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. Thrifty Food Plan Cost Rises Higher than Food Cost
(FRAC Facts, July 25, 2008)
The Thrifty Food Plan (the mix of food items on which low-income people rely) rose 8.5 percent between June 2007 and 2008. At the same time, the cost of food rose 6.1 percent. The Thrifty Food Plan is USDA's estimate of what it would cost to purchase a minimally adequate diet, and is the least expensive market basket of food the government prices – and recommends for short-term use. In terms of dollars, it costs $46.20 more a month for a family of four to purchase the Thrifty Food Plan “basket” than it did a year ago. This steep rise accurately indicates how low-income people suffer during this time of high food costs. Low-income households making the current minimum wage would have to work an extra day each month in order to afford this minimum amount of food. Many low-income adults are already working two or three jobs to make ends meet, and employers are cutting back hours in response to the troubled economy. The Thrifty Food Plan market basket priced in June determines the amount of the maximum food stamp monthly allotment households can get during the following fiscal year (starting October 1st).
2. Congress Hears Need for Increased Food Stamp Benefits
(Reuters, July 23, 2008)
Anti-hunger advocates urged Congress last week to boost the amount of money food stamp recipients receive each month, helping them “afford a basic, healthy diet,” said George Manalo-LeClair of the California Food Policy Advocates. Rep. Joe Baca (D-CA), chair of the Agriculture subcommittee, wants a food stamp increase in the next economic stimulus bill, as does Minneapolis physician Diana Cutts and the Food Research and Action Center. Larry Brown, of the Harvard University School of Public Health, noted “The United States is quite unique among industrial democracies because we let so many of our people go hungry and we seem to be doing precious little to close this gap.”
3. Add Food Stamp Increase to Next Economic Stimulus Package
(The New York Times, July 27, 2008)
Omitting food stamps from the economic stimulus measures is “unconscionable” and “poor economics,” according to this New York Times editorial. The first plan in February 2008 did not include an increase in food stamp benefits – the next plan needs the increase, as well as direct aid to states and local governments, says this editorial. Food stamps are spent “quickly and in full,” which makes a temporary increase in the benefit guaranteed to be funneled back into the economy. The economic downturn that brought about the need for the stimulus plans affects the nation’s low-income populations, and stimulus measures should help those most vulnerable. While the recent $100 billion in tax rebates – part of the $168 billion overall plan - has somewhat slowed the economy’s rapid drop, “real improvement has been elusive” and the “economic turnaround policy makers wanted” has not happened. Consumers will still be dealing with high fuel prices, stagnant wages and “tighter credit” once the rebate checks are spent.
4. Statistics Show U.S. Rich Have Gotten Richer
(The Wall Street Journal, July 23, 2008)
According to IRS data, America’s richest 1 percent in 2006 had the highest share of the adjusted gross income for twenty years, and the average tax rate for this 1 percent fell to its lowest point in 18 years. Experts say that the recent tax cuts are largely responsible for the tax rate drop, and the new administration and Congress will have to decide if the cuts should continue. The IRS figures show:
Rise in income: the richest 1 percent reported (on tax returns) 22 percent of adjusted gross income; the previous year, this population reported 21.2 percent.
Fall in taxes: in 1996, this population’s tax rate was 28.9 percent; in 2006, it fell to 22.8 percent.
Adjusted gross income comes from tax returns and focuses only on income taxes. Wider definitions, used in a Congressional Budget Office report at the end of 2007, showed similar trends.
5. Economic-Based Job Woes Cause Numbers of Women in Workforce to Drop
(The New York Times, July 22, 2008)
The scores of women who entered the workforce since the 1960s are dropping out of it, victims of the same economic disturbances as their male counterparts – including layoffs, stagnant wages, and pay cuts, according to a new Congressional study. This is the first time the number of women in the workforce has declined since the 60’s according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economists who noticed the trend first thought it was because women were choosing to stay home with their families or because their husbands were doing well enough to support the whole family. The report shows that 74.9 percent of women aged 25 to 54 held jobs in early 2000; by June 2007, it had dropped by 2.2 percentage points as 72.7 percent of women held jobs, marking a decline of millions of women nationwide. The statistics hold true for women in different demographic populations, and may spell “potentially disastrous consequences for families.” These numbers compare to men; 96 percent held jobs in 1953, while 86.4 percent do today. Median pay for women fell from $15.04 in 2004 to $14.84 in 2007 (figures adjusted for inflation.) The welfare-to-work drive in the 1990s brought more women to the workforce, bolstered by a “strong economy.” With today’s weakened economy, women are finding that jobs are scarce as employers cut back and lay off employees.
