1. New Child Obesity Numbers Could Mean Epidemic Is Stalling
(The New York Times, May 28, 2008)

Recent findings by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and published in the latest Journal of the American Medical Association, suggest that childhood obesity rates may have hit a plateau. One telling set of figures show that 6.5 percent of 6- to 11-year olds were obese in 1980. That number climbed to 11.3 percent by 1994, and then increased to 16.3 percent in 2002. The latest figures show that the rate of increase has slowed down, with 17 percent of 6- to 11- year olds categorized as obese. Greeted with "guarded optimism," the report does not show if that plateau is permanent, and whether or not it is the result of public efforts to decrease the amount of junk food consumed by children and increase school-based physical activity. If the figures have stopped rising, it still means that 35 percent of school children are still obese or overweight, and still subject to the accompanying health problems with these conditions. The news that the twenty-year rise in childhood obesity has stalled provided "a glimmer of hope" according to Dr. David Ludwig of Boston's Children's Hospital. "But it's much too soon to know whether this is a true plateau in prevalence or just a temporary lull."

2. Farm Bill and Child Nutrition Reauthorization Key to Battling America's Hunger Problem
(Barre Montpelier Times Argus, May 27, 2008)

Robert Dostis, executive director of the Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger and state representative from Waterbury, comments that the Farm Bill's nutrition title is crucial for improving the Food Stamp Program. He notes the "massive size" of the Farm Bill, and sees it as a turning point toward the goal of ending hunger. He writes "This Farm Bill also marks what I hope is a new trend for the federal government. For more than 20 years, critical federal food programs have been under funded, severely weakening this country's nutrition safety net. It is time for the federal government to commit to ending hunger by fully funding all federal nutrition programs." Dostis cites the $10 billion in Farm Bill spending for the nutrition title, which will expand food stamp access to more people as well as give recipients more food purchasing power, particularly the 65,000 Vermonters (including 19,000 children) who currently struggle with hunger. Dostis looks ahead to the coming Child Nutrition Reauthorization, which will provide "another opportunity to strengthen our nutrition safety net" by improving the child nutrition programs which include school breakfast and lunch programs, Child and Adult Care Food Program, the Summer Food Program, and WIC.

3. State Food Stamp Roundup

WISCONSIN: While policy changes have contributed to the state's rising numbers of food stamp recipients, experts also point to high food prices and the economic slump for the steep 10 percent increase over the past year. According to Sherrie Tussler, executive director of the Hunger Task Force, the cost for a typical basket of groceries rose 33 percent over the past year. In March 2008, 178,290 households received food stamps, compared with 162,372 from the year before. Outreach has identified more eligible recipients; only 59 percent of those eligible received the benefit in 2007. Applicants can now apply online and bypass the in-person interview, cited by experts as major barrier to enrollment for individuals who may have been reluctant to apply because of the perceived stigma in applying at the welfare office. Rea Holmes, executive assistant for the state's Department of Health and Family Services, said that food stamps are an immediate indicator of tough financial times. "People might not need health care services right away," she noted, "but they're going to need food much sooner."
(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, May 25, 2008)

MASSACHUSETTS: 500,000 residents receive food stamps, the highest number in the state's history, with working families providing the biggest surge in numbers. "This is what the skyrocketing cost of food looks like," said Rita Guastella with Project Bread. "Outreach workers are seeing more people in need of food aid than ever before, and the greatest surge is in working families." This is a new population seeking help, according to Department of Transitional Assistance spokeswomen Alison Goodwin. Half of the 12,000 applications each month are from first-time applicants. "People that have never had to seek assistance… are… finding it hard to put food on the table," she said. "If it comes down to paying the rent or eating on a given day, people are most likely going to skip a meal." Food stamps provide some help, as food and fuel costs continue to rise, jobs continue to disappear, wages stagnate and the economy stalls. Outreach workers report of mothers cutting infant formula with water to save money, and wonder how children currently receiving free or reduced-price school breakfast and lunch will get by this summer when school is out.
(Lowell Sun, May 25, 2008)

NORTH CAROLINA:: Rising food costs make it particularly tough for food stamp recipients "to make ends meet" according to Bryan Averette, Income Maintenance Administrator for the state's Department of Social Services. Averette notes that food stamp caseloads have grown by 9 percent in the past year. "We have received more calls because of the cost of food and the cost of gas and the tight times people are experiencing," he said.
(WNCT, May 26, 2008 - article available through new site's archive.)

