The Weekly Food Research and Action Center News Digest highlights what's new on hunger, nutrition and poverty issues at FRAC, at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, around the network of national, state and local anti-poverty and anti-hunger organizations, and in the media. The Digest will alert you to trends, reports, news items and resources and, when available, link you directly to them.

1. FRAC Shares Important Developments as New Administration and Congress Start Work
(FRAC Inaugural Week Message, January 16, 2009)

Developments over the past week show that President Barack Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden, their appointees, and the new Congress already are providing important new leadership to reach important nutrition and anti-hunger goals, according to the Food Research and Action Center. Such developments include:

Key Stimulus Initiatives in Economic Recovery Plan Will Help Low-Income People
The House of Representatives leadership last week rolled out an economic recovery plan that includes:

• a large boost in SNAP/Food Stamp benefits, and a suspension of the time limits on benefits applied to adult unemployed people without children ("ABAWDs")(together the two steps provide $20 billion in added food stamp assistance);
• $726 million to boost afterschool snack reimbursement and to expand the afterschool supper program from the current eight states to all 50 states and D.C.;
• a $300 million fund for states for SNAP/Food Stamp administrative costs to meet growing caseload demands;
• a huge improvement in the refundable part of the Child Tax Credit for low-income workers, allowing families to start getting a phased-in credit with the first dollar of earnings;
• Earned Income Tax Credit expansion,
• added funds for senior nutrition, emergency food and shelter.

During his confirmation hearing, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack recommitted to President Obama's goal of ending childhood hunger in the U.S. by 2015.

Bipartisan Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Letter
A bipartisan group of 40 senators, led by Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin and former chair Richard Lugar, sent a letter to the President urging him to provide added funding in the Administration's budget for the 2009 Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization in order to improve school meals, WIC, and afterschool and child care nutrition. The letter emphasizes program access and participation, nutrition improvement, and modernization.

SNAP/Food Stamps Responsive to Calls for Help
The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the recession will increase SNAP/Food Stamp spending to $50 billion this year, up 27 percent from 2008 (this number does not include added spending in the economic recovery bill), and would increase SNAP/Food Stamp spending $86 billion cumulatively over the next decade, showing how responsive the program is to people's urgent need for help during the downturn.

2. FRAC’s School Breakfast Scorecard and Breakfast In Americas’ Big Cities Roundup
School Breakfast Scorecard - School Year 2007-2008 (pdf)
School Breakfast in America's Big Cities - School Year 2006-2007 (pdf)
Press release on the reports.

(Grand Forks Herald, January 14, 2009)
North Dakota could gain more than $1.05 million in federal funds if every 60 low-income children ate breakfast at school for every 100 low-income students who eat lunch, bringing the morning meal to 4,579 additional needy students, according to FRAC’s School Breakfast Scorecard. In the 2007-2008 school year, 46 percent of students participated. “We have good participation, but we can do better,” said Julie Tunseth, Grand Forks schools director of child nutrition. “It’s the number one thing students can do for their grades and concentration.” Grand Forks offers a flexible breakfast schedule to make sure more students participate. Minnesota is missing out on $9.4 million, but could receive that amount if 43,000 more low-income students participate in school breakfast. FRAC’s Scorecard shows that currently only 43 percent of eligible students in the state receive breakfast. New Mexico has 63 percent of children participating, the highest percentage according to the Scorecard. South Carolina follows with 60 percent. (Article access requires free registration.)

(Montana’s News Station, January 14, 2009)
Montana ranks 29th out of 50 states in school breakfast participation. “It’s a terrible mistake given all the evidence that school breakfast improves learning and health and reduces school nurse visits and improves discipline and reduces obesity, it’s a magic bullet,” said FRAC’s president Jim Weill.

(Medill Reports, January 16, 2009)
Chicago public schools’ low breakfast participation – only 28.7 percent of eligible students receive the meal – ranks it lowest in the nation among urban areas studied in FRAC’s School Breakfast in America’s Big Cities – School Year 2006-2007 report. Newark, N.J. schools had the highest participation among the urban schools studied in the FRAC report, with 88.4 percent of students receiving breakfast. The report compares the number of low- and moderate-income children who eat school lunches with those who eat breakfast “It upsets me that 407,000 Chicago Public School kids are eating lunch and only 80,000 are eating breakfast,” said Diane Doherty, executive director of the Illinois Hunger Coalition. Doherty noted that if 70 percent of Chicago students ate breakfast, $24.6 million in federal funds would come to the schools. In addition, more children would benefit; according to seventh-grader Stefanie Davila, “My stomach growls and it’s hard to concentrate when you don’t eat breakfast.” Many students lack the time in the morning to eat breakfast. In FRAC’s School Breakfast Scorecard, a companion report that measured breakfast participation in the states, Illinois ranked last among all 50 states.

