The Policy Project

The Policy Project is #hiring! We're looking for an Organizational Support Specialist to keep operations running smoothly and efficiently. If you're highly organized, proactive, and eager to make an impact in a fast-paced environment, we want to hear from you. Apply by April 9 or tag someone who’d be a great fit! Emily Bell McCormick Brooke Gledhill Wood Lindsay Butrum, MPH Jayden Davis

If you’re looking to solve hunger, work with someone who knows what it looks like. Oped for Deseret News As a small nonprofit, The Policy Projectrecognizes policy as an incredible tool to do widespread, upstream “good.” And we bit off a huge task this year — creating a statewide policy to address student hunger in the 2025 Utah legislative session. Hunger is a pervasive issue globally — and one that’s difficult to solve, given the nature of bodies and the constant demand every human has for energy and calories to survive and thrive. Going into the legislative session, we knew money was tight, and there were a lot of good bills that would be seeking funding. Having the right bill sponsor would be critical — someone who understands the reality of the incredible good in Utah, its robust economy and strong families, but has also seen the hidden things. The things we don’t like to highlight. Things like families who work multiple jobs and still come up short. Things like parents who aren’t able to fully care for children because of health issues, addiction or a myriad of other things. And things like kids, who can’t pay attention in class because their stomachs are pained with hunger. Enter Rep. Tyler Clancy. When I first spoke to Clancy about his passion for alleviating child hunger, he told me stories from his “real” job as a police officer in Provo. Clancy witnessed firsthand the hidden struggles families face — none more heartbreaking than child hunger. Responding to calls across the city, he saw hunger in motel rooms, in apartments, in schools. It wasn’t just a background issue — it was woven into nearly every crisis he encountered. One morning before leaving the scene of a call, Clancy asked if he could do anything for the children present. Their request was simple: a ride to school and something to eat. “Something to eat.” Those words stuck with him. He couldn’t shake the realization that hunger was a daily reality for so many kids in his community. He saw it over and over again — children going without meals, struggling to focus in school, caught in situations beyond their control. And once he had seen it, he knew he had to do something about it. Thus the birth, and passage, of Utah House Bill 100 Food Security Amendments. *** Full article available—posted next. Tyler Clancy The Policy Project

House Bill 100: Food Security Amendments PASSED its final vote, expanding access to free school lunch for K-12 students and reducing shame and stigma! ???? The bill now heads to Governor Cox’s desk to become law! As you likely know, the bill’s contents evolved quite a bit throughout the legislative session, but we feel confident it will be a significant step forward in addressing student hunger in Utah! A huge THANK YOU to Representative Clancy, Senator Cullimore, hunger experts across the state, and everyone who made this possible—this outcome is the product of each and every supportive voice! Emily Bell McCormick, Tyler Clancy, Kirk Cullimore, Kristin Andrus, Brooke Gledhill Wood, Lindsay Butrum, MPH, Jayden Davis, Emily Stembridge, Stephanie Alexis Triptow, Maizee Thompson, Lincoln Shurtz, Utahns Against Hunger, Adriele Damasceno Fugal, MSPH, AHEC Scholar, Jennifer Roberts, Aimee Winder Newton, Rich K. Nye, PhD, Michelle Linford, Nina Raynor Barnes, Kristy Pike, Christa Hinton

The bill to feed more hungry children in Utah passed the Senate committee this week. It’s been a battle. But we’re one step closer! Deseret News The Policy Project Tyler Clancy Ariel Defay

Here’s the WHY behind SB178: Devices in Public Schools. These firsthand stories highlight the negative impact of technology and social media on our students—from distraction in the classroom to mental health struggles. Here's to a future where students are more focused, connected, and empowered to thrive in their education without the constant pull of digital distractions.

Senate Bill 178: Devices in Public Schools PASSED its final vote, ensuring more focused and connected learning environments for Utah students! ?? The bill now heads to Governor Spencer Cox’s desk to become law! Thank you to EVERYONE who leaned in to make this historic step forward possible! Emily Bell McCormick, Kristin Andrus, Brooke Gledhill Wood, Lindsay Butrum, MPH, Jayden Davis, Utah House of Representatives, Utah Senate, Spencer Cox, Aimee Winder Newton, Rich K. Nye, PhD, Nina Raynor Barnes, Jennifer Roberts, Michelle Linford, Robin Ritch, Michelle Love-Day, Emily Stembridge, Maizee Thompson

? House Bill 162, “Period Products in School,” was passed unanimously by the Utah Legislature in March 2022 and signed into law by Gov. Spencer Cox. The law requires all K-12 public and charter schools in Utah to provide access to free period products in every girls’ and all-gender bathroom. ?? 18 months after implementation, The Policy Project conducted a report on the impact of increased access to period products. Swipe ?? for the results and head to our blog for a breakdown of the full report: https://lnkd.in/gvgc5Kxr State of Utah Utah State Board of Education Emily Bell McCormick Kristin Andrus Brooke Gledhill Wood Jayden Davis Lindsay Butrum, MPH

Period Positive Workplace is a movement for ALL WORKPLACES WORLDWIDE to provide period products—like most provide toilet paper. We started the movement with Days for Girls International as a recognition of the power of the workplace to create an environment friendly to women and a culture that refuses to stigmatize something as normal and essential as menstruation. Join us!!! Simple as putting period products in your bathrooms and signing up. The future is bright ? The Policy Project

Worked HARD for every green vote and every red vote on that board. A year of work. House Bill 100–which secures food for the kids who need it most, passed the House. Onto the senate…. The Policy Project

Welcome to Park City,” a sign reads as the camera swoops past the wealthy ski town, a transition for a scene set in Meredith Marks’ beautiful $35,000-a-month house.… Such things can be fascinating. So much so that The Washington Post dubbed 2024 “the year of Mormon women,” and it can seem like Utah has become synonymous with the Salt Lake Housewives, the cast of Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, and forthcoming high-end real estate series Sold on SLC. These shows all spotlight a certain kind of lifestyle—one that I understand and many times have found myself leaning in to… But appearances can be misleading. While reality show cameras and our Instagram feeds focus on some of the state’s wealthier residents, many here are struggling—and hungry. For me, the lure of a couture life juxtaposed with extreme need in the very same city, can be hard to understand, or even believe. Regardless, the reality is that 1 in 6 children in Utah is hungry. Thirty-three percent of families headed by a single mother experience food insecurity, and 1 in 10 Utah households experience food insecurity. For students—children—especially, hunger comes with many costs. Going to school without enough to eat can result in diminished academic performance, delayed development, etc. Across the state, we’ve heard stories from students in dire situations. In Logan, a student athlete was found scavenging pizza from the school dumpster. In Ogden, a young woman living out of her car described receiving mac and cheese from the food bank and the frustration of not having any way to cook it “on her dashboard.” In Beaver, we learned of a young student who resorted to eating dog food—because there was nothing else in her home. An elementary teacher in Salt Lake told of monitoring lunch one day—to discover a young boy putting mashed potatoes in his pocket. When asked what he was doing, the boy simply responded that his little sister, at home, was hungry. He was taking them to her. This legislative session, we have the opportunity to tell a new story about Utah with House Bill 100 Food Security Amendments, sponsored by Rep. Tyler Clancy and Sen. Kirk Cullimore. It’s a story about a state that offers opportunity and that cares deeply for its most vulnerable residents—its children living in poverty. **Read full Oped The Salt Lake Tribune The Policy Project