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. Stimulus Boost to Arrive as SNAP/Food Stamp Numbers Continue to Climb
(hutchnews.com, March 21, 2009)

Starting April 1, 2009, SNAP/Food Stamp recipients across the country will see their benefits increase, part of the SNAP/Food Stamp boost signed into law by the economic recovery act. Able-bodied adults who are eligible for the benefit will be able to receive SNAP/Food Stamps for a longer period, as the recovery package allows for the suspension of the “3 months/3 years” limitation. The changes come at a time when states are still experiencing increases in SNAP/Food Stamp demand. Michelle Ponce of the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services notes that the boost in funding will not only help recipients but also help the economy. “One neat fact is that for every $5 in food assistance, it generates $9 in economic activity for the state,” she said, adding that those who receive the benefit won’t save it, but “in turn they will spend some, and so on and so on.” SNAP/Food Stamps “grows and contracts” as needed and is not limited by funding, allowing anyone eligible to participate. In Kansas, 94,000 households currently receive SNAP/Food Stamps, up from January 2008’s total of 85,000 households. In Idaho, participation in the program jumped 28.3 percent (to 49,465 households) over past year – the largest increase among states; Idaho also had a 5.5 percent jump from November to December 2008.

2. SNAP/Food Stamp Boost and Improvements Go Hand-in-Hand in Florida
(Fort Myers News-Press, March 24, 2009)

In Florida, a statewide group began investigating, just days before the benefit rises, how to modernize and make the SNAP/Food Stamp process more “user-friendly” in the face of “skyrocketing demand.” Over the last year, calls to the Department of Children and Families (DCF) benefit centers increased from 1.5 million to 2.5 million, and over the past two years there has been a 54 percent jump in family SNAP/Food Stamp participation. Spikes occurred in Lee County (146 percent increase) and Collier County (119 percent.) “People are finding themselves in among the unemployed in need of services for the first time, and they’re navigating very treacherous waters,” said DCF Secretary George Sheldon. “We’ve got to make it simple.” The 21-member group, convened by the DCF, is also investigating similar changes for Medicaid and welfare and wants to reach rural communities, seniors and people with disabilities.

3. Michigan SNAP/Food Stamp Boost Needed Along with Other Safety Net Increases
(Lansing State Journal, March 19, 2009)

SNAP/Food Stamp benefits currently go to more than 1.3 million Michigan residents, or 656,178 households; in April, the average family of four will start receiving an additional $80 a month in SNAP/Food Stamp benefits. The additional benefits should help food retailers and producers too, according to the state’s Department of Human Services, which notes that every $5 in SNAP/Food Stamps generates $9.20 in economic activity. The SNAP/Food Stamp boost is a welcome relief, said Sharon Parks, president and CEO of the Michigan League of Human Services, but cash assistance as well as other safety net assistance levels remain too low. “We’re not paying attention to our safety net at a time when increasing numbers of residents need help,” she said.

4. Texas Groups Reach Out to Potential SNAP/Food Stamp Applicants
(Lufkin Daily News, March 22, 2009)

In Texas, the Christian Information and Service Center and the East Texas Food Bank in Tyler, which saw record demand in 2008, is reaching out to educate families, workers and employers about SNAP/Food Stamp eligibility. Approximately 40 percent of Texans are eligible but haven’t applied because they don’t know how or don’t know they’re eligible. The average benefit on the state’s “Lone Star” SNAP/Food Stamp card is $276 a month, which will rise $38 in April once the economic stimulus package takes effect for the more than one million Texans receiving the benefit. The increases are expected to draw an additional $43 million in benefits to the state. This isn’t a moment too soon, according to Flor Jones of the East Texas Food Bank. “We are going through such bad financial times in the country, we need these federal dollars to come into our communities,” she said.

