The Food Research and Action Center's Weekly 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. Federal Nutrition Programs are Vital Part of Safety Net
(Bennington Banner, July 7, 2008)
The solution to hunger lies not only with soup kitchens, but takes the concerted effort of federal nutrition programs (food stamps, free and reduced-price school meals, etc.) in addition to nutrition education and training, according to the Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger. The organization’s executive director, Robert Dostis, echoed the Campaign’s directors and said “Solving the issue of hunger is about using these programs to their fullest.” While Dostis believes people should continue to donate to food pantries, they also need to support the additional resources to federal nutrition programs. The needy who aren’t utilizing them should apply – and not all eligible people in Vermont have done so. The Web site www.vermontfoodhelp.com can help people determine their eligibility, and many more have used the site. Averaging 6,000 hits, the site received 9,000 hits this past April.
2. Hunger Is a Public Health Problem in Massachusetts
(MetroWest Daily News, July 15, 2008)
Hunger is a “silent, invisible” public health problem in Massachusetts, on par with infectious diseases and water pollution, writes Bruce S. Auerbach, M.D., president of the Massachusetts Medical Society. “In a state known worldwide for its health care, with more than 340,000 previously uninsured residents now having health insurance under the state's health care reform law, we still have nearly half a million people whose health is in jeopardy from poor nutrition and hunger,” he writes. A new report from Project Bread shows the extent of hunger across the state. According to the report, 450,000 residents have trouble “putting food on the table,” with food insecurity rates rising 22 percent over the past three years. Adding to these numbers is a study by Boston Medical Center showing 90 percent of infants and toddlers living in food insecure households are more likely to be in poor health. The state’s hunger problem effects children, the elderly, and people suffering from chronic diseases the most, and ironically, many of these hungry residents also suffer from obesity because healthier foods are more expensive than less-nutritious, calorie-dense foods. The state is implementing projects and programs to combat hunger, some of which include: outreach to eligible families that have not applied for federal nutrition programs such as food stamps, free and reduced-price school meals, and afterschool and summer meals; and switching to healthier menus in school cafeterias. In addition, a public television program is being produced as a partnership of the Massachusetts Medical Society, U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), and HCAM-TV. Titled “Hunger in the Commonwealth,” the program will raise awareness about hunger and discuss solutions to the state’s hunger problem.
3. Baltimore Brings in Doctors to Combat Hunger-Related Illness but Needs to Do More
(Baltimore Sun, July 18, 2008)
Baltimore City officials are urging doctors to screen children for malnutrition and refer families to food pantries, in order to battle statistics in a recent report showing one in eight families bringing children to the University of Maryland Medical Center emergency room are undernourished. The report found young children “listless and distracted,” and teens “bloated from filling up on fats and starches,” victims of the current economic state in which families struggle with high food and fuel prices, job layoffs and mortgage foreclosures. But the city will have to do more, states this editorial, in order to combat nutrition problems that will only grow as the economy worsens. “[T]he need for nutrition programs will only grow,” the commentary concludes. “City officials are rightly concerned about getting the word out. But they need a plan that produces more than just advice for hungry people.”
4. Report Finds Many Eligible Immigrants in New York Not Getting Food Stamps
(New York Daily News, July 11, 2008)
While food stamp participation is rising in New York City due to the tanking economy and high cost of living, not all residents are receiving the benefit. According to “Nourishing NYC: Increasing Food Stamps Access in Immigrant Communities,” a study released by the Urban Justice Center’s Homelessness Outreach and Prevention Project, thousands of immigrants in New York City who are eligible for food stamps are not receiving them because they haven’t applied. Participation is low because there’s a “climate of fear and confusion over rules for eligibility,” and not only affects half of all New Yorkers – as half of all New Yorkers live in an immigrant household – but also means the city is missing out on millions in federal funding. Councilman Eric Gioia (D-Queens), a partner in the study, commented “Especially with the rising food prices, hundreds of thousands of people in New York find themselves in a position they never thought they would be in, having to choose between buying food or paying the rent. They would be helped by food stamps…but don’t know it.” An estimated 83,205 legal immigrants in the city eligible for food stamps don’t get them, and are significantly less likely to apply for them. Outreach geared to these populations, featuring language-appropriate materials, would help get them signed up for the program, the report recommends.
