THE SOUTH DESERVES EQUITABLE FOOD SECURITY
We work to protect and expand access to healthy food for Southern families and communities. When we survey low-income Southern households, they consistently report that food security is one of the top challenges they face. By investing in community-level data and research and supporting coalition work, we champion food policy efforts led by the people who know what their communities need.
WIC IN ALABAMA
From late 2024 to early 2025, Feeding Alabama and the Southern Economic Advancement Project (SEAP) conducted a survey of current and former WIC participants. Using the Propel app—a tool designed to assist food-insecure households—we heard from 429 mothers from across the state. Their feedback sheds light on the many strengths of the program, as well as opportunities for improvement.
The survey results highlight just how much WIC means to Alabama’s mothers and families:
- 97% of respondents said they would recommend WIC to others.
- 88% of respondents said it was somewhat easy or very easy to apply for WIC.
- 88% of respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with the quality of nutrition education services.
- 86% of respondents reported positive changes for their families, such as better access to food, healthier food choices, improved healthcare access, and enhanced breastfeeding support.
Mothers Share Ways WIC Can Improve: increasing the quantity of eligible items, the range of options for special diets such as gluten free options, improving the in-store shopping experience by clearly marking eligible items, extend program eligibility beyond age 5.
Community-centered data is a valuable tool in knowing what programs are worth defending and making even more effective for the families that rely on them. Surveys like this one that center the experiences of Alabama mothers can help shape WIC implementation so that it works even better for everyone.
SUMMER FEEDING COALITION SUPPORT IN MISSISSIPPI
In 2024, SEAP and Springboard to Opportunities worked together to form a coalition of Mississippi food security advocates working to educate the MS state government on the importance of adopting SUN Bucks. This USDA program provides eligible families with an additional $40 per month in SNAP benefits during the summer months when children are out of school.
SEAP supported the coalition by acting as a convener, tapping into its existing network to help ensure a cross-section of community-oriented groups were invited to the table.
SEAP also used its existing relationship with Propel to survey MS SNAP households to learn about how implementing SUN Bucks would impact their families. Over 1500 Mississippi households responded.
- 87% of respondents said it is difficult to provide enough food for their children over the summer
- 23% of respondents were able to access a summer feeding site
- 52% of those respondents who accessed summer feeding sites said that the sites helped but did not meet their household’s food needs entirely
The coalition went to the MS Capitol in early 2025 to support the adoption of the SUN Bucks program on behalf of the more than 324,000 children in the state who would be eligible.
SUPPORTING FOOD POLICY IMPLEMENTATION
One of the ways SEAP works to address gaps in policy infrastructure is by working to remove the barriers to implementing the policies that support Southern communities and families.
In 2024, several states decided not to implement SUN Bucks, citing the administrative burden imposed on the program by USDA.
In the South, where child hunger rates are among the highest in the nation, the need for Summer EBT is particularly urgent in the states —Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida— that chose not to participate for summer of 2024. So, SEAP partnered with the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) to create a summer EBT resource aimed at educating states on the resources USDA provides to ease the administrative burden of implementing Summer EBT with the goal of all southern states opting in for 2025.