5. Skyrocketing Demand Speeds Up SNAP/Food Stamp Application Process in One Oregon County
(News-Review Today, March 19, 2009)

SNAP/Food Stamp applicants in Oregon’s Douglas County were waiting seven to ten days for an appointment with the Department of Human Services (DHS); now, clients receive an appointment within 30 minutes of the time they first submit their paperwork, and walk out with a SNAP/Food Stamp EBT card in hand. One in five (21,000) county residents received the benefit last month, an 18 percent increase from one in six (17,600) a year ago. “Our caseload grew so fast, there was no way to keep up with that,” said program manager Jenny Boyle. The improvements came as a result of an effort by DHS to transform its process. It hired a consulting firm to study the process at district offices; based on the study, changes were made in how workers fill out forms, how they schedule their time, and even the arrangement of their desks. And, a concerted effort among managers and case workers helped process the backlog of SNAP/Food Stamp cases. Client surveys attest to DHS’s success. “(It was) the best experience I ever had there,” noted one client, while another wrote “I was surprised to get in so quickly.” Two thirds of respondents got an interview in an hour, and the rest got appointments within one to two days. In addition, DHS is working to start accepting online applications by the summer or early fall, and is hiring additional workers. Currently, applicants can download forms online.

6. Colorado SNAP/Food Stamp Cases Climb
(Craig Daily Press, March 18, 2009)

SNAP/Food Stamp caseloads have been up in Moffat County, Colorado since October 2008, according to social services director Marie Peer. “When things aren’t doing as well, food stamps are the first place we see it,” said Peer. SNAP/Food Stamp increases are considered by human services professionals as a sign that other social services needs will increase. The number of Moffat County’s SNAP/Food Stamp cases climbed from 356 in October 2008 to 460 at the start of March 2009, an increase of 29 percent. October 2008 was also the month in which Congress passed the investment firm bailout and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost more value than at any other time that year. Still, there will be enough SNAP/Food Stamp benefits to go around since the program can expand as need arises.

7. Fewer Staff on Hand to Administer Increased Need for SNAP/Food Stamps
(Ironton Tribune, March 14, 2009)

In Ohio, the Lawrence County Job and Family Services (JFS) office serves 32 percent of county residents through SNAP/Food Stamps, child care or general assistance, and assists 175 clients per day. JFS had 130 employees in 2003, and now is down to 95; in the past year, seven employees retired or chose to leave, but haven’t been replaced. Although SNAP/Food Stamps have increased, and Medicaid eligibility was expanded from 200 percent of the poverty level to 300 percent, the state has not provided funds to local agencies to administer the programs. “We open the doors at 7:30 and I have employees who are here at 7, 7:15 and I am usually here at 7 or 7:15 and I’m here until 5 and when I come in there are already clients on the parking lot and when I leave there are clients waiting to see workers at 5 o’clock,” said JFS director Gene Myers. One woman who recently applied for SNAP/Food Stamps and medical assistance noted her experience with JFS as positive. But, Lisa Massie, an intake worker at JFS, is worried that more people will come in for assistance with fewer caseworkers to give them the help they need.

8. Florida Recovery Site Includes SNAP/Food Stamp Information
(South Florida Sun-Sentinel, March 19, 2009)

Governor Charlie Crist recently promised residents “the highest standards of fiscal integrity, transparency and accountability in putting the federal stimulus dollars to work for Florida’s families and businesses.” To that end, the state has launched FlaRecovery.com, which will help direct needy residents to SNAP/Food Stamps, unemployment compensation, workforce training, and cash assistance, as well as providing information on the state’s stimulus spending. More than $4 billion of the state’s estimated $13 billion (which it will receive over the next three years) will be directed to helping residents access SNAP/Food Stamps, Medicaid and cash assistance.

9. Massachusetts SNAP/Food Stamp Recipients and Seniors to Benefit from Extra Federal Nutrition Funding
(The Boston Channel, March 21, 2009)

An extra $2.1 million in federal nutrition program funding will help prevent seniors in Massachusetts from going hungry, said Senator John Kerry and Governor Deval Patrick at a recent senior center luncheon. The money will help maintain senior nutrition services, which have been experiencing increases in demand, as well as help stimulate the economy. SNAP/Food Stamp participation numbers also increased by 20 percent in the state last year; starting in April, recipients will see an increase in their benefits as a result of the temporary boost in benefits that was included in the economic stimulus package.