5. Food Stamp Numbers in Connecticut Continue to Rise
(Hartford Courant July 8, 2008; Foodsharect blog, July 14, 2008)
Suzette Strickland, Hartford County food stamp outreach director at End Hunger CT! has worked for the organization over six years, and sees conditions now as worse than they’ve ever been. “We have people knocking on our door three, four times a day because they’re desperate – they need this help.” Strickland cites the fact that after paying for “heat, light and rent,” many residents have nothing left for food. From April 2007 to April 2008, the state saw an eight percent rise in households receiving food stamps; national growth increased 7.4 percent during the same time. Foodshare President Gloria McAdam attended a recent Connecticut Food Policy Council meeting which reported that there are now 8,000 more food stamp cases in the state.
Even with food stamps, many find it hard to get by, with fuel prices rising, problems arising due to the economic downturn, and another increase in food stamp benefits not in effect until October. According to FRAC, food price inflation has hit people hard, with milk prices rising 13.3 percent, eggs 30 percent, and bread 15 percent between March 2007 and March 2008. However, USDA notes that food stamps were never intended to pay 100 percent of a household’s food budget, but are meant to supplement food pantries, free and reduced-price school lunches, and other aid programs. Advocates and families point to the reality that many households have to rely on food stamps more and more, especially since traditional welfare now only covers 21 months in a recipient’s lifetime. By October 2008, inflation will have surpassed any food stamp benefit increase, putting households even further behind. According to FRAC’s Food Stamp Director Ellen Vollinger, “Last Oct. 1 the benefit was enough to purchase the Thrifty Food Plan basket that was priced the prior June. How long this year’s readjustment will remain enough to purchase that basket we just don’t know.”
The rise in the state’s food stamp numbers hasn’t corresponded with a similar rise in the number of workers to handle the increased workload. Connecticut has a hiring freeze in effect, meaning “…workers who already had 800 or so families on their caseload now have to handle even larger caseloads,” noted Gloria McAdam of Foodshare.
6. Washington State Sees Rise in Food Stamps After Holding Steady for Four Years
(The Columbian, July 14, 2008)
Between March 2007 and March 2008, Washington State’s food stamp application rate rose four percent, after the application rate held steady for four years. The increase may be due to the economic slump, low wages and high food and fuel inflation, said Kathy Spears of the state’s Department of Social and Health Services. Eligibility for the program is slated to change in October, so that households with income rates at 200 percent of poverty level (rather than the current 120 percent) will be eligible for the benefit. The move may help households like the Carpinettis, who were living paycheck to paycheck before being hit with multiple economic problems that landed them in a local shelter.
7. Florida Aid Offices Straining Under Increased Food Stamp Applications
(TCPalm.com, July 11, 2008)
Florida’s Treasure Coast counties (Okeechobee, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River) are experiencing a rise of 27 percent in food stamp applications, straining efforts of the state’s Department of Children and Families (DCF) to keep up. Residents struggling with job losses and the recession are having trouble reaching DCF staff by phone to set up appointments to apply, and the Department has not added staff or additional phone lines to take up the slack. Cheri Sheffer, community relations manager for District 15, said that even with the work load, “Everyone who qualifies will receive food stamps,” and noted that people can now apply online.
8. More Arkansas Working Poor Families Seeking Assistance
(Arkansas News Bureau, July 14, 2008)
Arkansas signed up 28,000 new food stamp recipients last year, raising the number of recipients to 581,299 – seven percent more than in 2005. However, their buying power has fallen, as food costs have risen dramatically over the past year according to a national study. Job losses and high fuel costs have added to the economic troubles of many families. Betsy Reithemeyer, executive director of the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank, reports that agencies in her region have seen the number of people seeking help increase up to 400 percent.
9. Many Eligible for Food Stamps in Mississippi Haven’t Applied
(WTOK, July 15, 2008)
Only 60 percent of eligible Mississippi residents haven’t applied for food stamps, “about five points below the national average” states Sonja Murphy of Mississippi ACORN (the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now). The group is interested in outreach in partnership with the state’s Department of Human Services to get the word out to these households and encourage them to apply.
