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. Food Stamp Use Hits Record Level of Participation; 28 Million People Received Food Stamps in April 2008
(FRAC, July 14, 2008)
Food stamp participation reached a record high in April 2008 with more than 28 million people receiving the benefit, according to the latest data released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. There were 1.75 million more participants in April than one year earlier. The substantial rise in participation illustrates the serious economic challenges facing many low-income Americans, noted the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC).
According to FRAC’s analysis, the April participation rates are exceeded only by one month in program history – the 29.8 million recipients in November 2005 which represented a temporary spike due to emergency benefits for those affected by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. Otherwise, the April numbers are the highest ever and surpass the March 1994 record of 27.9 million recipients.
“These record levels of food stamp usage in this country illustrate the serious challenges facing low-income households,” said Jim Weill, FRAC President. “It shows the key strength of the program, but also underlines the weakness that benefits aren’t enough to get families through the month. Now is the time for Congress to pass temporary increases in food stamps and other targeted relief that will stimulate the economy and help struggling families.” Click here for more information…
2. House Hears Testimony on High Food Prices and Link to Child Nutrition
(House Committee on Education and Labor, July 9, 2008)
Witnesses told the House Education and Labor Committee that “soaring food costs” are to blame for the challenges schools, child care programs and summer food programs are experiencing in getting healthy, low-cost meals to children. Katie Wilson, President-elect of the School Nutrition Association, called for increased federal support, saying “Our programs [school breakfast, lunch, etc.] need additional help in order to provide the highest quality, healthiest meals available to students each day.” Paula James, Director of the Contra Costa Child Care Council in California, spoke on the health dangers when children aren’t given adequate nutrition. “Research has shown that these children are much more likely to be overweight as teenagers and that overweight teenagers are more likely to be overweight adults.” James Hartnett, President of New York’s Family and Children’s Association, supported the need for increased funding, noting “We would also love to serve our children fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat milk, but the current reimbursement rates for the afterschool and summer nutrition programs make that next to impossible.” Harnett also took the opportunity to urge Congress to temporarily increase food stamp benefits, stating “[t]he low-income families that participate in my feeding programs would benefit greatly from immediate Congressional action designed to reverse the impact of this recession… A boost in food stamp allotments would immediately result in more food – and more nutritious food - on the table of these families.” Link to testimonies: http://edlabor.house.gov/hearings/fc-2008-07-09.shtml
3. Expanding Food Stamps Best Way to Reduce Hunger in America
(The Washington Post, July 9, 2008)
Providing more food stamps to the nation’s 35 million food insecure residents is the most effective method to reduce hunger in America, according to Michael Gerson in this editorial. Since food stamps usage is computerized with the help of EBT or “debit” cards, officials know that most recipients run out of the benefit by the third week of each month. Gerson sees this problem as a moral one – asking “…how is it then possible to justify funding three weeks of food instead of four?” Increasing payments requires little overhead in the automated program, which is currently efficient and effective and has been successfully investigated in the recent past for fraud. Gerson states that the President and Congress aren’t indifferent to the problem of hunger, as USDA funding for nutrition programs increased over 60 percent during the Bush years. In addition, Congress increased funding for food stamps, as well as food banks. But the six percent food inflation rate over the past year has forced food stamp recipients to scramble for food halfway through each month when the food stamps run out. The solution to hunger, Gerson concludes, is not tied up in the complexities that characterize other social problems, and he states that while there are “many explanations” why food stamps haven’t been increased to provide for a full month of groceries, “there are no good excuses.” Editor’s note: Michael Gerson was formerly President Bush’s chief speechwriter.
4. New England States Ask for $1 Billion in Heating Assistance
(Boston Globe, July 10, 2008)
Governors of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island have asked the federal government for $1 billion in home heating assistance, up from last winter’s $252 million. “The time to act is now,” said New Hampshire Governor John Lynch. “We don’t want our families to have to face the choice of whether to buy food or fill up the heating oil tank.” According to Lynch, New Hampshire spent about $25 million last winter to help 33,000 families with heating costs. He anticipates that spending would double to help the same number of people this upcoming winter. A greater percentage of New Englanders use heating oil to heat their homes than do residents of other states across the country. Forty percent of Massachusetts households – close to one million homes – heat with oil, compared to eight million homes nationwide, according to the Energy Information Administration. The governors plan to work together to develop a regional strategy to deal with “a looming energy crisis.”
