years, we have been fighting a narrative that giving money and support to people trying to make ends meet without requiring them to work discourages them from working. This is simply untrue and results in policies that are based on unfounded biases and increases the risk of people of all ages and abilities failing...Lee mas

The 2023 legislative session will end today at 6PM, so there’s only a few hours remaining for the legislature to pass any final bills before the clock runs out.  There will be several opportunities over the next week to debrief the session with Empower Missouri.  On Monday, look for a special email with our end-of-session...Lee mas

Are we really debating whether it is worth spending money to feed our children? Missouri’s kids deserve three meals a day without demanding they prove they are poor enough to get fed. For most of the pandemic, the Federal Government covered the cost of school lunches for every child in a public school in America....Lee mas

Getting a raise or landing a better paying job sounds like great news, especially if your income is low enough that you need additional support to meet your family’s basic needs. But that pay increase comes with a big catch for families who use programs with income thresholds – programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition...Lee mas

Food Insecurity in the U.S. and Here at Home in Missouri More than 34 million people experience food insecurity in the United States. That includes 9 million children and more than 5 million adults aged 60 and older.   That is 10.2% of Americans in total.  Imagine a room of people randomly selected from any...Lee mas

The pandemic and its impact on our economy hit all of us hard, and illuminated the struggles low-wage workers face in ways that we had not seen for a long time. Workers with low incomes were less able to stay home, less likely to have sick leave to care for themselves and their families, and...Lee mas