10. More Massachusetts Seniors are Now Eligible for Food Stamps
(Community Advocate, July 18, 2008)
Monthly income restrictions, formerly barriers to senior participation in the Food Stamp Program, have now been eased in Massachusetts. Seniors with incomes of less than $1,734 (individual) and $2,334 (two-person household) can now successfully apply. In addition, senior-owned assets (car, house, some bank savings) are no longer counted in eligibility requirements. Liquid assets, formerly capped at $3,000, have been raised to $17,000. “This is a big deal, said Janice Long, a senior center director. “As a result, thousands more will qualify.” Not only will these changes help retirees over 60 who currently feel the effects of high food and fuel prices, but they will be able to purchase healthier, often more costly foods, which many seniors with dietary restrictions require. In case some seniors are uncomfortable with discussing their financial information with senior center counselors, Project Bread has provided a 1-800 “Food Source Hot Line” to answer questions and provide assistance.
11. Kansas Pilot Program Aims to Increase Food Assistance Numbers
(Kansas.com, July 11, 2008)
The Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services (SRS) reports that more than 30 percent of food stamp eligible residents don’t receive the benefit, and has started an outreach program to sign them up. The Food Assistance Outreach Pilot Grant program will fund rural and urban outreach plans in addition to activities targeting families, the elderly, and Hispanics, in an effort to reduce hunger in Kansas. SRS Secretary Don Jordan feels “These outreach efforts are imperative to increase both awareness of the program and enrollment of eligible individuals and families at the local level.”
12. Erie Schools Dealing with High Food Prices
(GoErie.com, July 21, 2008)
While high food prices mean schools in the Erie, Pennsylvania area are struggling to balance food service budgets, school systems won’t pass along the cost to students. Federal funding of school breakfast and lunches help the area’s schools with high numbers of children receiving free and reduced-price meals. Erie School District’s cost for preparing a meal rose eight percent in the last school year, and that means the district is missing $200,000 to reinvest. Bulk buying (effective due to the school district’s size), helps with the budget, while federal funding provides reimbursements for 75 percent of the district’s school children, who receive free and reduced-price lunch. In addition, cafeteria workers counsel students to take only what they can eat to avoid waste. And while a la carte purchases decreased at the end of the previous school year by $200 a day, increased school breakfast participation has provided an additional source of federal funding to the schools.
13. Summer Food Program Could Enrich More Children’s Vacations
(Hartford Courant, July 13, 2008)
While participation in Connecticut’s Summer Food Program is growing – with 405 sites in 2007 serving 28,197 children – many more children are out there, needing the healthy meals. According to FRAC, only one quarter of the children receiving free and reduced-price lunch in the state also take advantage of summer food programs. End Hunger CT! is working to increase the number. At Hartford’s kickoff event, the organization’s Phyllis Cappucio and Judy Schiavone dressed as a cucumber and a cow to call attention to the need for more summer food sites like the one feeding children at a park in Hartford’s North End, adjacent to the Simpson-Waverly School. Not only do the sites provide food, but this site was visited by the Hartford bookmobile; nine-year-old Javion was able to eat lunch and check out a book on his favorite subject – Martin Luther King, Jr. – as well as the movie “Stuart Little.”
14. Summer Food Numbers are Up in Austin
(KVUE, July 15, 2008)
Austin Independent School District (AISD) served 215,000 summer meals to children from June through August 2007, and have already served 219,000 meals halfway through July 2008. The reason, according to AISD food services director Chris Carrillo: “Children in the summertime don’t [have] access to proper nutrition because budgets are so stretched with the ever increasing cost of food and fuel.” In spite of some cutbacks to the program by the city, area organizations like the boys and girls clubs stepped in to pick up the slack. Approximately 30 schools in Austin serve the federally-funded breakfasts and lunches in the program that will run through August.
15. State Plans Transfer of Some Food Stamp Accounts to Controversial Management System
(Dallas Morning News, July 12, 2008; Austin American-Statesman, July 15, 2008; Dallas Morning News, July 11, 2008)
Vulnerable populations with “extremely complicated cases” according to Rep. Elliott Naishtat, D-Austin, will have management of their food stamp and other benefits transferred to the Texas Integrated Eligibility Redesign System (TIERS). The state plans to shift 288,000 recipients into the “problem-plagued” system by August 2009, and 953,000 elderly and disabled Medicaid patients by September 2009.
