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. Recession Testing Welfare Reform
(Forbes.com, April 21, 2009)
Fundamental welfare reforms enacted in 1996 by President Clinton are receiving their first true test during this recession, notes this editorial. Welfare reform ended automatic entitlements to federal assistance, and set a five-year lifetime limit on receipt of benefits. However, the current economic climate is causing households to come to the end of their unemployment insurance, a “modest U.S. automatic stabilizer.” As portions of the safety net have been cut, SNAP/Food Stamps, unemployment benefits and Medicaid have become the “principal form of government assistance to families facing the effects of mass unemployment.” Other government assistance programs, like EITC, aren’t as effective during this crisis since they don’t help the unemployed. SNAP/Food Stamps, however, provides approximately $250 per household per month. Welfare reform was predicated on the assumption that a great number of low-wage jobs would be created and absorb welfare participants. Now, low-wage jobs are hard to find.
2. USDA/FNS Officials Named
(Des Moines Register, April 18, 2009; Brownfield Network, April 10, 2009)
President Obama nominated Kevin Concannon, Iowa’s former state human services director, as undersecretary for food and nutrition services at USDA. Concannon would oversee SNAP/Food Stamps, school meals, and other federal nutrition programs, which make up more than 60 percent of USDA’s annual budget. Concannon increased Iowa’s SNAP/Food Stamp participation through changes in paperwork requirements and other means. Iowa now ranks 20th in the percentage of eligible people receiving the benefit. The state ranked 39th when Concannon took over the human services post in 2003, when he was appointed by then-governor Tom Vilsack (currently Secretary of Agriculture). Concannon was re-appointed to the post by Gov. Chet Culver in 2007. “Concannon worked diligently to ensure that nutrition assistance was readily available to all eligible Iowans,” said Tom Harkin (D-IA), chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack named Janey Thornton, a former school nutrition director for Hardin County Schools in Elizabethtown, Ky., as FNS Deputy Under Secretary. Thornton served as school nutrition director for 25 years, and served as President of the School Nutrition Association from 2006-2007, as well as served as President of the School Nutrition Foundation.
3. Oregon’s SNAP/Food Stamp Demand Expected to Rise
(Statesman Journal, April 17, 2009)
By the end of 2010, Oregon’s Department of Human Services (DHS) forecasts that SNAP/Food Stamp participation will increase 30.2 percent to 671,000, or one of six, residents. As residents continue to lose jobs and the unemployment rate continues to rise (it tied a previous state record of 12.1 percent in March), the Department also expects TANF payments to increase 24 percent to 26,000 families by mid-2010; and Oregon Health Plan participants will increase 23 percent – to 565,500 recipients – by mid-2011. SNAP/Food Stamp participation has already set a record, when 573,491 people received SNAP/Food Stamps in March. “The need for human services continues to rise,” said DHS Director Dr. Bruce Goldberg, and noted that the need for services will continue even after the state begins its economic recovery. “But I would like to remind everybody that these are not statistics,” he said. “This is about people.” Oregon’s DHS is the state’s largest Department, and will feel increased budget pressure as state tax collections continue to lag.
4. SNAP/Food Stamp Bill Removing Fingerprinting Requirement Moves Through California Legislature
(California Chronicle, April 15, 2009)
A bill ending California’s fingerprinting requirement for SNAP/Food Stamps cleared the state Senate Health and Human Services Committee by a 3-1 vote recently. Senate Bill 718 would increase access to SNAP/Food Stamps; currently, California is one of a few states who require fingerprinting for SNAP/Food Stamp eligibility. The state also ranks last in the number of eligible resident receiving the benefit, with only 46 percent of those eligible signed up for the program. Some states have 80 percent participation, and the national average is 60 percent. Each year, California loses an estimated $2 billion because two million Californians don’t receive SNAP/Food Stamps, but could. Fingerprinting costs applicants between $15 and $25 per person; the requirement is now obsolete since the benefit is delivered through EBT cards. “Eliminating the expensive and unnecessary process of fingerprinting will give more California children access to nutritious foods and improve the health of California’s most vulnerable populations,” said Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), the bill’s author.