3. San Diego Officials Investigate County’s Low SNAP/Food Stamp Enrollment; Barriers Identified Keep Needy from SNAP/Food Stamps
(San Diego Union Tribune, January 14, 2009; KPBS, January 14, 2009)

Only 29 percent of eligible San Diego County, Calif. residents receive SNAP/Food Stamp benefits, the lowest rate among cities in the country according to FRAC. This statistic prompted San Diego City Councilwoman Marti Emerald to dedicate the agenda of a recent Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee meeting to discussing the low rate and solicit ideas for raising participation. The SNAP/Food Stamp program “is the right thing to do for people struggling with the economy and with home foreclosures,” said Emerald. “It’s also an economic stimulus,” she added. “You put those cards in people’s pockets and they’ve got a little extra money to buy shoes for their kids.” Demand is rising in the county, which saw 6,100 people apply in December 2008, 40 percent more than in December 2007. The total for the county is now 120,000 people. Although the city of San Diego has no “official role” in the county SNAP/Food Stamp program, the city council wants to help people connect with the federal program. There have been reports of people being given misinformation or being intimidated - barriers to participation, according to the San Diego Hunger Coalition.

Investigating why so few people in California’s San Diego County are receiving SNAP/Food Stamps, The San Diego Nutrition Network found through public outreach sessions that those eligible who don’t apply find the application process intrusive due to inappropriate questions, while others are misinformed or unaware of the benefit. 480,000 county residents are eligible, but just a quarter of that number receive the benefit.

These findings prompted the city of San Diego’s Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee to hold a hearing. “Many of the people who are in need, those families that are hungry that have children who are going to bed hungry at night and showing up at school hungry in the morning live in the city of San Diego and I think its very important to find out exactly what the county is doing to administer that program,” said committee chair and Councilmember Marti Emerald.

4. Economy Drives Up Colorado SNAP/Food Stamp Participation
(9 News, January 14, 2009; Colorado Springs Gazette, January 14, 2009)

The name has changed from “food stamps” to “food assistance” in Colorado, and the need has changed as well, as thousands more are requesting help. “From October of 2007 to December of 2008, we have had a 20 percent increase in the food stamp caseload statewide,” said Liz McDonough of the Colorado Department of Human Services. Adams County has seen a 23 percent increase, prompting the county’s Social Services Division director Mark Tandberg to say “I think we set a new record.” Both McDonough and Tandberg say the economy is to blame. Although counties have experienced backlogs in recertification due to the increased demand for services, officials are doing all they can to get the benefit to people in a timely fashion; the average time for new application processing is 30 days. El Paso County’s numbers have “gone through the roof,” as the county went from distributing $3.3 million in SNAP/Food Stamps at the start of 2008; the number jumped to $4.4 million in October and then $5.3 million in December. The increases in Colorado mirror the national trends. In December 2008, 31 million received SNAP/Food Stamp benefits nationwide, according to FRAC.

5. Florida Has Highest SNAP/Food Stamp Request Rate in Nation
(Tampabay.com, January 10, 2009)

Florida officials recently declared that one out of every ten Floridians is on SNAP/Food Stamps, with the number of new applicants having spiked by 45 percent in the last two years. According to Terry Field of the Florida Department of Children and Families, “Most of the new people have jobs, or just recently have become unemployed. I don’t think anyone expected this huge increase in need.” Applicants have been packing waiting rooms, even showing up before the offices open. Lizvette Perez, a 32-year-old single mom, applied recently. "I never thought I'd have to do this," she said. Although she works full-time at the airport for Hertz Car Rental, her salary isn’t enough to cover the needs of herself, her son and her mother, who all live together in a two-bedroom apartment. Her juggling to pay bills, with $200 a month going to her son’s after-care program, became even more difficult after her mother’s jewelry-sales income slowed to a trickle. It was Perez’s mother who urged her to apply for the benefit after their electricity was turned off. “If you won’t do this for yourself, do it for Roberto. He is only 8. He shouldn’t be hungry,” she said.

6. SNAP/Food Stamp Applicants Crowd Waiting Rooms in Tennessee
(Jackson Sun, January 11, 2009)

According to the Tennessee Department of Human Resources (DHR), the number of SNAP/Food Stamp households increased more than 10 percent from January 2008 to November 2008. High food and fuel prices and increased layoffs and unemployment are responsible for the numbers, which have shocked Tim McBride, field management director for Carroll, Crockett, Gibson and Weakly Counties. McBride has worked for 20 years in Human Services, and now sees crowded waiting rooms in every county office he visits. Because of the state’s unemployment rate, Tennessee is operating the SNAP/Food Stamp program under a waiver from USDA, which eliminates the rule that states adults without dependents could only receive five months of benefits in three years. SNAP recipients are now certified for six or 12 months and can continue to receive assistance as long as they meet the basic income requirements and guidelines. Case workers have been busier in recent months, said Michelle Mowery Johnson of DHR, and the goal is to process applications in a timely manner. Online applications are now permitted. Tennessee residents who have recently applied include Toni Brown, a school bus driver who, although she loves her job, is not bringing home enough to pay all the bills. Kim Williamson lost her job of four years and is now receiving SNAP. “You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do,” she said. “It is nothing to be ashamed of, and I feel blessed to have transportation, food and a warm place to live.”