MICHIGAN: Another farmers' market in Kalamazoo will be wired to accept food stamps. The Bank Street market will make it easier for recipients to access fresh fruits and vegetables by installing a debit card machine which will dispense tokens to food stamp recipients that can be redeemed with the market's vendors. Funding for the machine was provided by a grant from the Kalamazoo Rotary Club, which is also covering installation of a phone line to make the debit card machine operational.
(Kalamazoo Community Extra, May 26, 2008)

CALIFORNIA: People waiting in line at the Salvation Army for free bags of groceries recently had the opportunity to sign up for food stamps through a partnership and contract between the Lao Khmu Association and San Joaquin County that started last December. Designed to reach more people who qualify for food stamps but are not receiving them, the outreach effort screened 615 possible applicants from December 2007 to April 2008, and found 451 possible new recipients. A multi-agency Hunger Task Force, formed in 2006, identified a major gap in the numbers of food stamp recipients and the numbers of possible recipients not receiving the benefit. Outreach worker Chan Chanthachack, who screened individuals in the Salvation Army line, noted "It seems the further you get from the [area's] hub of social services, the higher the proportion of people who aren't receiving food stamps they are eligible for."
(San Joaquin County News, May 26, 2008)

GEORGIA: FEMA responded to recent severe storms in Bibb County by providing aid to 895 county residents. Working with the state's Division of Family and Children's Services, FEMA made it possible to distribute two million dollars in replacement food stamps to individuals and households.
(WMAZ, May 27, 2008)

NEW YORK: May's Older Americans Month observance provided a focus for the state's Catholic Charities chapter to promote food stamp outreach for senior citizens. Thousands of seniors are now eligible for food stamps through changes to the state's eligibility rules. Currently, 300,000 adults over 60 receive food stamps, part of 1.8 million residents participating in the program statewide. Schuyler County Catholic Charities works with New York's Nutrition Outreach and Education Program to reach eligible individuals with food stamps.
(Star Gazette, May 28, 2008)

4. Oregon's Five Year Plan Aimed at Ending "Complex Causes" of Hunger
(Salem Statesman Journal, May 27, 2008)

Oregon governor Ted Kulongoski and the state's Hunger Relief Task Force are commended in this editorial for working on a five-year plan aimed at the complex causes of hunger, including low-wage jobs, unaffordable housing, expensive child care and transportation. Food stamps are noted as one success story, as they have brought Oregon more federal dollars and "made it possible for more children to attend school well fed and ready to learn." The governor has kept the state's hunger issues in the spotlight, and recently spent a week on the Food Stamp Challenge.

5. States Providing Cash Payments Help Workers Stay Off Welfare
(The New York Times, May 12, 2008)

Working poor parents in Arkansas are getting $204 a month in cash as the state extends the safety net to help people moving off welfare. Twelve other states are also providing monthly cash assistance that - combined with career counseling, health insurance, and subsidized child care -- aims to help insure that parents stay and succeed in jobs and not cycle back on welfare. In the 12 years after Congress changed the welfare law, states have moved many off the program and into jobs, but research suggests that there hasn't been enough help to addresses the challenges that many face in holding down a job and still dealing with poverty. "They take their first steps," said Elroy Willoughby of the Arkansas temporary assistance program, "and they wobble and may fall. We're there to kind of help prop them up." Other states involved in this additional assistance are Oregon, offering $150 a month up to a year, and Virginia, at $50 a month for the same period. Utah recipients get $474 a month for two months, and Michigan gives $10 a month for six months. Massachusetts gives 13,000 food stamp recipients an extra $7 each month. States are focused on avoiding steep fines if they don't follow federal rules mandating that 50 percent of welfare recipients engage in work-related activities, and these cash programs help the former welfare recipients stay in work. Families welcome the extra funds which help with rising food and fuel bills.