6. Government Forecasts More Rising Food Prices
(Reuters, July 23, 2008)
Higher grain prices will equate to higher beef, pork and chicken prices. In turn, this will force overall food prices to increase by four to five percent in 2009 as retailers pass along energy and commodity costs to consumers, according to experts at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This is the third year in a row with high increases in the cost of food, with the government estimating a five percent increase this year. In 2007, the cost of food rose by four percent. This year’s increase is the largest since 1990. Groceries, snacks, carry-out food and restaurant meals account for $1 trillion spent by Americans on food in a year; of this amount, farmers make 20 cents on every dollar, “which dilutes the impact of record-high crop prices.” Processing, labor, transportation and distribution take the other 80 percent.
7. Central Seattle Works to Eradicate Food Desert
(Seattle Times, July 23, 2008)
The “best-known” place to buy food in Seattle’s Central District – where high crime and mortgage foreclosures are the rule – is a fast food establishment; elsewhere in the city it’s easy to find nutritious foods at farmers’ markets and high end groceries. Central District pastor and community leader Robert Jeffrey, responding to the community’s needs and aware of the high prices at many farmers’ markets, has been working to help the neighborhood grow its own fresh food, in a move not only to combat health problems linked to poor nutrition, but to create jobs and increase community involvement. Roadblocks abound, as the community garden project lost its first crop and had problems with the soil. A similar program in Oakland, California brought together some of the state’s black farmers to start a farmers’ market. While it grew to include more than 30 farmers, it is struggling financially. Founder David Roach said they’re “trying to create something that hasn’t been there, trying to make people come out where they haven’t felt safe to come out before.”
8. State Budget Cuts Could Affect Food Stamp Households
(Las Vegas Sun, July 18, 2008)
Poor Nevadans with little left to lose may be facing food stamp and other public assistance cuts in the near future. State budget proposals include denying food stamp benefits to households that don’t meet certain welfare-to-work requirements. State officials say the cuts are necessary because of “shrinking federal reserves and state funds” and that the increased demand for these programs is making the situation worse. Opponents say children will go hungry if the changes are put into place. Anna Marie Johnson, executive director of Nevada Legal Services noted that removing food services when the head of a household misses requirements would be “destructive to children.” According to FRAC’s Ellen Vollinger, only 12 states have such policies, and it’s “troubling to think [the state] would be penalizing the entire household, because children would be affected.” She also called attention to research, reported in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine in 2002, that showed increased likelihood for child hunger and hospitalization when benefits are reduced. However, the state says its intentions aren’t to harm children but to reinforce parental responsibility.”
9. New Hampshire Farmers’ Markets Begin Accepting Food Stamps
(UNH Extension News, July 17, 2008)
In 2004, the University of New Hampshire started connecting local food growers to food stamp recipients through a three-year grant from the Northeast Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, which piloted acceptance of food stamp EBT cards at farmers’ markets. A result of the grant has been the manual titled “Accepting Food Stamp Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Cards at Farmers’ Markets and Farm Stands: A Primer for Farmers and Market Managers,” which provides the step-by-step process for markets to begin selling to food stamp recipients. More and more of the state’s farmers are selling directly to consumers; food stamp recipients will benefit from a larger portion of the more than 75 farmers’ markets now operating in the state.
10. Project Aims to Increase Food Stamp Participation in Orlando
(Orlando Sentinel, July 15, 2008)
It’s estimated that the Orlando, Florida area is missing out on $60 million in federal food stamp benefits, and a partnership between Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida and United Way of Central Florida wants to change that. Through a privately-sponsored project, agencies associated with Second Harvest will have representatives with wireless access available to individuals and families, enabling them to sign up for food stamps online. The project will not only provide families and individuals with direct support during these tough economic times, but will stimulate the local economy and relieve pressure on agencies like Second Harvest to provide food for the needy.
