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. Many Unemployed Reaching the End of Their Benefits
(The Washington Post, April 5, 2009)
The Urban Institute estimates that, by the second half of this year, 700,000 people could exhaust their unemployment benefits, just at the time when it’s hardest to find a job. Unemployed people can currently draw up to 59 weeks of payments, as Congress extended the benefit twice last year. But layoffs are projected to continue, and economists forecast the unemployment rate to rise to 10 percent; it’s now at 8.5 percent. The recession, which began in December 2007, will be the longest recession since the Great Depression if the downturn continues into May; 5.1 million jobs have disappeared already, with 663,000 job losses in March of this year. The situation is worse than economists had forecast; in March, a quarter of the unemployed have been off the job for six months or more, a proportion unmatched since the 1981-82 recession. Even if the recession ends, employers will be hesitant to hire. The jobless rate in the 1990-91 and 2001 recessions did not peak until a year after those recessions ended. SNAP/Food Stamp benefits and other aid programs can provide some relief to those who no longer receive unemployment, and some jobless will take “tideover” jobs that pay low wages. “What comes next…will be the mother of all jobless recoveries,” said Bernard Baumohl, chief global economist at the Economic Outlook Group. “While we may emerge from recession from a statistical standpoint later this year, most Americans will be hard-pressed to tell the difference between a recession and a recovery” over the next 12 months.
2. Rising Unemployment Numbers Don’t Tell the Whole Story
(Bloomberg.com, April 6, 2009)
Although the Department of Labor reported last week that unemployment has reached 8.5 percent, that number doesn’t take into account those Americans who are underemployed or have been looking for jobs but have given up on the search. This includes people like Joseph Ramelo, who went back to school in January after a fruitless job search, and Antonio Poe, who struggles with low pay from a part-time landscaping job after losing his full time electrician’s job. Counting those people results in an underemployment figure of 15.6 percent, which has almost doubled over the past two years. Former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich sees a “permanent shift in employment patterns” in the “historic drop in the numbers who are working along with record numbers of long-term unemployed.” Reich said, “We’re seeing many more people who are losing their connectedness to the labor force. There is a profound weakening of ties to the labor market among a large portion of our working-age population.”
3. Increase in SNAP/Food Stamp Applications Causes Texas to Halt Expansion of System Modernization
(Dallas Morning News, April 9, 2009)
A “surge” in SNAP/Food Stamp applications, coupled with backlogs in processing them, prompted the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to postpone the expansion of the Texas Integrated Eligibility Redesign System (TIERS). Federal rules stipulate that SNAP/Food Stamp applications should be processed in 30 days, but Texas only met the goal three-quarters of the time last month, down from 83 percent of the time a year earlier. Lawmakers unhappy with the TIERS system, which handles applications for public assistance, applauded the postponement. As the system experienced trouble, the state has seen enrollment in the SNAP/Food Stamp program rise 20 percent over the past year. In his statement announcing the postponment, social services “czar” Albert Hawkins also pointed out that state eligibility workers have said they have had too little time to practice with the new system.
4. California Governor Helps Residents Fill Out SNAP/Food Stamp Applications
(San Francisco Chronicle, April 10, 2009)
Governor Schwarzenegger spoke at the San Diego Food Bank recently and helped some of the thousand people gathered for the event with SNAP/Food Stamp applications and advised them on how to apply for tax credits. The large crowds and subsequent publicity prompted this article to note that “[m]aybe in the era of 10 percent unemployment and a severe economic downturn, California voters have priorities.”
5. Mobile Food Pantries Battle Hunger in Southern Wisconsin
(Madison.com, April 7, 2009)
The mobile food pantry run by Catholic Charities started serving the needs of southern Wisconsin in 2005, and continues to deliver food to long lines of residents struggling during the current recession. “There are multiple food pantries in Dane County,” said the organization’s executive director Brian Cain. “You didn’t find that in rural areas and the ones we were aware of were being pushed beyond their capacity.” In Green County, SNAP/Food Stamp numbers rose 25 percent in 2008, attesting to the need in the area. “We’re just swamped with families asking for assistance,” said Jeannie Blumer of the county’s Human Services office. Catholic Charities runs nine mobile pantries, delivering food to seniors, mothers with children, and unemployed men who wait in line once a month for the assistance. Blumer noted there are additional signs of residents struggling other than the long lines – health insurance assistance enrollment has risen in Green County, and domestic abuse incidents are rising, along with homelessness (estimated at a 20 percent increase).