7. Senior and Family Outreach, Economy Increase SNAP/Food Stamp Numbers in Alabama
(Tuscaloosa News, January 10, 2009; The Birmingham News, January 6, 2009)

SNAP/Food Stamp participation increased 14 percent in Alabama over the past year, due to the economy and a recent push to sign up eligible seniors, said John Hardy of the state’s Department of Human Resources. Checkout clerks in grocery stores have noticed an increase in the number of seniors using the EBT cards to redeem the benefit on food; one store manager noted “We have to help them and tech them how to swipe their cards.” Seniors can also now apply through the mail or via a telephone interview. Alabama’s rate of SNAP/Food Stamp use is now one out of every seven people, an increase of 65,000 over the past year, with 559,364 in November 2007 and 624,670 in November 2008 receiving the benefit. The state has also focused on signing up eligible families.

8. Less Funding, Larger Demand Means Longer SNAP/Food Stamp Wait in Ohio
(Newark Advocate, January 10, 2009)

State cuts removed about $116,000, on top of an earlier cut of $327,000, from the Licking County Department of Job and Family Services (JFS) budget for SNAP/Food Stamp, Medicaid, disability eligibility, TANF, and other state mandated programs. JFS director John Fisher said the office will not be able to fill vacant positions; less staff means possible longer wait times for office appointments and delivery of services. Need has increased though, with SNAP/Food Stamp participation almost doubling since 2003; more than 33 percent of those adult recipients are employed, an increase since mid-2007.

9. Florida to Shift Budget Dollars in Favor of SNAP/Food Stamps
(Panama City News Herald, January 10, 2009)

Florida lawmakers are increasing by $2 million the state budget for administering SNAP/Food Stamps and other public assistance by shifting dollars from other programs to help pay for worker overtime. A “deluge of claims resulting from the economic downturn” has strained worker capacity and resulted in delays for SNAP/Food Stamps and other public services. According to the Florida’s Department of Children & Families Secretary George Sheldon, 600,000 new SNAP/Food Stamp recipients have signed up for the benefit in the last 20 months. “That’s the entire food stamp recipient base of the state of Virginia that we just added,” he said. For many recipients, applying for assistance is new, especially for those who lost jobs in the state’s collapsed construction industry. Potential SNAP/Food Stamp recipients have jammed the agency phone lines, and police were called on to control the crowd at one agency office. “We had long lines, it was warm, tempers got a little strong,” said Sheldon.

10. SNAP/Food Stamp Recipients Can Get Discounted Bus Passes
(Madison.com, January 9, 2009)

People eligible for SNAP/Food Stamps in Madison, Wisc. are now also eligible to purchase monthly bus passes at a discounted rate of $27.50 (originally $55). Mayor Dave Cieslewicz announced the plan, which is supported by nonprofit organizations and in place to keep Metro Transit ridership up when fares increase on April 1. 3,600 passes are available on a first-come, first-served basis. The fare increase and discounted fares will “improve the Metro system…while working to make sure those who need it have access to it,” said Mayor Cieslewicz. Transit and Parking Commission Chairman Carl Durocher is concerned that people not on SNAP/Food Stamps will find the rate increase a “real obstacle.” “Studies show that, demographically, people who ride Metro are two times as likely to be at or near the poverty level than the population as a whole,” Durocher said.

11. Number of Involuntary Part-Time Workers Nearly Doubles
(Economic Policy Institute, January 14, 2009)

America’s involuntary part-time worker statistic climbed from slightly over four million to over eight million in the past year, as full-time workers accepted cutbacks in hours. Involuntary part-time workers are those workers with full-time jobs who have had their hours reduced below 35 hours a week, or workers who settle for part-time jobs because they could not find full time employment. Reduced work hours accounted for 90 percent of the increase in involuntary part-time workers according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a “clear indication of the economy’s rapid deterioration.” A sign that the economy is turning around will be if those workers see their hours restored.

12. School Breakfast Turns Troubled Toronto School Around
(Toronto Star, January 10, 2009)

According to the principal of Toronto’s C.W. Smith Collegiate school, Audley Salmon, the school breakfast program has made the biggest impact on students. “I’ve found students are calmer, and happier,” when they’re not hungry, he said. Students have their pick of breakfast pizzas, sandwiches, fruit, bagels, and milk when they enter the school each morning. Salmon noted the students also feel cared for because the school offers breakfast. “They understand that as a school community, we are trying to take care of them,” he said. And the students are eating the food, said Joanna Gorska, who runs the school’s breakfast program. Monitoring the garbage proves they aren’t throwing things away.

Subscribe to FRAC's News Digest | News Digest Archives | www.frac.org