5. Wholesale Club Now Accepts SNAP/Food Stamps at All Locations
(Seattle Press-Intelligencer, April 13, 2009)
Members of BJ’s Wholesale Club will be able to use their SNAP/Food Stamp benefits at all of their 180 clubs across 15 states. Only 30 of its clubs accepted the benefit previously. With the economic downturn, there was an increase in the number of residents using SNAP/Food Stamps at the clubs accepting them. As a result of customer requests, the company decided to allow all clubs to accept SNAP/Food Stamps.
6. San Diego County Develops Strategy to Raise SNAP/Food Stamp Participation
(San Diego Union Tribune, April 12, 2009)
California’s San Diego County, which for years had the lowest SNAP/Food Stamp enrollment among major metropolitan areas tracked by the Food Research and Action Center, now has a three-year strategy to raise the program’s participation. The plan has three goals: promoting health and nutrition, strengthening outreach, and boosting enrollment. Specific strategies include: publicizing SNAP/Food Stamps through nonprofits and public agencies; prescreening applicants at schools, libraries, and senior centers; expanding county office hours; and automatic screening of all Medi-Cal applicants for SNAP/Food Stamps. In addition, the plan would allow recipients to check in only twice a year with social workers, instead of the current four times a year. The three-year strategy coincides with a “tidal wave of applicants” the county has experienced in the last few months due to the economy and increased unemployment. Critics have said the program is too difficult to apply for due to high caseloads, and note that the required home searches put off many eligible residents. The plan’s final proposal is slated to be adopted by the Board of Supervisors later this month; public meetings by newly-elected members of the San Diego City Council and San Diego Unified School District are believed to have increased focus on the SNAP/Food Stamp program and San Diego’s low enrollment. Existing staff will be responsible for much of the outreach effort, although the SNAP/Food Stamp office lost 18 employees in February due to budget cuts.
7. Thousands in Connecticut Eligible for SNAP/Food Stamps But Have Not Applied
(Connecticut Post, April 18, 2009)
While 200,000 Connecticut residents currently receive SNAP/Food Stamps, “tens of thousands more” are eligible but have not applied, according to the Connecticut Association for Human Services. The benefit program can be “tough to navigate,” although it has uniform eligibility standards. Residents can find out if they’re eligible for SNAP/Food Stamps by visiting www.ctfoodstamps.org, a site run by End Hunger CT! Residents can also call the outreach staff at the Connecticut Association for Human Services for information on the program and eligibility.
8. California Officials Say SNAP/Food Stamps Save Money and Stimulate Economy
(Monterey Herald, April 21, 2009)
Two studies issued by the California State Association of Counties and the County Welfare Directors Association found that safety net programs such as SNAP/Food Stamps, CalWorks and general assistance, can “add or maintain thousands of jobs, and keep the state competitive for federal spending, including stimulus program funding, at a time when local governments need all they can get.” One of the studies pointed out that social services programs brought an estimated $25 billion to the state economy in 2007-2008, created 132,000 jobs and generated $467 million in tax revenues. The findings prompted county officials across the state to argue against county program cutbacks, especially during the economic downturn when many more need assistance and the programs can have the broadest impact. The programs also guard against more expensive problems – homelessness, poverty, poor health – and boost local communities as recipients spend their assistance on necessities like food and rent. However, California continues to freeze program funding at 2001-2002 levels, in spite of increasing demand for services. SNAP/Food Stamp applications rose 31.7 percent since January 2007, CalWorks applications increased 16.6 percent, and general assistance requests have nearly tripled.