6. South Dakota Changes SNAP/Food Stamp Eligibility for Former Drug Felons
(Public News Service, April 7, 2009)
Certain felony drug offenders will now be able to receive SNAP/Food Stamps because of State House Bill 1123, which was approved by lawmakers and signed into law by Gov. Mike Rounds. “Not only is it going to help mothers with their children, but those that are going through drug treatment are not allowed to get food stamps – and they need that nutrition to heal their bodies and to get on with their lives,” said Rep. Martha Vanderlinde (D-Sioux Falls), sponsor of the bill. “It’s a win-win for everyone, and the state of South Dakota wins also, because it’s federal money, more money coming in to help our economy and our citizens.” Vanderlinde added that, for those felons who served their prison time, not being able to receive SNAP/Food Stamps is further punishment. Also supporting the legislation are the state Department of Social Services and the Association of Christian Churches in South Dakota.
7. Seniors to Get Help With SNAP/Food Stamp Applications
(Statesman Journal, April 6, 2009)
Oregon residents 60 and older will find it easier to access SNAP/Food Stamps as the state launches a two-year pilot program which will simplify the application process. Managed by the state Department of Human Services, the program will move applications online and provide volunteers to help seniors fill out the form and submit it at certain community sites.
8. Advocates in Philadelphia Note Mayor’s Interest in Battling Hunger
(Philadelphia Inquirer, April 9, 2009)
At a recent panel discussion on hunger as a public health issue, held at Drexel University, anti-hunger advocates praised Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter for his focus on eradicating hunger in the area. “What the city is doing is providing political will to deal with hunger,” said Mariana Chilton, hunger expert and professor in Drexel’s School of Public Health. “This mayor is addressing hunger, and we never had that before.” The Mayor has a task force on hunger, which many of the panelists sit on; particular focus of this growing attention is directed towards the more than 200,000 children in high-poverty areas – according to Chilton an “astronomically high” number. The number of families who have cut back on meals increased 28 percent between August 2006 and August 2008. Chilton noted that hunger is a public health issue because it causes stunted physical and cognitive growth in children as well as pain from stomachaches and headaches, contributing to childrens’ anxiety and depleting their capacity to learn. SNAP/Food Stamps are the “biggest club in the arsenal” against hunger, said Bill Clark, director of Philabundance, adding praise for Obama’s funding increase for the program. Clark noted that emergency food providers will not solve the hunger problem alone, particularly during this time of greater demand for services among the public.
9. More North Carolina Students Receiving Free and Reduced-Price Lunch
(News & Observer, April 10, 2009)
Since the school year started, schools across North Carolina have averaged a 5.6 percent jump in students receiving free and reduced-price lunch, and more than half of the state’s students are eligible for the benefit. Rising numbers of parents are signing up their children as unemployment climbs in the state. “Many people may call and say ‘I’ve never had to do this before,’” said Beth Taylor, child nutrition director for Johnson County schools. Wake County eligibility specialist Michele Drevenak used to process five to 15 meal applications a day – now she’s processing 15 to 30 a day. This is a situation the head of the state’s school nutrition service, Lynn Hoggard, terms “a crisis.” As the numbers rise, school systems are cutting cafeteria staff to reduce costs. Hoggard also is concerned that middle and high school students are having to skip lunch because they don’t have the $2 to $3 for the meal. Mark Rusin, child nutrition director for Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools notes that some parents can’t afford the 30 cents for breakfast and 40 cents for lunch – the co-pay for reduced-price meals, which is hard on the budget. “So what happens is many accumulate an account balance,” he said, “because we cannot refuse [the students] a meal. At 70 cents a day, the balance keeps mounting up.” Efforts to sign up families who don’t know their children are eligible include open houses and application help sessions in the evenings for parents.
