Wholespire asked for your help, and you delivered! Now that the legislative session is over, we have reason to celebrate wins addressing healthy eating and active living for all South Carolinians. From the state budget, signed by Governor McMaster, to legislative wins addressing free school meals, Wholespire and all of you worked overtime to make sure our decision-makers heard from all of us. You can further support our efforts at the State House by making a donation to our cause.
“We anticipated universal school meals and the USDA community eligibility program (CEP) would be a hot topic this session,” said Executive Director Meg Stanley. “We also knew we’d partner with the SC Department of Social Services to support their budget requests for the extension of the Healthy Bucks program and a SNAP system overhaul.”
Wholespire aims to increase access to nutritious foods. Knowing the USDA ended the emergency universal free school meals program with the 2022-23 school year, Senator Katrina Shealy, our legislative champion of the year, focused her efforts on the universal free school meals bill and Proviso 1.68, which ended school lunch shaming and closed the gap in providing free school meals.
“We understood that before COVID-19, many parents struggled to pay for their child’s school meals,” said Stanley. “Because the USDA enacted the emergency free school meals program, parents didn’t have to worry about school meal debt, and students weren’t ostracized and food shamed for their parents’ inability to pay. That and our mission alone are why we support Senator Shealy’s bill.”
Senator Shealy pre-filed S.148, calling for all public school children to receive two meals daily while at school. Wholespire staff jumped on the opportunity to advocate for a bill addressing an issue many other states were also considering. Some advocacy efforts included testifying at the Joint Citizens and Legislative Committee on Children, talking to the media, urging grassroots advocates to speak to their SC Senator, implementing a social media campaign, and hosting a press conference.
“While S.148 did not pass, the state budget included a proviso that bans meal shaming at schools and closes the gap to provide two meals a day for public school children starting in the 2023-24 school year,” said Stanley. “We still have one year left in this two-year session, and with the momentum we’ve helped build, we are hopeful the bill will pass next year.”
Another big push for Wholespire and its grassroots advocates was the Healthy Bucks Proviso. The SC Department of Social Services (DSS) requested a budget appropriation of $5 million to extend the Healthy Bucks program and $8.7 million to update the outdated computer system used to process SNAP applications, purchases and reimbursements. The two budget requests would help sustain and improve two programs that address the food insecurity of low-income families and senior citizens and would also impact local farmers who sell fresh produce at farmers markets that accept SNAP and participate in the Healthy Bucks program.
Healthy Bucks is an incentive of the SNAP program designed to help low-income families and senior citizens get more affordable and nutritious food at the farmers market. When a family spends $5 on fruit and vegetables, they get $15 in tokens for their next visit.
“Many families rely on their local farmers markets for fresh produce because they may live in a food desert without a grocery store or can’t afford gas to make the 30-mile roundtrip. That’s a reality for one too many families and senior citizens,” said Stanley. “Those are scenarios that lead to poor health choices, poor health outcomes and poor quality of life.”
Wholespire has supported the Healthy Bucks program since its pilot in 2014 by the USC Arnold School of Public Health. During this legislative session, efforts to support Healthy Bucks and SNAP, in addition to grassroots advocates contacting their state legislators, led to the legislature including both DSS requests in the state budget.
“We are grateful for the leadership of Senator Katrina Shealy, DSS and the Budget Conferees for addressing healthy food access in South Carolina,” said Stanley, “not to mention all of our grassroots advocates for supporting these legislative efforts.”
With Governor McMaster’s approval of the budget, Wholespire will continue strategizing and preparing for the 2024 legislative session and keep the momentum building for S.148 and other priorities as they unfold.
Join us each month for a lunch and learn webinar series beginning in June! Participating in the #WisdomWednesday webinars is your chance to learn from leading experts on topics related to healthy eating, active living, capacity building, communications, and more.
“Providing a regular schedule of free webinars is our opportunity to show our commitment to assisting community health coalitions and public health professionals with increasing access to healthy choices, improving health equity, and decreasing chronic diseases in South Carolina,” said Executive Director Meg Stanley.
