With years of experience as senior Congressional staffers, The Hatcher Group understands how to connect its clients to lawmakers and policymakers to advance social change. We organize senior level briefings, track legislative activity, write testimony and leave-behind materials and manage “Hill Days” for organizations sending members to Capitol Hill or state capitals. We organize Congressional tours of grantee projects in legislators’ districts. We also survey legislative staff to determine how our clients’ messages are received and educate Congressional staff about the resources our clients can provide to their work. Our activities are bipartisan and educational.

CASE STUDY

TAKING THE FOOD STAMP CHALLENGE TO CAPITOL HILL
Three dollars barely buys a McDonald’s lunch, but that’s what a food stamp participant receives for one day’s meals. The Hatcher Group organized the Food Stamp Challenge, which made members of Congress understand the importance of the federal food stamp program in people’s lives. Together with the Food Research and Action Center, The Hatcher Group enlisted members of Congress to live on the average weekly food stamp benefit – $21. The Hatcher Group developed a toolkit and set up media events, including a grocery shopping trip for the legislators. A blog also allowed legislators to write about their experience, drawing hits from across the nation. (View the blog at http://foodstampchallenge.typepad.com). The project attracted significant media coverage and inspired lawmakers and advocates across the nation to take the challenge.

By humanizing life on food stamps, the Food Stamp Challenge helped make the case for increased funding. The Farm Bill that went into effect on Oct. 1, 2008 invests $10.3 billion in nutrition programs.