10. Arizona Sees Increase in Free and Reduced-Price School Meals
(Arizona Republic, March 31, 2009)
Arizona school districts are reporting free and reduced-price lunch and breakfast participation increases of up to 10 to 30 percent for some schools. Breakfast participation in the state increased seven percent since last year, with 230,355 children now receiving the benefit according to USDA. However, not all qualifying children are getting the meals, which is “our biggest concern” said Lee Renda, National School Lunch Program director for the state Department of Education. “A child that has breakfast learns better, is less tardy,” she said. Officials are encouraging districts to remind families they can register their children for free and reduced-price meals at any time during the school year.
11. Pennsylvania Counts Classroom Breakfast as Instructional Time
(Philadelphia Inquirer, April 4, 2009)
A new ruling by the Pennsylvania Department of Education now counts classroom breakfast as instructional time, removing the main barrier to acceptance by principals who resisted serving the meal in class, saying it shortens instruction time. Philadelphia advocates see the ruling as a chance to urge schools to mandate that breakfast be served during the first period in all schools. “It should be required throughout the system, and principals should be evaluated on whether they ensure children eat breakfast,” said Jonathan Stein, a lawyer with Community Legal Services. “More direction from the top is needed,” he added. Studies have shown the learning benefits children receive by eating breakfast, and classroom breakfast gets more students to eat the meal; child nutrition expert and Drexel University professor Mariana Chilton agrees that this is the best proven method. The Inquirer found that principals usually only promote breakfast during testing periods, and let breakfast slide the rest of the year. Not all eligible Philadelphia children eat breakfast at school – district figures show only 51,000 of 165,000 students who could receive breakfast actually participate.
12. Increasing Numbers of Massachusetts Students Unable to Pay for School Lunch
(MetroWest Daily News, April 9, 2009)
Lisa Beaudin, Ashland Mass. director of school food and nutrition programs, has seen an “alarming increasing” in the number of students unable to pay for lunch. “It’s the first year I’ve seen this and I think it’s due to the economy at this point – kids are coming in regularly without money and without a lunch.” Beaudin sent a letter to parents last week, explaining the situation and providing information on how they can apply for SNAP/Food Stamps. Children who live in families on SNAP/Food Stamps automatically receive free and reduced-price lunch. Beaudin also instituted a cafeteria policy which limits charging for students with two unpaid lunches – those students can charge a sandwich, milk and fruit to their account, unless they have money to pay for lunch. “Kids need to be fed in order to learn,” said Beaudin. “We’re feeding their brains, so we need to feed their bodies, so they can process it and retain it.”
13. Indiana’s Online Assistance System Still Causing Problems for SNAP/Food Stamp and Other Program Applicants
(Greene County Daily World, April 2, 2009)
Jerri Pearson works for Voluntary Community Alliance Network (V-CAN) in Greene County, Ind., and helps SNAP/Food Stamp, Medicaid and other recipients deal with the Family and Social Services Administration’s (FSSA) modernized application system. Pearson says that the FSSA system did not take rural Indiana into account; Greene County residents are “still running TVs on their car batteries,” she said. Problems residents have had with the system include:
shredding of applicant documents if they’re not faxed with a cover sheet;
unclear online instructions which lead many to believe they’ve completed the online applications process while they still need to print out the application and mail it in;
telephone interviews that can last up to three hours for applicants, depleting minutes from people using prepaid cell phones.
A spokesperson for FSSA maintains that applicants are notified on the Web site and printed materials of the procedure for application, and said the modernized system “is flexible and responsive to the varied needs of FSSA’s clients, empowering them to become self-sufficient. The modernized system allows them to utilize a toll free number, the Internet or visit the county office.” However, Pearson notes that many rural residents don’t have access to the Web.
14. Number of Homeless Up in Major Cities
(USA Today, April 5, 2009)
Job losses and unaffordable housing are forcing more families to become homeless as the recession continues across the country. Increases in the numbers of homeless have been reported in 35 of 56 places where figures are available.
In New York City, “[t]he demand from families with children has increased dramatically,” said Robert Hess of the city’s Department of Homeless Services.