9. Refugees in New York Find Jobs Scarce and Turn to SNAP/Food Stamps for Assistance
(Syracuse Post-Standard, April 20, 2009)
Refugees settled in Syracuse, New York are turning to social services for help as many are unable to find work or are laid off from their jobs. Onandaga County’s Department of Social Services reported a 20 percent increase in refugees receiving SNAP/Food Stamps, cash assistance and Medicaid from March 2008 (3,995 receiving assistance) to March 2009 (4,799 receiving assistance). Catholic Charities and two other refugee resettlement agencies placed 90 percent of clients in jobs within three months of their arrival two years ago; only 50 percent of refugees found work in the last six months as factories have closed, laid off workers and reduced employee hours. Agencies, which are funded according to the percentage of refugees they’re able to help find work, now help them apply for unemployment benefits. The Sanchez family settled in the area after leaving Cuba in 2005; both parents were laid off in October and now receive $175 in SNAP/Food Stamps and $335 in unemployment. They want to return to work because the assistance isn’t enough to support their family of four.
10. College Students Turning to SNAP/Food Stamps for Help
(The New York Times, April 14, 2009)
The recession has forced the number of Massachusetts college students receiving SNAP/Food Stamps to increase 27 percent between January 2008 and January 2009. Casey Hall, a sophomore at Oregon State University, lost her job last summer, and turned to SNAP/Food Stamps. She noted it was a choice between the assistance “or eat 99-cent boxes of Ramen and essentially starve.” Hall now receives $175 a month, which pays for most of her groceries. In Oregon, the number of people 18 to 24 and living on their own who receive SNAP/Food Stamps rose 31 percent over the past year; in Florida, their numbers rose 52 percent. Those two states track recipients by age. Students applying for the benefit must submit proof their income is at or below the poverty line of $867 a month.
11. Churches Can Play Important Role in Connecting Hungry to Federal Food Programs
(The Baptist Standard, April 16, 2009)
Church leaders and volunteers can connect hungry residents to already-funded government programs, especially federal nutrition programs through USDA, said USDA regional administrator Bill Ludwig to participants at a Baptist General Convention of Texas Christian Life Commission Hunger Policy Summit. These church workers can assist residents – many who can receive assistance but have not applied – with determining eligibility for SNAP/Food Stamps, elder care nutrition, health insurance, and state-sponsored meal programs. In addition, churches can take part in summer food programs through USDA.
12. Advocates Call for Investigation of Indiana’s Privatized SNAP/Food Stamp System
(WIBC, April 20, 2009)
One in five Indiana residents denied SNAP/Food Stamps in the last six months should have been approved noted Glenn Cardwell, former Vigo County welfare director. At issue is the state’s privatized SNAP/Food Stamp application system, the rollout of which may soon be frozen by state legislators. Social service and advocacy groups representing the poor and senior citizens want the state to “roll back” and audit the system, which is run by an IBM-led consortium. Critics of the privatization system find it “suspicious” that, in the counties still operating the old eligibility system, SNAP/Food Stamp and Medicaid numbers have increased “more sharply” than in the counties with the new system, which they say is quicker to issue denials.
13. New York City Food Pantries Struggling
(Chelsea Now, April 9, 2009)
Budget cuts and increased demand forced New York City’s food pantries and soup kitchens to cut back on their operating hours and ration food, as three million residents sought their services in the last three months of 2008; 1.3 million residents used emergency food services in 2007. Last year, the city cut funding to more than 70 percent of emergency food programs, while 70 percent did not have enough food to fill the demands. While the group Connecting to Advantages registers emergency food users for SNAP/Food Stamps at pantries and soup kitchens, the process is slow, as 1.4 million – nearly one in six New Yorkers - now receive the benefit. “It used to take 30 days [to register],” said Judith Rubenstein, who runs the organization. “Now it takes four months to get food stamps.” The hunger problem can’t be solved by “a few canned food drives,” said Joel Berg, executive director of the New York Coalition Against Hunger. But he’s concerned about the emergency food providers. “More will close or have to ration food by reducing portion size, hours of operations or turning people away entirely,” Berg said.