Wholespire released the first set of recorded webinars with the launch of the HEAL Mini-Grant application. The first live webinar is scheduled for June 28, with a mix of live and recorded webinars following each month.
“We pulled the featured topics and speakers straight from The Wholespire Collaborative agenda that we had to cancel earlier this year,” said Stanley. “Delivering the Collaborative content through webinars allows us to reach more community health coalitions, professionals, and stakeholders throughout South Carolina.”
The webinars also allow Wholespire to reach its goals of aligning efforts through tailored professional development and technical assistance opportunities throughout the year. Wholespire is planning and coordinating the June 28 webinar, with registration opening soon.
To stay updated on #WisdomeWednesday webinars, check your inbox for our next email, follow us on social media, and check our events calendar on our website.
Are you interested in hosting a Healthy Young People Empowerment (HYPE) team to increase access to healthy choices in your community? HYPE teams learn the process of creating and implementing a civic action project through a five-phase curriculum. The project they choose can impact many people.
HYPE projects must address a policy, system or environmental (PSE) change within the community. PSE strategies are improvements that stand the test of time. They’re sustainable and available to anyone in the community.
The HYPE Project® is a curriculum-based approach to youth empowerment designed to build advocacy skills so teens can become a strong voice in their community. HYPE motivates teens to address the problem of obesity and other chronic diseases. While HYPE focuses on healthy eating and active living, teens can use the skills they learn to be lifelong champions of positive change.
HYPE was created to help teens get involved in community health improvements. Any group or youth-serving organization can host a HYPE team. Examples are community health coalitions, church youth groups, schools, nonprofit organizations, civic engagement organizations, youth development organizations, and more.
The benefits of HYPE are plentiful and depend on how engaged individual youth are with their HYPE team and the process of creating healthy change. The program benefits teens by leading efforts to improve the health of their community. One of the primary personal benefits is acquiring new knowledge and skills that can help with future education and employment goals. It’s a chance for youth to make decisions, share ideas, influence change, get involved in their community, and be proud of their contributions and accomplishments.
It’s that time of year to apply for a HEAL Mini-Grant! The 2023-24 application is open, and we’ve made a few changes. But first, here’s a reminder of what our mini-grants are all about – increasing access to healthy choices by implementing a policy, system or environmental (PSE) strategy.
PSE strategies are improvements that stand the test of time. They’re sustainable and available to anyone in the community. From adopting a healthy vending policy that impacts an entire school population or adding a new way of accessing fruit and vegetables in the food system to repairing a community basketball or tennis court or adding bilingual signs to any public recreation resource or farmers market, PSE strategies help community members make healthier choices and complement health programs.
New Online Application System The most significant change is that we’re using a new system, so there’s a new way of submitting your online application. Applicants can no longer register to start their application and return later to complete it or make edits. Applicants will only be able to create and complete their online application once. Our new system does not provide a save function.
So, what’s new?
Maximum Request With permission from our funder, The BlueCross® BlueShield®, the maximum amount that can be requested for the proposed project has increased from $5,000 to $6,000. The increase is due to the current economy and the increase in costs of project supplies.
On-Demand Technical Assistance Applicants will have easier access to technical assistance, a.k.a help, regarding the application, how to complete a budget, and PSE strategies. The video tutorials can be found on the mini-grant website. If you need additional help understanding the mini-grant process or have questions the videos do not address, you can email Kelsey Sanders at kelsey@wholespire.org.
Project Examples Webpage We created a webpage featuring articles about HEAL Mini-Grants, partners’ projects and other past mini-grants to show you the projects we fund. Use the information to form ideas for your proposed project or one you’re currently planning.
If you want to apply for a HEAL Mini-Grant, you must meet specific requirements:
Applicants may be a current 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization OR use a fiscal agent who is a current 501(c)(3) including, but not limited to, Wholespire chapters, community coalitions, schools, local governments, or faith-based organizations.
If your organization is not a 501(c)(3), you must provide the information for the fiscal agent you selected.
The budget for your request must not exceed $6,000. If it does, your application will not be considered.
