New & Noteworthy
Hartford Foundation for Public Giving Testimony in Support of An Act Concerning Medicaid Coverage Of Food As Medicine And Expanding Access To The Connecticut Farmers' Market/women, Infants And Children Nutrition Program
On Thursday, February 20, the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving submitted testimony to the General Assembly’s Human Services Committee in support of House Bill 6101, An Act Concerning Medicaid Coverage Of Food As Medicine And Expanding Access To The Connecticut Farmers' Market/women, Infants And Children Nutrition Program and Senate Bill 0164, An Act Establishing A Task Force To Study Expanding Services Provided By The 2-1-1 Infoline Program Operated By The United Way Of Connecticut.
As part of our efforts to dismantle structural racism and advance equity in social and economic mobility in Greater Hartford's Black and Latine communities, the Hartford Foundation supports basic human needs in our region, applying an equity lens to the systems and programs that address access to food, stable housing, physical and mental health care, and the digital divide.
The Hartford Foundation and other philanthropic organizations have supported increasing food security across the Greater Hartford region for many years. To advance efforts to ensure children and families throughout Connecticut have the nutrition they need to thrive, the state must lead efforts to invest in preventing and eliminating food insecurity. Public commitment must also address the interconnection across basic human needs programs and systems to increase access to healthy food physical and mental health, and housing services to provide adequate support to the nonprofit organizations and state agencies delivering these services.
To advance these goals, the foundation supports House Bill 6101, An Act Concerning Medicaid Coverage Of Food As Medicine And Expanding Access To The Connecticut Farmers' Market/women, Infants And Children Nutrition Program. Through our work, we have seen increased needs among families with children to access adequate food, health, and other basic services. High grocery prices and the rising number of families with limited income struggling to make ends meet require the state to provide a safety net that ensures that families have access to healthy food options, including access to fruits and vegetables.
As reported in DataHaven’s 2023 Greater Hartford Community Wellbeing Index, with rising inflation, many Connecticut families have struggled with food insecurity. In 2022, the food insecurity rate in Connecticut was 17 percent, with Latino households experiencing the highest rates of food insecurity at 34 percent and Black households at 25 percent, compared to 11 percent of White households. The foundation continues to support DataHaven in providing current, actionable data on this issue. We also appreciate the Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity and Opportunity first annual report issued in 2024 on food insecurity that can also inform this work: There are 65 Low-Income, Low-Access census tracts (“food deserts”) in Connecticut with an average distance of at least one mile to a grocery store, and 207 with an average distance of at least 0.5 miles.
For many years, the foundation has provided annual grants to address basic human needs (totaling approximately $7 million each year) to support both regional and local nonprofit agencies across Greater Hartford in providing direct services and addressing systemic challenges. Our grants tackle a range of related issues, including food security and healthy food choice and other supports for wellness. This past year, the foundation’s investments included more than $688,000 in Emergency Assistance Grants to 71 nonprofit organizations throughout the region. More than half of these grants were focused on for food or food assistance. These grants prioritized nonprofits that serve neighborhoods and towns in the region with a higher percentage of residents living in poverty and seek to reduce barriers to equitable access to basic needs. Our investments have helped to address a portion of the enormous need, but philanthropy cannot adequately address food insecurity without state investment in free food programs in public schools where access to food is essential.
In November 2022, the foundation awarded a three-year, $550,000 grant to Connecticut Foodshare to support Greater Hartford food distribution and its Value-Added Product food rescue program. According to the demographic data and census tract information of Connecticut Foodbank’s target population, an estimated 39 percent of its constituents are people of color.
In December 2022, the foundation awarded $200,000 over three years to Hartford Food System (HFS). The agency’s work takes place throughout the Greater Hartford region, with a particular focus on Hartford. HFS works collaboratively with other nonprofit organizations to provide a systems-based approach that focuses on the root causes of food insecurity and challenges across food systems. HFS has also been successful in engaging Hartford residents to promote food justice and an equitable food economy.
For the past eleven years, the foundation has worked to support seven of Greater Hartford region’s Alliance Districts (Bloomfield, East Hartford, Hartford, Manchester, Vernon, Windsor, and Windsor Locks). These districts have schools where the majority of its students—in many cases the entire student body—are eligible for free and reduced school lunches. Most of the districts the foundation works with have asked us for assistance with supporting basic human needs for their students and their families, including access to food.
House Bill 6101 would expand access to healthy food for low-income families by requiring the Commissioner of Social Services to pursue a federal Medicaid waiver that would allow Medicaid to cover "produce prescriptions" for beneficiaries who have chronic diseases related to nutrition. This would allow doctors to essentially prescribe fruits and vegetables as a form of medical treatment with Medicaid helping to cover the cost. The bill would also reduce obstacles that currently prevent participation in the Connecticut Farmers' Market/Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Nutrition Program, administered by the Department of Agriculture. This legislation offers sensible solutions to ensure that more Connecticut families have access to fresh, nutritious produce that will improve health outcomes and address food insecurity.
The Hartford Foundation is ready to partner with legislators, the administration, advocates, philanthropy, and other stakeholders to eliminate food insecurity. We invite policymakers and other stakeholders to meet with us to explore public-private partnerships and ways philanthropic dollars could complement existing resources to help address funding gaps and foster equitable strategies to support Connecticut residents with significant unmet needs.
The foundation also offers its support for Senate Bill 0164 which establishes a task force to study potential expansions of the 2-1-1 Infoline program, operated by the United Way of Connecticut that provides information and referral services to residents. The foundation appreciates the proposals recognition of the invaluable role the United Way and 211 play in connecting residents to services and the desire to develop a thoughtful plan to expand these services. While policymakers consider expanding 211 services, it must also recognize the dire need to increase state support for the existing services that the service provides.
In 2024, 211 in Connecticut was called more than 1.7 million times. Not surprisingly, many of the calls over the past year have related to food insecurity, lack of housing, health care, and need for utility and heating assistance. In the past five years, requests for basic needs have risen, including food (+98 percent), mental health and addiction assistance (+60 percent), housing (+30 percent),and shelter/homeless assistance (+13 percent). According to United Way of Connecticut, since 2018, call volume has been up more than 20 percent and website volume at 211ct.org has increased 20 times, according to the service.
Despite the substantial increase in demand for 2-1-1, the program has not received a state funding increase since 2010, resulting in a loss of half its staffing with only 16 staff answering these calls from residents in need. We ask that legislators provide a funding increase of $1.25 million to allow the service to provide an additional 1,740 calls each week.
When people find themselves struggling to access the most basic of needs including food, shelter, and health care, they should not have to wait long periods of time to have their questions answered. The state must ensure that this vital service receives the support it needs.