5. Fuel Poverty a Reality for More Americans
(Morning Call, July 8, 2008)
“Fuel poverty,” a term originating in England to describe low-income households that must spend 10 percent or more of their disposable income on fuels to keep warm, is now becoming part of the American political dialogue and agenda. According to a survey by The Christian Science Monitor, Americans spend more on fuel now than in 1986. In Pennsylvania, electric companies are cutting services to more customers who cannot pay their bills due to high auto fuel prices and heating oil prices – PPL Corp. cut power to 124 percent more customers from January to May 2008 than during the same months in 2007.
6. Florida Sees Enormous Increase in Food Stamp Participation – But, Benefit Only Goes So Far
(Maureen Meyer’s Weblog, July 11, 2008; Bradenton Herald, July 13, 2008)
FRAC’s food stamp participation numbers for March 2008 (which reported an additional 1.5 million more people receiving food stamps across the nation as compared to March 2007) prompted this commentary noting Florida’s 19 percent rise in food stamp participation over the same period. In fact, the state’s food stamp numbers rose 37.5 percent in the five years between March 2003 and March 2008; still, USDA estimates that one-third of all eligible households have not applied for the benefit. The commentary highlights the positive impact food stamps have on local economies, with $5 of food stamp benefits generating $9.20 in local spending.
In a related story, according to the state’s Department of Children and Families, Florida’s Manatee County saw food stamp participation jump 41 percent, from 6,548 in May 2007 to 9,214 in May 2008. The “huge increase” is due, said Bradenton Service Center employee Johnyta Kelly, to new clients “…who this time last year had good paying jobs but this year are out of work – electricians, construction workers, plumbers…people from the medical field. I had a Realtor…apply because she lost her own home. Business is that bad.” Manatee and Putnam counties tied for seventh place in a ranking of the highest percentage of food stamp increases, with Sarasota coming in fifth. Even with food stamps, Tim Moran and his wife Debra run out before the end of the month and have to borrow money from friends and visit a nearby food distribution center. With days to go before their next monthly allotment, they’re down to half a jar of peanut butter, a package of hot dogs and a bottle of maple syrup.
7. California Counties Experience Significant Rise in Food Stamp Numbers
(Fresno Bee, July 13, 2008)
The number of households receiving food stamps in Fresno County, Calif. has risen 27 percent in the past year and a half, with the number of people receiving general relief in the form of cash (who are otherwise not eligible for food stamps or other public assistance programs) rising 36 percent. One county site saw a 30 percent rise in food stamp applications in the past year. “We’re getting a lot of first-timers who say ‘I never thought I would be here’,” said program manager Barbara Boswell. Lines outside one county office begin as early as 7:30 a.m. in the past two weeks, and workers try to process applications as fast as possible. Many who are destitute can get benefits the same day. While job layoffs and the high price of food are driving many to seek assistance, the rising numbers are also the result of the county’s outreach to people who do not know they’re eligible for the benefit. However, there are still other residents who could use assistance in reducing their monthly expenses, but make too much money to be eligible for food stamps.
8. Nebraska Puts Disaster Food Stamp Application Online to Speed Process
(OmahaNewsstand.com, July 10, 2008)
Households needing disaster food stamps after recent power outages in the state will still have to stand in line to file for the benefits but won’t have to visit one of four distribution centers in order to pick up and fill out the application. The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services recently uploaded the application to its Web site. Demand for the one month of food stamps being offered has been so great that officials have been “overwhelmed.” Increased security was called in to the four distribution sites after shouting matches erupted when applicants were turned away. One potential recipient, Valerie Creech (who is also on disability), said it was “pure hell” to be turned away two days in a row after waiting in long lines outdoors in the “muggy heat.”
9. Lawsuit Aims to Speed Food Stamp Delivery
(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, July 7, 2008)
Advocates at Legal Action of Wisconsin, which represents low-income clients, filed a lawsuit last week charging the state is breaking the law by “delaying or denying” public assistance, including food stamps, to needy residents of Milwaukee County. An investigation six months ago by the Journal-Sentinel’s Public Investigator column revealed that many applicants were forced to spend hours waiting on the phone or in public assistance offices. The county responded by acknowledging there was a problem, and said a “modernization initiative” was launched which would allow residents to use the Internet as well as the phone to handle their cases.
10. Computer Crash Delays Food Stamps
(Chicago Tribune, July 10, 2008)
Food stamp benefits were just one of a number of program payments from Department of Child Services and Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) that were delayed by computer crashes at the Illinois state offices. The database crashes came at the beginning of July, a bad time according to FSSA Secretary Mitch Roob, who said recipient recertification interviews for food stamps and other programs happen more often at the beginning and end of the month. Databases at both offices were up by early Thursday, July 10, while scores of anxious parents continued to call the child services agency.