11. Rhode Island Advocates Push for Increased Food Stamp Assistance
(Pawtucket Times, July 15, 2008; Article available from news site’s archives.))
Rhode Island Governor Donald L. Carcieri and the George Wiley Center are not yet in agreement over a plan to expand food stamp recipient benefits in the state through the LIHEAP heating assistance program. If the Governor agrees to let the state energy assistance office issue checks for $1 in LIHEAP funding to food stamp recipients, food stamp allotments will climb an average of $25 a month. While the Wiley Center announced the deal as complete recently, Carcieri’s spokeswoman Amy Kempe said that the Office of Energy Resources “is putting together a memo and brief for the governor, but it is not a program that is in place yet.” Kempe added that the governor “is looking at all opportunities to assist Rhode Islanders” during this time of high consumer costs and food prices. Similar programs in Massachusetts and Maine have been successful, encouraging more people to sign up for food stamps who originally thought the allotment amounts were too low – and a potential $35 more each month a good incentive to go to the trouble of filling out the forms. Additional food stamp recipients, having more money for retail food purchases, “will help support and generate jobs” noted James Riley of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 328. The $1 in heating assistance from the energy office will help bypass administrative difficulties that food stamp recipients who reside in subsidized housing have in proving they’re eligible for heating assistance, as fuel bills for these residents are included in the rent and difficult to break out to determine additional food stamp amounts.
12. Massachusetts Has Fastest Food Stamp Growth
(Boston Globe, July 23, 2008)
Massachusetts started the decade with the lowest food stamp participation numbers in the nation, yet now is experiencing the fastest growth in recipients. Officials point to soaring food and fuel prices that are pushing people to seek assistance who would not normally apply. In April, more than half a million people in the state received food stamps, up 67 percent since 2003; for April 2008, this represents $48 million in food stamp benefits compared to $22 million in benefits in April 2003 (the state had the lowest participation in 2000-2002.) Commenting on the numbers, Patricia Baker, senior policy analyst for the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, said “I think low-income families are faced and will be faced this winter with the difficult choice of eating or heating a home. We’re seeing prices escalating, and anything a family can access to help them buy basic food for their families is critical.” While inflation is a primary cause for the increase, changes in application procedures in the state have also swelled the numbers. A simplified online form has combined with the state’s waiving of face-to-face interviews for many working families and disabled, along with changes in asset requirements (removing bank and retirement accounts and property ownership from the eligibility list), are making it easier for people to apply and get approved.
13. Childhood Obesity Rises to Top of Some Parents’ Concerns
(University of Michigan, July 14, 2008)
Smoking and drug abuse used to occupy the top slots on the list of parental concerns across the country. According to a new report from the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, titled “The National Poll on Children’s Health,” childhood obesity is now the number 1 concern of parents. Just last year, the issue was number 3 on the list. The report “clearly shows that adults in America are very concern about the problem of childhood obesity…” commented Matthew M. Davis, M.D., M.A.P.P., director of the national poll, which surveyed adults and had them rate 20 health concerns for children. Thirty-five percent of adults rated the issue as number 1 on the list. However, the poll found some differences among different demographic groups:
Hispanic adults rated child obesity lower on their list, even though research has shown Hispanic youth are at greater risk for obesity; and Low-income adults (making less than $30,000 a year) were more likely to list drug abuse, smoking/tobacco use, and teen pregnancy as their top concerns.
“We found multiple differences in the priority of health problems for kids in the minds of adults by race, ethnicity, income or some other characteristic,” noted Davis, who is also associate professor of general pediatrics and internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School. “What this shows us is that there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ public health approach to these issues. So as doctors, nurses and other public health officials work to find ways to help their community deal with health issues, it’s important that they remember to tailor their approach to the priorities of the community.”
