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. Budget Cuts Force One Illinois SNAP/Food Stamp Office to Close
(Daily Journal, July 13, 2009)

The Department of Human Services office in Ford County, Ill., which administers SNAP/Food Stamps, closed in July, part of the agency’s plan to consolidate 18 offices across the state. While offices in Kankakee and Iroquois counties will stay open, the closing will negatively affect many residents seeking assistance. “If they don’t have a car, they are unsure how they will get [to an open office],” said Diane Doherty, executive director of the Illinois Hunger Coalition. The Coalition surveyed clients on the consolidation plan, and will release the results near the end of July. In the meantime, clients told the Coalition that they frequently run out of money to buy food, sometimes skipping meals in order that their children have enough to eat. Doherty noted that impending statewide staff reductions will further affect SNAP/Food Stamp recipients, who could experience delays in receiving their benefits if there are not enough agency workers to handle the workload. Unemployment rates are also up due to the recession, causing further difficulties. “We have downsizing as we have more and more people out of work,” said Doherty. “It’s only going to get worse.” (Article available by subscription.)

2. College Graduates Signing Up for SNAP/Food Stamps
(The Christian Science Monitor, July 14, 2009)

Although Ben Rollins earned an MBA from Cornell and received a $20,000 grant to start a new business, he still found he needed to sign up for food stamps in order to help feed his wife and two sons. He’s spending the grant money to start a business, and receives $700 in SNAP/Food Stamps while he looks for a part time job to pay the bills. Even before the recession, many public service and arts jobs paid wages so low that many college grads in these jobs still had to apply for SNAP/Food Stamps. A 2007 graduate of Yale says it was common for apprentices at her Louisville, KY theatre to use food stamps due to the exceptionally modest stipend they received which is not enough to live on. While it’s difficult to prove that there has been a surge of recent college grads signing up for food stamps, anecdotal evidence suggests that more graduates are applying as employment rates drop. “We didn’t have the intention to [use food stamps] and our general thought was that we get by on our own,” said Rollins. “But in this case I think it makes sense for us, because it will definitely be temporary.” As of April 2009, a record 1 in 9 Americans – 33.8 million people - received SNAP/Food Stamps.

3. SNAP/Food Stamps Not Reaching All Eligible Illinois Residents, Including Seniors
(PRNewswire, July 15, 2009)

According to AARP, half of the population over 55 is having difficulty paying for the essentials like food, gas and medicine. Yet many don’t realize they’re eligible for SNAP/Food Stamps. Only 20 percent of eligible Illinois residents receive the benefit, while nearly 20 percent of older Illinois residents have found it necessary to cut back on necessities such as groceries in order to pay for expensive prescription drugs. “The SNAP program provides needed assistance when it comes to paying for groceries – but many people who are eligible and need the help aren’t using the program,” said Bob Gallo, AARP Illinois State Director.

4. Federal Nutrition Programs Help Washington State Residents Access Healthy Food
(News Tribune, July 20, 2009)

According to a 2007 survey, 10 percent of Washington State residents are not sure where their next meal is coming from; in Benton County, it’s 11 percent. “Many clients say they cut back [on food] at the end of the month to make ends meet,” said Anne Goodwin of the Benton-Franklin Health District. This is even true for residents of the Tri-Cities area, who lack access to fruits and vegetables in spite of the food the area produces. Rural residents in the state live far from grocery stores; in Benton and Franklin counties, residents in six census tracts must travel more than 10 miles to buy groceries, and residents of 26 tracts must travel up to 3 miles. Money and education issues also account for lack of access to healthy food for these residents. Federal and other nutrition programs that are helping include:

SNAP/Food Stamps – called Basic Food in the state. Participation increased 27 percent between February 2008 and February 2009, according to a Budget and Policy Center report. Recent expansion in the program – broadened eligibility and increased benefits – have helped residents struggling with the recession.

The Local Farms-Healthy Kids program, which allocated $600,000 to 25 elementary schools in low-income areas to help them offer locally-grown fruits and vegetables to students.

WIC, which will allow the purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables starting in October.

Meals on Wheels, which changed its menus over the last couple of years; 96 percent of recipients in a 2008 survey said they now eat a more varied diet because of the changes.

Second Harvest – which has increased the amount of fresh foods provided to food banks. Because many food banks lack refrigeration, “We try to bring the [perishable fresh food] in and marry it with the distribution day,” said Kathye Kilgore, director of Second Harvest Tri-Cities.