6. School Breakfast Roundup

GEORGIA: High food costs are causing the Muscogee County School District to cancel the "Breakfast for All" program. Free breakfasts have gone to 13,000 elementary school students since August 6, 2007. The program has been successful, according to school district director of school nutrition Jimmie Barnett, who said "the plate cost for breakfast has exceeded the cost projections for the pilot program." School principal Phyllis Jones said of the program "I have seen a real difference in the children. We're going to miss it. A lot of our children don't get much to eat other than what they get at school."
(Ledger-Enquirer, May 15, 2008)

PENNSYLVANIA: This Philadelphia Inquirer editorial notes that every day, 100,000 of the city's students eligible for free school breakfast skip the meal which could help them academically, reduce discipline problems, and improve attendance, as studies have shown. Only 50,000 students currently participate, compared to 100,000 students participating in the free lunch program. Uniform participation guidelines would help improve these numbers, requiring more principals to increase participation. As the federal child nutrition programs reimburse much of a school's cost in offering free breakfasts, funding should not be an issue. Schools can look to successful implementation models, such as Newark, New Jersey's breakfast in the classroom initiative, and Miami, Florida's universal breakfast program. The interim chief operating officer of Philadelphia's schools, Fred Farlino, is commended in this piece for his plans to get more students to eat breakfast in the 2008-2009 school year.
(Philadelphia Inquirer, May 12, 2008)

VIRGINIA: Rising food costs are forcing some public schools to change lunch menus and raise meal prices. Prices for food items that are school menu staples increased 12 to 17 percent in 2007 according to USDA, and some of these items, like milk, are required by the government in order for schools to receive meal subsidies. Examples of changes in Virginia schools:

Norfolk: rice bowls or lasagna will be served much less frequently;
South Hampton Roads: increasing breakfast and lunch meal prices;
Suffolk: offering limited corn and potatoes in the upcoming school year.

Schools across the country are examining each small component of school meals in order to save money, combining fresh and frozen vegetables, canceling baby carrots and cutting down full-size versions, and purchasing less expensive varieties of tomatoes instead of the popular grape variety. In April, 100 school districts raised lunch rates. Only 40 did so in April 2007. Average increases have been 15 to 20 cents per meal, with some going as high as 50 cents.
(HamptonRoads.com, May 20, 2008)

ALABAMA: Tuscaloosa County's Board of Education is considering substantial school meal price increases starting in August, in response to the combination of high food and fuel prices. Increases could raise lunch fees by 35 cents, resulting in $2 for elementary school students and $2.15 for middle and high school students. Breakfast fees could rise by 25 cents. The Tuscaloosa News is urging the school board president to consider more moderate increases in light of the economy's impact on many families struggling with high food and fuel costs.
(Tuscaloosa News, May 20, 2008)

VERMONT: A letter to the editor from former teacher Judy Larson DiMario attests to the benefits of school breakfasts. "The only noticeable time of day when things were slower and kids less responsive was mid-morning, around 10 a.m.," she writes. "When I asked how many had had a real breakfast, I was astounded when over half the class hadn't." She surveyed the class on what they did eat for breakfast, and found many only had a piece of toast, coffee or tea, with only 15 to 20 percent having had a real breakfast.
(Barre Montpelier Times Argus, May 14, 2008)

7. Rural Schools Try Four-Day Weeks to Save on Fuel
(ABC News, May 29, 2008)

Some schools in remote rural areas are shutting down one day each week in order to save on skyrocketing fuel costs. School Districts like the MacCray District in Minnesota, which will begin the revised school week in the fall, hope to lower their busing costs as well as save on heating bills by turning down school thermostats for three-day weekends. Superintendent Gregg Schmidt said that if this tactic works, "I don't imagine we would go back to a five-day school week." Cimarron School District in New Mexico made this change in 1974 during the Arab nations' oil embargo; now there are 18 districts in the state with four-day school weeks. Additional states with districts following the trend: Utah, Oregon, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Colorado. While the days school is in session are slightly lengthened, administrators feel the three-day weekends give parents and students more time together, and have helped decrease student absences.

8. WIC Bans Certain Plastics
(The Baltimore Sun, May 9, 2008)

Maryland's Howard County Health Department has banned the use of certain plastics in food containers going to its 2,900 monthly WIC program participants. Health warnings have recently sounded over plastics containing the chemical bisphenol-A (BPA), which can leach out of containers when heated or washed. Howard County may be the first in Maryland to enact a BPH-free WIC policy.

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