14. Food Prices Responsible for School Budget Deficits
(Boston Globe, July 16, 2008)
While surrounding districts plan to battle the rising cost of food by charging students 25 to 50 cents more for meals this fall, the Boston School Committee hopes “greater efficiencies” and encouraging more families to sign up for federally-reimbursed free and reduced-price meals will help eradicate a $6.7 million food service program deficit in the coming year. Rising prices for grain, milk and vegetables could translate into student hunger, as many students may skip lunch due to the higher costs. In addition, cafeterias may scale back on the healthier items that cost more – some of the school systems having the most trouble making ends meeting are the ones serving the healthiest food. Many of these schools have just completed making their menus more nutritious in the wake of child obesity concerns, and have started making more meals from scratch to control the fat and nutritional content. Traditionally, 30 percent of schools systems across the country raise meal prices each year. This year, it’s estimated 75 percent of schools will raise their prices. According to Joanne Morrissey, president of the School Nutrition Association of Massachusetts and Quincy schools food service director, “This will be the most difficult year we’ve had since the early 1980’s.” Back then, in order to balance its own budget, the federal government cut school meal reimbursement rates.
15. Erie Schools Moving to Universal Meals
(GoErie.com, July 21, 2008)
Pennsylvania’s Erie School District is considering offering universal, or free, lunches and breakfasts to every student beginning this fall, a move already taken by five other districts -- Wilkinsburg, Farrell, Allentown City, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia -- across the state. Administrators not only want to help students be more attentive in class (as research has shown), but they also feel that offering all students free meals will gain participation of those students whose families are reluctant to ask for aid. The district’s director of food services, Jim Twerdok, said that the program will serve about 10 to 12 percent more lunches a day, driving down the meal cost while upping federal reimbursement. “We certainly wouldn’t do it unless we felt that we could recoup the money that we would not get in cash sales by the increase (in the number) of students that would participate,” Twerdok said.
16. Ohio Summer Meals Could Reach More Children
(Cleveland Plain Dealer, July 12, 2008)
Summer meals could be going to 600,000 eligible Ohio children but only 57,000 take advantage of the federal program, meaning millions in funding is going unused. Reasons behind low participation include parents who aren’t aware of the program, sites hesitant to go through the cumbersome application process, and upfront expenses that scare some potential sites off. More sponsors are getting involved in the program as the economy worsens, said the Ohio Department of Education. The Children’s Hunger Alliance has worked with the education department to boost participation, which was only 35,000 in 1999. While Cuyahoga County sees only 7,605 children out of a potential 90,151, there has been a rise in the number of sites offering meals, from 175 in 2007 to 239 in 2008. Cleveland’s site numbers have gone from 35 last year to 85 this year. More sites are needed, which prompted the Children’s Hunger Alliance to partner with the poorest district in the state to begin outreach to 1,100 churches, community organizations and elected officials.
17. Knocking Down the Language Barrier for City Services in New York
(The New York Times, July 23, 2008)
This month, New York’s Mayor Bloomberg ordered 100 city agencies to provide language translation and interpretation for service-seekers who speak Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Korean, Italian and French Creole. Census records from 2000 show nearly half of all the city’s households speak approximately one of 170 languages, with English not the primary language. For the nearly three million immigrants living in the city who must deal with the city’s agencies, language can be a barrier. The Mayor’s order – which advocates and city officials note is the most comprehensive order of its kind in the country – requires translations of public documents, pamphlets and forms in the six specified languages. In addition, it requires that interpreters be available by phone for other languages, including Urdu, Hindi, and Arabic. Agencies must submit their plans detailing the extent of translation services by January 1, 2009. The city has attempted to provide this service before, when in 2001 food stamp applications were made available, through a court proceeding, in Spanish, Russian, Chinese and Arabic, and translations of the documents in additional languages spoken by at least 100 clients in any given office.
18. Missouri Social Services in Violation of “Motor-Voter” Law
(St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 17, 2008)
The Missouri Department of Social Services will comply with a recent court order, issued by U.S. District Judge Nanette K. Laughrey, requiring the agency to register to vote individuals seeking food stamp or Medicaid assistance. The “motor-voter” law, enacted in 1993 as the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), requires state agencies handling public assistance to provide applicants with the opportunity to register to vote, as well as assistance in filling out the necessary forms. While the agency said it will comply, it also cautioned that its “disadvantaged clients will suffer if the Court issues a preliminary or permanent injunction requiring greater compliance with the NVRA.” However, the Judge ruled that the agency “cannot fail to offer voter registration services because other services are more important.” Statistics and documents show evidence that voter registration applications dropped from 143,134 in 1995-96 to 15,568 in 2005-06. However, food stamp households climbed from 238,699 (the average monthly number of food stamp households) in FY 1995 to 300,498 in FY 2006.
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