The Advocacy Team was honored to bring our Community Advocate, Bryan Espinoza, to Capitol Hill this June to attend the National Anti-Hunger Policy Conference and advocate alongside us.
Bryan was inspired to become a Community Advocate due to the severe food insecurity he experienced while in college. While his classmates were worrying about classes, he faced the added stress of not always knowing when his next meal would be.
In addition to serving as one of our Community Advocates, Bryan also helps members of our community apply for food benefits as a CalFresh Outreach Program Coordinator. Because Bryan did not know about Calfresh during his college years, he works to raise awareness and advocate for these benefits now, to ensure other college students and community members receive the support they need.
The DC trip consisted of two conference days where anti-hunger advocates from across the nation learned impactful advocacy skills. We were then able to put these skills into practice a day later while meeting and interacting with our elected officials.
We asked Byran to reflect on his first time in DC as a hunger-fighting advocate.
“It was interesting to see the challenges and successes that people are facing”
This is my first time traveling such a long distance away from my home.
The first few days of the National Anti-Hunger Policy Conference were very information based. We attended several workshops back-to-back. Although it was a lot of information to process, the conference itself presented ample opportunities to network with Food Bankers, SNAP Coordinators, advocates and others.
It was interesting seeing the challenges and successes that people are facing regarding their line of work across the U.S. I learned some states have created rules for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that don’t apply to CalFresh in California. Other states are more rural, making outreach challenging. Some food banks have just started doing advocacy, so they attended the conference in hopes of learning more.
I also had time to admire different monuments during my leisure time, such as: The Thomas Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. I also got to take a tour of the Holocaust Museum and I saw the White House. I got to check out most of these places while riding a Lime scooter, which made the experience more fun (it was nice to feel some breeze amongst the humid air).
Lobby day was my favorite because I felt a rise of energy in the air and everyone was so determined to get their advocacy voice in. I started off nervous but channeled that feeling into excitement. This is it, I thought. I get to share not only my hunger story but I had the opportunity to share client stories and challenges that I’ve heard over the course of my two years working at the Food Bank.
The night before lobby day was also a special night where we had dinner together with other food bank attendees in California. This dinner definitely brought us a lot closer before the big day and helped calm the nerves.
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