14. Families Lose Members to Deportation, Turn to SNAP/Food Stamps for Help
(Miami Herald, April 16, 2009)
According to the Department of Homeland Security, more than two million men and women without legal status – 100,000 of whom were parents – were deported out of the U.S. over the past ten years. Now aid workers in Miami and across the country are seeing families that were once self-reliant turning to public assistance “because they really have no other way of putting food on the table and feeding their kids,” said Rosa Marie Castaneda of the Urban Institute. Jocelyn Jules, a U.S. citizen, was forced to sign up for SNAP/Food Stamps to feed her two young sons after her husband was deported back to Haiti when he was denied his application for political asylum. She had been a stay-at-home mom while her husband managed a local bakery and paid his taxes for 16 years. Legal bills have depleted Jules’s savings, and her family now faces homelessness.
15. Some Iowa Schools to Start Universal Breakfast Pilot Program
(KCAU, April 14, 2009)
Iowa’s South Sioux City Schools will start serving Universal Breakfast (free breakfast for all students) on April 27, which will not only battle hunger but help students with their schoolwork as well. The program will be offered first to K through 5th grade students, who will receive an all-organic breakfast meeting federal nutrition guidelines in paper sacks during the first hour of school. “We know that not all students come to school with a breakfast, that’s a national norm, but the issue becomes, how would we make it work here in our district,” said Pat Nauroth, South Sioux City Schools Assistant Superintendent. “We thought it was important enough and that it might affect kids in a positive way, if we at least pilot it, we'll see.”
16. School Meals Providing Most of Daily Nutrition for Many Children
(The Oregonian, April 11, 2009)
School cafeteria workers are noticing that many students are hungry when they get to school, with school lunch and breakfast being the main meals many of these children eat during the day, notes this article by David Sarasohn. Shelly Drury runs food services at the Harvey Scott School in Northeast Portland, Ore. “When the kids came back from spring break, they were starving. They wanted seconds, they wanted thirds. My principal was saying, ‘We need to cook more food.’” School breakfast, lunch, afterschool snack programs and summer food programs are “providing a steadily increasing share of kids’ nourishment in the country.” Along with the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, these programs are set to be reauthorized by Congress this year. According to Senator Tom Harkin, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, the breakfast program helps fill an important gap for many children, noting “[t]hese kids didn’t have much to eat the night before.” Harkin’s statement is echoed by a Harvey Scott student, who said “Sometimes people are down in the dumps because they got to school late and didn’t get breakfast.” (Sarasohn points out this thought is also mirrored in a study of school breakfast programs across the country by the Food Research and Action Center.) Harkin sees the upcoming reauthorization as part of health care reform, and notes “It’s going to save us a ton of money downstream.” In Oregon, hunger advocates want the legislature to mandate that schools serving lunch also serve breakfast.
17. Free School Breakfast Participation Increases in Maryland
(Gazette, April 15, 2009)
More children in Maryland’s Montgomery County are participating in free breakfast. The county had ranked 19th in the state (out of 24 jurisdictions) for school breakfast participation, according to a study by [Maryland Hunger Solutions]. This past March, 12,478 Montgomery County elementary students ate free breakfast at school. Kimberley Chin, director of Maryland Hunger Solutions, measured Maryland’s participation in the school breakfast program. “If children have breakfast in the morning,” Chin said, “they have better attendance and less visits to the school nurse.” While some schools serve breakfast on testing days to boost achievement, Chin said that schools should serve breakfast not only on those days but throughout the school year.
18. Fast Food Outlets Near Schools Linked to Student Obesity
(The New York Times, April 19, 2009)
According to a study published in February by the University of California and Columbia University and titled “Effect of Fast Food Restaurants on Obesity,” having a fast food establishment within one block of a school is associated with increased student obesity. The researchers found a 5.2 percent increase in obesity among teenage students, prompting Eric N. Gioia, a New York City councilman, to propose a ban on fast food restaurants within a tenth of a mile – a city block - of the city’s schools. “[I]t’s a clear and present danger to our children’s health,” Gioia said. “Obesity, diabetes, hypertension – it’s a step toward a less healthy life.” Gioia also said that the ban should be combined with easing access to SNAP/Food Stamps, providing greenmarkets in low-income neighborhoods, and educating children about healthy eating. The report found that fast food restaurants a quarter of a mile away from the school did not affect student obesity; proximity to a fast food restaurant could increase a student’s caloric intake by 30 to 100 calories day. It also found that pregnant women living a block away from fast food were more likely to gain weight.