10. Advocates Urge Washington State Legislature to Preserve Anti-Hunger Program Funding
(Public News Service, March 20, 2009)

Advocates converged on the Washington Legislature recently to tell legislators not to cut current anti-hunger program funding levels, asking them to keep $5 million in the budget for anti-hunger programs and food banks “We want to protect the funds that the state has strategically invested in school meal programs,” said Linda Stone, Eastern Washington director for the Children’s Alliance. “Those are funds that not only feed more kids, but bring down more federal dollars to local school districts.” The state covers 2.4 percent of the school meal’s total cost; while it covers part of lunches for children in kindergarten to third grade, lawmakers claim the budget “won’t stretch” to cover part of school lunches for older children. A bill designed to provide free school meals to more low-income children died in committee. “This crisis really can’t be borne on the backs of hungry families,” noted Stone. “We have families…who are doing all the right stuff; they’re working, or they’re looking for work. They need help…keeping it together until economic times are better.”

11. Food Distribution and Unemployment Rates Skyrocket in One North Carolina County
(Salisbury Post, March 20, 2009)

Rowan County’s jobless rate climbed to 11.4 percent in January, and it’s believed “actual” numbers show the situation to be much worse, as 1,200 laid-off employees of Freightliner recently joined the ranks. With the rising unemployment, hundreds of people showed up recently at the Salisbury Civic Center for a quarterly food distribution. The distribution provides USDA surplus food commodities for about 1,500 families. Typically, 600 to 700 families have shown up, according to Altrusa International which has managed the distribution for the past fifteen years. But, in September 2008, 900 families showed up, and that number increased in December to 1,374 families; some people reported spending two to three hours waiting in line. One woman in line was crying, and when asked why, she said she was grateful for the food and hadn’t been able to afford meat for six months.

12. Michigan Initiative Aims to Increase School Breakfast Participation
(Detroit Free Press, March 20, 2009)

State Superintendent Mike Flanagan challenged school districts in Michigan to increase participation in school breakfast – among all children, not just those receiving free and reduced-price meals – by 50 percent by 2010. School districts with the highest increases will receive cash awards from the Dairy Industry of Michigan. Breakfast participation already climbed 12 percent from October 2007 to 2008, when 5.7 million meals were served. Specific districts reporting increases include:

Redford Union Schools – two elementary schools offering free breakfast to all students increased participation from 6,133 breakfasts served in September 2007 to 12,485 this school year.

Carrollton Public Schools – 5,000 additional breakfasts (making a total of 13,000 meals) were served in September 2008 vs. September 2007, after implementation of a district-wide program that serves breakfast in the classroom.

13. Classroom Breakfast Takes Hold in One Michigan School System
(Traverse City Record-Eagle, March 24, 2009)

Currently, students at Interlochen Community School who arrive too late for breakfast in the cafeteria can eat bagged breakfasts in their classrooms, an option the school will soon expand to all children regardless of their arrival time. The move is part of a plan by Traverse City Area Public Schools (TCAPS) to expand breakfast participation. “We have as a goal to continue to increase student achievement,” said TCAPS food service director Kristen Misiak. “We are really putting a big emphasis on breakfast so we can.” Between 2,000 and 3,000 breakfasts are served each day in the district, which has also added more hot breakfast items to attract students. The number of students qualifying for free and reduced-price breakfast has also grown in the district, which usually has 3,500 students receiving free and reduced price meals, but now has more than 3,700. According to the Food Research and Action Center, 8.5 million children participated in the School Breakfast Program across the country in the 2007-08 school year, a four percent rise from the previous school year.

14. School Breakfasts Not Just for Testing Days
(Philadelphia Public School’s The Notebook, March 23, 2009)

“It seems like some Philadelphia principals think” that children need breakfast only on days they take standardized tests, notes this editorial, which goes on to state that child advocates “have been pushing Philadelphia school officials for decades – with success – on child nutrition.” However, the city has lagged behind in breakfast participation, a “USDA entitlement for which most city schoolchildren qualify.” In 2007, only 43,000 children received free breakfast, even though 146,000 were eligible, which ranked the city’s participation rate 16th out of 23 large cities. That year, Philadelphia began serving breakfast to all elementary school students, and this year expanded it to all students. Still, “participation rates vary widely from school to school,” according to a Philadelphia Inquirer story – the range going from 18 to 98 percent. The story noted that some principals made sure children received breakfast on testing days, but were lax about participation on other days. Advocates have been trying to get school breakfast and lunch participation counted on a school report card used to judge schools and principals. “Nutrition is a no-brainer,” concludes this editorial. “Let’s hope that the people in charge have figured this out.”

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