11. New York Succeeding in Food Stamp Initiative
(Readmedia.com, July 10, 2008)
New York State has signed up an additional 55,000 households for food stamps as of April 2008, more than half of the desired goal of 100,000 households by the end of 2008. According to State Office of Temporary and Disability Insurance (OTDA) Commissioner David A. Hansell, the Working Families Food Stamp Initiative, begun last summer, is the driving force behind the increased enrollment; statewide, enrollment numbers are the highest since 1995, with over one million households receiving the benefit as of April 2008. “Governor Patterson and OTDA are firmly committed to increasing the economic security of low-income families in New York state,” said Hansell. Making food stamps easier to apply for and receive is a major part of the campaign, he noted. Other projects designed to help low-income families through the tough economy and current high food prices include:
Increasing food stamp benefits by $118 a month for the nearly 115,000 residents of Section 8 and public housing, group homes and “congregate care facilities;”
“myBenefits.ny.gov,” a statewide interactive Web site allowing anyone to prescreen themselves for food stamps and school meal programs as well as tax credits;
An 11-county pilot program which allows community organizations to accept food stamp applications and submit them electronically to local social services offices – with the program slated to go statewide in 2009.
Advocates contributing their praise for Governor’s and OTDA’s efforts include Dr. Lucy Cabrera, President and CEO of the Food Bank for New York City; Linda Bopp, Executive Director of the Nutrition Consortium of New York State; and Thomas Slater, Executive Director of the Food Bank of Central New York.
12. Alabama Farmers’ Markets to Accept EBT Cards
(NBC13,July 10, 2008)
A pilot program run by the Alabama Farmers Market Authority will soon make it possible for food stamp recipients to shop at three produce markets in Dallas, Jefferson and Macon counties. Organizers of the program are working to expand it across the state.
13. Suburbs Suffer from Summer Feeding Gap
(Philadelphia Inquirer, July 9, 2008)
Working poor families in the Philadelphia suburbs are “scrambling” to find affordable food options for their children who don’t receive free and reduced-price meals over the summer months. Inside the city of Philadelphia there are many more summer food options than in the suburbs, where summer programs only feed 15 percent of the approximately 55,000 children in surrounding Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties who rely on school lunches. “These kids are orphaned for the summer… It's one of these cracks in the system, where everything is fine till school lets out,” said Patrick Druhan of the Montgomery County Community Action Development Commission about the 47,000 suburban children left without meals in July and August. South Jersey also lacks summer feeding programs for the nearly 70,000 students receiving free and reduced-price meals the rest of the year. Some programs attempt to close the gap, such as Philabundance, which recently distributed fresh fruit and bread to suburban mothers like Marisa Koerbel. Joe Quattrocchi, executive director of the Pennsylvania Hunger Action Center, noted that budgets should be rearranged to feed these children. "It does beg common sense that if you have students availing themselves of free lunch during the school year, what happens when it's out?" he said. The lack of summer meals for many, however, is rarely discussed. Former Montgomery County commissioner Ruth Damsker said she was shocked to hear from a reporter that there was a problem. Other officials say that children’s meals are the responsibility of the school district, while some school districts say that, because they’re not open in the summer, they don’t run summer feeding programs. “As far as I know, there has never been any discussion” of offering summer meals to kids, said Susan Phy of the Bensalem Township School District, where there’s been a 68 percent rise in the number of poor children between 2000 and 2005.
14. Day Camps Fill Gap in Feeding Children During Summer Months
(The Wall Street Journal, July 8, 2008)
Elizabeth Castro drops her two children off at a suburban Chicago recreation center where a day camp filled with activities also provides lunch – an important factor, as “Food is very expensive this summer,” she says. “Milk, bread, eggs, everything is going up and up. Except my income.” Across the country, 13 million households struggle with high food prices and low wages, and in some areas, like suburban Chicago, parents are able to take advantage of summer meals for their kids at day camps. The Illinois Coalition Against Hunger distributed flyers promoting recreation programs combined with free meals, and was besieged by calls from interested parents – 50 percent more calls in June than in the past year. The meals come courtesy of the federal Summer Food Service Program, and summer day camps are taking advantage of the benefit. High fuel costs have created an odd effect in some locations, like in Alabama and Mississippi, where the Bay Area Food Bank recorded serving twice the amount of lunches in its urban programs, and 40 percent fewer in the more rural sites. Darcy Long, child nutrition manager for the Food Bank, reports on behalf of parents: it’s too expensive to drive their children miles to a program, even if lunch is served. Other urban programs are thriving, such as those in the Chicago area, where a new state law requires that all neighborhood children be offered a free meal during the summer through the schools in low-income areas. One set of parents, when told by their children they had milk with their lunch, said they were “…so thankful getting milk. We go through a gallon a day at home, and a gallon of milk now costs as much as a gallon of gas.” (Full article available by subscription only.)