19. Recession Raises Free and Reduced-Price School Meal Participation Numbers
(Times Daily, April 17, 2009)
The number of students receiving free and reduced price lunch in Alabama’s Colbert County school system rose five percent over the past year. “It may not seem like a lot,” said the county’s nutrition director, “but we were already at 68 percent. Now it’s at 73 percent.” She expects the number to rise to 80 percent by the next school year. School administrators say the recession and job losses are responsible for the increase. In addition, more students are eating school breakfast, which the school district is promoting to make sure that students who get free lunch know they can also get free breakfast. Some high schools have instituted “grab and go” breakfasts that they can eat in their first class. The breakfast program is especially popular among students whose parents leave earlier for work. Parents can apply for free and reduced-price school meals any time during the year; some believe you can only apply when school starts.
20. Study Finds Children Lacking Access to Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Still Want to Try Them
(Science Daily, April 19, 2009)
A multi-year research study of children in poor, rural parts of the Lower Mississippi Delta found that, while they lack access to fresh fruits and vegetables, they “are a lot more willing to try” them “than generally believed, even by the parents or the kids themselves.” However, gas stations and convenience stores – the closest places to buy food – don’t stock produce, and parents with long commutes have no time to plant and maintain family gardens; recession is making these situations worse. Findings from the study were presented recently at the Experimental Biology 2009 meeting in New Orleans, sponsored by the American Society for Nutrition. The Lower Mississippi Delta (encompassing rural portions of Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi), “leads the nation in the rising prevalence of obesity in both adults and children.” Research such as this helps local communities understand the obstacles to better nutrition they face. The research studied 84 African American children, ages 5 to 12, attending a five-week summer day camp in Arkansas. For afternoon snacks, the children were offered different fruits and vegetables each day, instead of the usual cookies and chips that had been served in years past. Over half of the children tried 75 percent of the snack items. Researcher Dr. McCabe-Sellers, who has conducted similar studies in the region since 2004, concluded: “Don’t blame the kids.” If they’re given fresh fruits and vegetables, most of the kids will eat them, with half eating a large variety and quantity.” Dr. McCabe-Sellers found in 2008, day campers in the Mississippi Delta were more likely to try and eat more fruits and vegetables if they were exposed to them. She also found that older children in school-based programs were more likely to try fruits and vegetables than the students themselves predicted they would. Dr. McCabe-Sellers focused on the barriers to good nutrition in the area, as rural areas lack grocery stores, or even places to buy a salad (like a fast-food restaurant); prepared foods at stores were often fried. She believes that the greatest challenge is the difficulty in obtaining quality produce in rural areas that are far from distribution centers.
21. Oregon Summer Food Program Expects More Participants This Year
(Beaverton Valley Times, April 16, 2009)
Beaverton, Oregon’s school district served 28,211 breakfasts and 75,675 lunches to children at 28 sites last summer, and this year the program expects to increase those numbers. “A lot of people are hurting right now – they are our co-workers and our neighbors,” said operations supervisor Lisa Vincent, who runs the federally-funded program which assures all children, regardless of income, have nutritious meals when school isn’t in session. This year’s summer food program launches June 16 at meal sites organized with help from the Tualatin Hills Parks and Recreation District, Beaverton City Library, Oregon State University Extension Office, Washington County Commission on Children and Families, apartment complexes and churches. At the sites, children can take part in gardening workshops, visits from Oregon Zoo animals, and RecMobile games and sports. “Kids get the best of both worlds this way,” Vincent said. “They get a free, nutritious meal and an activity to enrich their minds.” She added that community groups, businesses and individuals can still sign on and take part in this year’s program as volunteers and supporters.
