SNAP helps more than 2.7 million New Yorkers, including more than 800,000 children, supplement their monthly food costs. However, many eligible New Yorkers are not participating.
Partnering with schools to share information about SNAP with families can help close this gap. As trusted messengers, schools can connect more students and families with SNAP while also streamlining their own process of collecting individual household income information.
New York’s Universal Free School Meal Program requires all participating schools to share information about SNAP with families.
Community-based SNAP navigators bring expertise and capacity that schools want and need as they implement SNAP outreach alongside many other competing priorities.
How SNAP Navigators Can Help:
Strategies for an effective partnership:
Help schools understand how SNAP benefits both families and schools, and provide outreach resources:
- Our SNAP and Schools outreach toolkit is a great place to start. Resources include a factsheet for schools, a flyer for families, and turnkey communications language for schools to use.
- Present at board of education meetings or staff meetings, or request meetings with school-based stakeholders, like superintendents, school board members, principals, school nutrition staff, and teachers.
- Equip school social workers, counselors, nurses, and support professionals with outreach resources and referral information.
Suggest easy ways for schools to incorporate SNAP outreach into existing communications:
- Use high traffic communication channels, like district-wide parent/school platforms (for example, ParentSquare), newsletters, emails, texts, robocalls, and social media
- Add SNAP information to the district’s website, cafeteria menus, calendars, bulletin boards, and school events
- Integrate SNAP outreach in student wellness programs and existing family support services
Highlight SNAP outreach best practices for schools:
- Share the benefits of participating in SNAP and next steps for applying, so families understand how SNAP helps and where to find application assistance
- Share SNAP information repeatedly throughout the school year, so families hear about the program multiple times, including back-to-school events, mid-year breaks, end-of-school-year communications, and summer school or summer meal programs
Offer to be a referral resource for families:
- Let schools know you that you offer free and confidential help to families applying for SNAP. Schools can refer families who access school-based support programs, like backpack programs and food pantries, and those who appear potentially eligible for SNAP based on income information submitted to the school through free or reduced-price school meal applications or household income eligibility forms.
