Ayanna Williams

Ayanna Kane-Williams is a graduate of Colgate University who plans to spend time abroad working with the Peace Corps, which is why this story about the hard life for young children living in the slums of Mumbai, India, had particular resonance for her.

Through her work with the Hunger Task Force, she learned many children in Milwaukee have a hard life as well.

Ayanna Williams is working for the Hunger Task Force in Milwaukee.Her job is to spend the day at the Marcia P. Coggs Human Services Building on 12th and Vliet, where people apply for the federal food stamp program.Williams offers help if people have trouble using the computer stations to either apply for benefits or to check their status, if they haven't arrived.

"A lot of people have come in and said that they've done everything right.They've sent in all their information, they've given all the paperwork that they should have given, but they're still not getting their benefits and they don't understand why," Williams says.

Williams says the crowds have been picking up since September, when the country was rocked by the financial meltdown and the credit crisis.

"A very telling indicator is if you come in an hour and a half after the Coggs Center has opened and you see that all the seats are filled because that many people have come early, because they know they're going to wait all day long to get their questions answered," Williams says.

Williams says many people have to wait days or weeks before they get their benefits.

(Left to Right) Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellow Ayanna Williams; Representative Jo Ann Emerson; Senator Herb Kohl and Jon Janowski.

Ayanna Williams
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Ayanna Williams
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Ayanna Williams
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Ayanna is working to make food stamp benefits more accessible to low-income residents of Milwaukee County. She is conducting research and identifying best practices for improving the speed and quality of the application process, and assisting food pantries with food stamp outreach activities. Education and Experience: Originally from Bowie, MD, Ayanna graduated from Colgate University in 2008 with a degree in geography and sociology. At Colgate she served as an Upstate Institute Fellow, residential advisor, and Manzi Fellow, and she studied social policy in the U.S, Australia, and Uganda. Ayanna also conducted geographic, biological, and public health research in Buhoma, Uganda.

Ayanna Williams
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Ayanna Williams
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Ayanna Williams
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Ayanna is working to make food stamp benefits more accessible to low-income residents of Milwaukee County. She is conducting research and identifying best practices for improving the speed and quality of the application process, and assisting food pantries with food stamp outreach activities. Education and Experience: Originally from Bowie, MD, Ayanna graduated from Colgate University in 2008 with a degree in geography and sociology. At Colgate she served as an Upstate Institute Fellow, residential advisor, and Manzi Fellow, and she studied social policy in the U.S, Australia, and Uganda. Ayanna also conducted geographic, biological, and public health research in Buhoma, Uganda.

Ayanna Williams
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Ayanna Williams
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Ayanna Williams
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Ayanna worked to make SNAP/food stamp benefits more accessible to low-income residents of Milwaukee County. She conducted research and identified best practices for improving the speed and quality of the application process, and assisted food pantries with SNAP/food stamp outreach activities. Hunger Free Community Reports: An Exploratory Assessment of FoodShare Modernization in Milwaukee County documents the modernization efforts used in Milwaukee County and several other states to increase efficiency and accuracy within the SNAP/food stamp system. Policy Placement: Food Research and Action Center (Washington, D.C.) Ayanna is working with state groups to monitor the effects of new policies and benefit increases in the Food Stamp/SNAP program from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. She is providing information to state advocates on the policy details of the recovery act, studying the impact of the changes on state and local advocacy efforts, and tracking new outreach activities. She is also analyzing SNAP participation and practices in 25 large cities in order to update the annual report Food Stamp Access in Urban America: A City by City Snapshot. Education and Experience: Originally from Bowie, MD, Ayanna graduated from Colgate University in 2008 with degrees in geography and sociology. She has served as an Upstate Institute Fellow, residential advisor, and Manzi Fellow. She also studied social policy in the U.S, Australia, and Uganda and conducted geographic, biological, and public health research in Uganda.

Ayanna Williams, Hunger Fellow