New funding that aims to coordinate the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) with other programs in combatting childhood hunger includes a grant for CTAHR’s Children’s Healthy Living Center of Excellence (CHL).
Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign, with support from the American Public Human Services Association, will invest nearly $2 million with six SNAP agencies, including Hawaiʻi.
The initial goal is to track trends in co-enrollment, identify the characteristics of vulnerable populations that don’t enroll in eligible programs, and guide future programs and policies. Ultimately, the initiative hopes to streamline policy, programs, and resources that impact children and families.
During the 18-month project, CHL will provide technical assistance in data integration and analytics. Following the grant period, CHL will continue to help link data systems and evaluate existing nutrition programs. The project is rooted in the ‘Ohana Nui framework, which seeks to end intergenerational poverty by addressing the needs of multigenerational households.
“This grant helps us form an important collaboration for coordinating data systems on food, nutrition and health-related programs,” says Rachel Novotny of CHL and the Dept. of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences. “This will enhance program efficiency and effectiveness for Hawaiʻi’s children and families.”