Throughout its 32-year history, MAZON has built strong partnerships with synagogues across the country. The MAZON Advocacy Project (MAP) leverages those relationships and engages congregants and synagogue leaders on the forefront of fighting hunger by providing meaningful opportunities to tackle hunger in America at the state and local levels. With the threat of devastating cuts and changes to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), it has become evident that a state-based approach to social justice is more important than ever.
MAP employs a community organizing approach to address hunger within a state. There are MAP programs in Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, and additional locations are planned. Activities generally remain the same from state to state, however the issues and solutions are different.
Outcomes to date include 150 synagogues in 15 states and more than 30,000 congregants engaged since 2012. MAP has improved the lives of over 5 million Americans by expanding their access to nutritious food, including improved food access for 30,000 seniors in Maryland; increased SNAP enrollment for 50,000 people in Massachusetts; and 62,500 additional children now receive a free lunch at school in Minnesota. In Texas, we created universal school breakfast for 4 million children; in California, MAZON assisted one million young adults and veterans in accessing food benefits; and in Pennsylvania, the expanded food purchasing budget helped 800,000 people.
The MAZON Advocacy Project is building a Jewish constituency committed to social justice and working to end hunger throughout the U.S.