Texas State Employees Union spokesman Will Rogers criticized the move, stating “It borders on irresponsible behavior. They haven’t worked out all the bugs with TIERS. You’re playing with people’s lives by doing that.” Other critics of the move include a state legislative panel, which called the move “reckless” due to the problems the state has experienced in processing cases, and the Center for Public Policy Priorities, which told the state in a report that only half of the cases should be transferred into the new system until there are enough trained caseworkers to handle the load. To deal with the problems in the new system, the state will increase the number of eligibility determination staff by several hundred, after being granted flexibility to go beyond a payroll cap, in order to process applications in accordance with federal standards (30 days for food stamps.)
16. Michigan to Pilot Universal Breakfast This Fall
(Bay City Times, July 15, 2008)
Ten districts in Michigan will pilot a universal school breakfast program this fall, which will provide free breakfast to all students at pilot schools in order to combat growing numbers of children showing up to class hungry. The program, championed by the state superintendent Carolyn Wierda to improve breakfast participation, is titled Michigan School Breakfast Challenge, and will be expanded to all schools if successful. The Bay City district was selected as one of the pilots because of the gap between the number of students eating school breakfasts and the larger number who receive free and reduced-price lunch. State guidelines mandating where food can be served in school will be relaxed at pilot sites, enabling breakfast to be served “during instructional time,” which will, according to Superintendent Wierda, improve participation. Research has shown that children may not participate in breakfast programs because of the stigma they feel is attached, signifying that they’re from families who cannot afford to feed them in the morning. With families experiencing tight grocery budgets, hectic morning schedules, both parents working and many children averse to eating breakfast soon after they wake up (not to mention the fact that many children are getting themselves ready for school in the morning), breakfast has become even more important in keeping kids alert and focused on their studies.
17. Vermont’s Homeless Rate Highest in New England
(Seven Days, July 2, 2008)
In spite of low-income advocates “sounding the alarm” for a decade on Vermont’s rising poverty rate and “concomitant problems” (hunger, food insecurity, health problems, domestic violence, etc.), the Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) found that the state has more homeless residents than other New England states, with the fastest growing homeless numbers being families with children. The report issued by VHFA, titled “Family Homelessness in Vermont,” gives the statistics that shelter providers, like Paul Capcara of Morningside House in Brattleboro, are witnessing firsthand. Morningside House had several single mothers move into the shelter during their second and third trimesters, and still had to bring their babies back “home” to the shelter after birth, “…a profoundly disturbing and depressing experience for all involved,” noted Capcara.
18. Ohio Voices Describe Hunger and Hardships
(Athens County Job & Family Services blog, July 15, 2008)
Athens County Department of Job & Family Services asked Ohio Works First households the question “What financial or medical hardships are you facing?” The replies effectively convey the level of hardship many are feeling:
“I always have to figure out how to pay for food, I get disconnection notices all the time…I don’t have enough money to buy my children new clothes or school supplies.”
“…There are days we don’t get to eat a solid meal, just soup and bread if we are lucky because I have other children that are over age and stop by to eat with us…”
“I could sit here and write a novel to you regarding all the financial, physical and mental hardships that I face on a day to day basis.”
“…The food stamps we get are not enough to feed us for the month. We can’t buy anything healthy, it must what’s on sale or what we can afford. Plus, I’ve got to throw in $100-$150 in money to the food cost every month. I also don’t have transportation.”
“It is very hard to get all that you can to feed your children when you don’t have the money or food stamps to buy them with. With the cost of gas now a days you get to pick either buy a gallon of milk or get a gallon of gas.”
“…Our food stamps don’t go a long way. Food prices have gone up, bills have all gone up and our income remains the same…”
“Without assistance we wouldn’t be able to make it so [we’re] very grateful the help is there, we just with it could be more.”
“Our food stamps don’t go a long way. Food prices have gone up, bills have all gone up and our income remains the same…I don’t like living month to month…”
“…always running out of food before the month is half-way over.”
“I have financial hardships with trying to buy quality fresh nutritious food for my family of 4. Doctors, school, even family members tell me that my four year old eats too much pasta and other carbs (contributing to his weight gain) as opposed to fruits and vegetables. Duh! Fresh, quality fruits and veggies are too expensive to buy once a week! My food stamps do not cover my family’s needs!”
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