15. DC Leads Metro Region in Summer Food Programs
(The Washington Post, July 12, 2008)
Washington, DC, ranked first in the nation for summer food participation in 2006 by the Food Research and Action Center, reached 86 percent of children served by school meal programs during the year. However, Maryland and Virginia children have had a tougher time accessing food during the summer months, as Maryland only served 24 percent of eligible children and Virginia only 20 percent (the national average being 18 percent). The drop-off “…is hugely larger than it should be,” according to FRAC President Jim Weill. Summer food programs are vitally important, as they fight conditions that promote obesity, and guard against the “summer slide.” Ron Fairchild, executive director of the Center for Summer Learning at Johns Hopkins University, believes inadequate nutrition in the summer months greatly contributes to poor children losing academic skills they gained during the school year, as the “great equalizer of public education” takes a back seat to socioeconomic problems that widen the achievement gap between low-income and middle-income children. DC’s “massive outreach” campaign doubled the city’s summer nutrition numbers in the past decade, and adjacent Montgomery County in Maryland is stepping up efforts and plans to serve 12,124 children over the summer, up from 9,089 last year. Still, the county has a way to go in order to serve summer meals to all of its 36,000 eligible children.
16. Summer Recreation Programs Feed Low-Income Children
(Montpelier Times Argus, June 30, 2008)
With schools closed for the summer, many low-income families in Vermont find they are unable to feed their children, 29,000 of whom take advantage of free and reduced-price lunch the rest of the year. Nor are these families able to take advantage of traditional summer programs for their children, as the price of day and residential camps in New England running from $193 a week to $780 a week. “Libraries, Parks and Recreation (departments) and churches are picking up the pieces,” says Sarah Kunz of the Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger. Kunz noted that one child said “Summer is no lunch and nothing to do” responding to a teacher asking if the class was excited that school was over. Individual sites feeding children this summer include pools and libraries, which are offering recreational programs along with free lunch for children up to age 18. Offering the meal to all children removes the stigma some may feel. “But a lot of kids just view summer food as one more element of a fun day. It’s going to the pool and oh, you get lunch too,” explained Kunz, speaking at an outreach event providing free barbecue for children at the Barre City Pool. Kunz believes the number of children participating in free lunch programs this summer will be higher than in the past, due to the high cost of food and fuel and the “tight” economy. The number of meal programs has increased, said Kunz. Vermont currently ranks ninth in the nation for participation in summer food programs.
17. Ohio to Automatically Enroll Some Children for Free and Reduced-Price Lunch
(The Columbus Dispatch, July 7, 2008)
Ohio families who receive food stamps or participate in the Ohio Works First program won’t have to fill out paperwork for their children to receive free school lunch in the Fall, as those students will be enrolled automatically. In a move to find more children eligible for the free meals, the Ohio Department of Education will rely on food stamp enrollment records from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services to find students who are not participating in the meal program and sign them up. The move provides more federal subsidies – in the form of meal reimbursement funding – to the state; it also helps families that aren’t aware their children are eligible, or lack understanding of the program due to language barriers. A recent federal mandate paved the way for this “direct certification” process, and some school districts have successfully located eligible students. As a once-a-year process, however, the action misses those families who sign up for food stamps during the school year. Plus, eligible students in families not receiving food stamps or not in the Works First program will still be required to fill out the forms.
18. Universal Breakfast Expands to More Schools
(Middletown Journal, July 9, 2008)
All students in Ohio’s Middletown City Schools can receive free breakfast starting this fall, as the district works to expand participation in the free breakfast program and take advantage of federal reimbursements. The students will also benefit, since research has shown that children who eat breakfast closer to class time score better on standardized tests, according to FRAC. District officials point out that students will be able to eat breakfast either in the cafeteria or in their classrooms. Although any student, regardless of family income, can participate, families will still need to fill out forms to determine eligibility for the free and reduced-price lunch program, which is separate from the federal breakfast program.
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