22. Florida Legislators Plan to Divert a Portion of Stimulus Money to Reduce Deficit
(Miami Herald, April 7, 2009)
About $790 million in Florida Medicaid money promised through the economic recovery act will most likely be diverted to reduce next year’s budget deficit, away from the poor, sick and elderly who need more services. “It’s infuriating,” said Jennifer Hughes, whose special-needs daughter Dakota was number 11,000 on the waiting list when she was born, and has had no state services for 11 years. “The state used to say they were going to try to clear the waiting list. Yet the money never comes. It’s so frustrating.” Legislative leaders also plan to cut some health services, meaning up to 3 percent rate cuts for 646 nursing homes; foster children stand to lose $18 million, and 18,000 developmentally-disabled Florida adults will remain on the waiting list. Republican Marcelo Llorente, head of the state’s House health budget, said he tried to avoid cuts, especially those to local service providers and free and reduced price meal programs. “We’ve tried to mitigate cuts to services to the most vulnerable citizens,” said Llorente. “Without the federal money, it certainly would be much worse.”
23. Thousands of New York Residents Nearing End of Unemployment Payments
(NY1.com, April 20, 2009)
About 56,000 New Yorkers, including 27,000 city residents, are coming to the end of their unemployment payments according to the state Department of Labor and the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. The agencies are reminding people there are other programs that can help. SNAP/Food Stamps and home energy assistance programs are two programs offering assistance, noted State Labor Commissioner M. Patricia Smith.
24. Campaign Aims to End Poverty in Silicon Valley
(San Jose Mercury News, April 20, 2009)
Community service groups in Silicon Valley recently launched a campaign aimed at reducing half the area’s poverty rate by 2020. Greg Kepferle, CEO of Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, compares the effort to the nation’s war on poverty and President Johnson’s 1960’s “Great Society” campaign, which was credited with a drop in the nation’s poverty rate from 25 to 12 percent. “[I]t’s shameful that in one of the wealthiest areas in one of the wealthiest countries in the world that we have people living on the streets, kids that are too hungry to learn, a janitor working two, three jobs and his family is living in a van,” Kepferle said. “We need to help those families because they’re already helping themselves as much as they can.” The Silicon Valley initiative, part of a national effort launched by Catholic Charities in 2007, involves 90 groups, including homeless service providers, philanthropists, and the Social Services agency. Specific strategies include microlending programs and outreach efforts promoting existing federal programs to eligible families. Less than half of those residents eligible for SNAP/Food Stamps actually receive the benefit. Focus areas of the campaign include battling high food, housing and health care costs, reducing school dropout rates and creating better paying jobs, and will involve public policy initiatives, increase funding from the public and private sectors, and streamlined services.
25. “Group of 8” Admits that Global Anti-Hunger Target Probably Won’t Be Reached
(Financial Times, April 19, 2009)
The United Nations goal of cutting world hunger in half by 2015 probably won’t be reached, the “Group of 8” (G8) leading nations admitted. This admission comes after “alarming data” on malnourishment, as well as a point noted by the United Nations that for the first time 1 billion people go hungry every day. The target was one of the Millennium Development Goals agreed to in 2000, but global ministers are hopeful that the target can still galvanize the world’s nations into action. There is consensus among nations that agriculture needs to return to the political agenda, and countries agree that they need to increase food production. “We are encouraged by the progress made by the G8 Agricultural Ministerial and we are heartened to see the G8 moving toward a unified statement on the important issue of food security,” said U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. “This issue is clearly tied to economic development and international stability and deserves to be at the center of the international agenda.” Last year’s spike in agricultural prices, which caused food riots around the globe, prompted the meeting of G8 agriculture ministers. Price remain “well above previous lows” noted the ministers, although food prices have fallen as much as 50 percent from last year’s record. However, the current economic recession this year has increased the number of poor and hungry people.
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