LEO lands $15G grant from Project Bread

LYNN – Lynn Economic Opportunity, Inc. (LEO) has received a $15,600 grant from Project Bread to increase awareness and enrollment in the food stamp program.The grant is designed to assist families in need and help them to apply for food stamps.As the state’s leading anti-hunger organization, Project Bread is dedicated to alleviating, preventing and ultimately ending hunger in Massachusetts.For low-income households that cannot afford to provide their families with a balanced diet, enrolling those families in a Food Stamp program addresses the problem, according to John Feehan, deputy director of LEO.”Hundreds of Lynn families and individuals have applied for food stamps at LEO’s office located at 156 Broad St.,” he said. “The average eligible household receives over $100 per month in food stamps.”LEO is currently providing application assistance to clients using the state’s virtual gateway online food stamp application, which is in partnership with the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA).The electronic process allows residents to apply for assistance in their own neighborhood and the opportunity to work with a counselor who speaks their language and coaches them through the process.In addition, the program gives applicants a unique tracking number and a confirmed time and date of submission, which eliminates the guesswork about when the application has arrived for processing.Ellen Parker, executive director of Project Bread said the process is an important one for working families who are looking to stretch their income.”Applying online at local agencies makes the food stamp application process much easier and more families are able to put food on the table,” she said.Parker said food stamps are no longer in a stamp form, but rather in the form of debit cards, which allow a family to shop for food at their local supermarket.”This benefit gives them the option of choice and allows them to shop when it’s convenient for them, such as before or after work,” she said.Those interested in applications can access the latest information about times and places online at www.gettingfoodstamps.org and click on the button on the left sidebar, “How Do I Apply.”Project Bread has trained over 100 community-based organizations across the state, including fuel assistance programs, community health centers, social service agencies, job training programs and emergency food providers to use the online application with their clients.