The winter shelter program in Los Angeles saw 620 families this winter, compared to 350 families the year before.
Families living on the street in Phoenix climbed in number from 49 in January 2008 to 230 in January 2009; 139 children younger than 18 lived on their own in the street according to the Maricopa Association of Governments.
Last year, 4,000 people facing eviction called for help in Miami-Dade County, compared to 1,000 in 2007. “We’ve beefed up our prevention efforts” to keep fewer people from becoming homeless said David Raymond of the county’s Homeless Trust.
Seattle’s suburbs saw a 40 percent increase in homelessness, with the number living in cars rising to 339 from 229 last year.
Miami and New York have stepped up efforts to keep people from having to sleep in their cars or on the street by finding them apartments or shelter beds.
15. More Rhode Island Children Falling Through Safety Net
(Providence Journal, April 6, 2009)
Rhode Island’s children are feeling the effects of last year’s state budget cuts in a number of assistance programs, and the advocacy organization Rhode Island Kids Count wants legislators to restore the funding. “When the economy falls into hard times, it hits families across the board,” said Elizabeth Burke Bryant, Kids Count executive director. The Kids Count annual report found that 44 percent of the state’s low-income children live in extreme poverty (less than half the federal poverty threshold). Cash assistance to children-only cases dropped by 1,301, with more expected to lose assistance on July 1 because of time limit changes. Over the previous five years, child care subsidies for low-income families dropped from 14,333 children in 2003 to 7,700. However, SNAP/Food Stamp participation rose to 46,205 in 2008 – a 17 percent increase; 93 percent of the state’s children have health insurance – two-thirds have private insurance through their families and one third through RIte Care.
16. Upstate New York One-Stop Assistance Center Swamped with Clients
(Daily Gazette, April 5, 2009)
Schenectady County’s new One Stop Employment and Training Center consolidates three Department of Social Services buildings into one center where the unemployed and others needing assistance can access federal help. Residents have found long lines stretching out the door and half day and longer wait times at the Center. Dozens are sent home late in the afternoon after clerks announce they can’t see anyone else that day. One woman walked 90 minutes to reach the Center and apply for day care funding. Many clients face three-hour transaction times, mostly from the interviews required to receive SNAP/Food Stamps and Medicaid; the Center will soon combine these interviews in order to speed up the lines. Said one man waiting for assistance. “It’s going in the right direction, but they’ve got to make it easier. People have lives.”
17. Reich Says States Must Not Cut Assistance Services, Raise Taxes
(Politico, April 2009)
As state tax revenues drop and state constitutions require balanced budgets (unlike the federal government which can run deficits), and in spite of economic stimulus funding, states are cutting back or chopping K-12 school budgets, afterschool programs, child health, homeless aid and other social services vital to people during the poor economy. “When they aren’t cutting services,” states are raising sales and income taxes. Cuts and taxes will total $350 billion in 2009 and 2010, “essentially [negating] almost half of the federal stimulus,” writes Robert Reich, professor of public policy at UC Berkeley. “Let’s hope the Obama administration returns to Congress soon for a second stimulus – a large chunk of which should help the states maintain vital services and avoid tax increases, and that Congress heeds the request.”
18. Hurricane Katrina Stimulus is a Model for National Success
(The New York Times, April 5, 2009)
This editorial notes that Washington injected $51 billion into Louisiana, “dumping a large amount” of money into the state in the years following Hurricane Katrina. This “unintended trial run” of the national stimulus bill had a positive outcome. Louisiana’s unemployment rate in February was 5.7 percent – below the national average of 8.1 percent – and from December to January it was the only state to see a drop in unemployment. Also in February, the state saw an increase in non-farm employment – the only state to do so. Loren Scott, economics professor at Louisiana State University, notes “In most states construction is way down, but in ours it has been up.” And the lower unemployment rate shows “that the stimulus can have an effect.” However, the state’s Republican governor, Bobby Jindal, objected to the national stimulus bill and “federal intervention in the state’s economy,” even while his subordinates continued to request money from Washington. The article adds that the state’s recovery director, Paul Rainwater, “praised the federal relief effort in Louisiana in recent remarks to Congress.”
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