5. Federal Stimulus Funds to Help Rhode Island Reduce SNAP/Food Stamp Backlog
(Providence Journal, July 14, 2009)

Federal stimulus money – which the Rhode Island Department of Human Services (DHS) will use to hire three workers and purchase a new telephone system - will help the state process its backlog of hundreds of SNAP/Food Stamp applications. DHS will also request permission to hire more workers, and has already opened the Providence SNAP/Food Stamp office on Saturday to process applications. Rhode Island experienced a surge in applications – in June, a record 107,891 residents received the benefit, a 13 percent increase from January 2009. In January 2008, 80,821 residents received SNAP/Food Stamps. The state was sued for “ongoing and persistent failure to timely process applications for Rhode Island’s poorest families,” the delay meaning “that thousands of households are denied desperately needed assistance to help them feed their families, and suffer hunger as a result.” The Department of Human Services changes were announced a week after the lawsuit was filed. “There is no one answer to this problem,” said Donalda Carlson, DHS associate director of individual and family support services. She noted that more workers and weekend hours will help. Advocates have pushed for shortening the SNAP/Food Stamp application form to four pages, which will save time for applicants and workers, said Henry Shelton, coordinator of the George Wiley Center. The state made changes to the SNAP/Food Stamp program, effective April 1, which included fewer financial barriers, simpler forms for the elderly, more telephone interviews for applicants, and elimination of the asset test.

6. Missouri Rewarded for SNAP/Food Stamp Participation
(Springfield News-Leader, July 17, 2009)

The federal government provides incentives for states’ efforts to sign up as many people as possible for SNAP/Food Stamps, and Missouri’s Department of Social Services (DSS) has earned millions in performance bonuses for the state. The recession is partly to blame for the boom in the number of people on food stamps, but DSS officials say that their SNAP/Food Stamp application process is easier to navigate than other states’. During 2007, Missouri had a 98 percent usage rate, according to a recent report in the New York Times. The News-Leader in Springfield, Missouri reports that one in six Missourians is now receiving food stamps. DSS received a $2.68 million bonus for making their program one of the most accessible in the country and another $1.3 million for having the third best rate for processing applications in a timely manner.

7. Summer Food Service Program Can Still Serve More Children

Michigan
(Sturgis Journal, July 24, 2009)
According to the Food Research and Action Center, 314,997 summer program lunches were served to Michigan children in 2008. More districts are offering breakfasts and lunches this year, which could lead to a rise in participation for 2009. Participation could be much better; last year, for every 100 children receiving free and reduced-price lunch during the school year, only nine children participated in the summer program. Raising summer participation to 40 children (for every 100 receiving subsidized lunch) would bring the state an additional $8.2 million in federal reimbursement funds, and feed 125,618 children (based on 2008’s numbers).

Kansas
(Wichita Eagle, July 5, 2009)
Children in Wichita, KS are going hungry as the recession hits families harder than social services agencies have predicted. Yet, according to Rob Allison, president of the Wichita Community Foundation, “We’ve been hearing from people that the supply of food is available, but that some children aren’t getting it.” Only 2,000 Wichita children participate in the summer meals program, although 32,000 receive free and reduced-price lunch during the school year. Distribution hours for the area’s 40 food pantries are varied and limited, with only one operating daily. And only 40 percent of residents eligible for SNAP/Food Stamps are receiving the benefit. In 2008, 1,900 children in the school district were classified as homeless according to federal guidelines, 1,000 more than the year before; across the state, the number of homeless children increased from 5,000 last year to 7,000 this year. “We see a lot of children who regularly wonder where their next meal is coming from,” said Tate Toedman, the Kansas Department of Education’s coordinator for the education of homeless children and youth. Stories have surfaced of a kindergartner stealing food from his classroom, and a sixth grader subsisting on ramen noodles and Vienna sausages, when she had any food at all. In addition, the Lord’s Diner set a record recently, serving 613 people – 98 of them children – in one night, a record compared to last year, when 40 people would be served on any given night. “We’re seeing a lot more babies, a lot more 2- to 5-year-olds, and we’re seeing more extended families come in here,” said Wendy Glick, the diner’s director.

Vermont
(WCAX, July 9, 2009)
Only 20 percent Vermont students receiving free and reduced-price school meals are also participating in the summer nutrition program, meaning that many of the state’s children may not receive nutritious meals over the summer. “We’re really concerned because we don’t know if they’re getting proper nutrition, if they’re getting enrichment activities that they might at a summer program,” said Marissa Parisi of the Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger. With child nutrition programs up for reauthorization in Congress, the Campaign is pushing for expansion of the summer program. Changes they’re requesting from Congress include lowering the requirement for summer food site area eligibility to 40 percent of children eligible for free and reduced-price meals instead of the current 50 percent. This change would benefit more than 13,000 children in 60 school districts across the state.

8. More Abilene, Texas Children Participating in Summer Food Programs
(Reporter-News, July 16, 2009)

In the Abilene, Texas school district, between 200 and 300 more children are participating in the summer meal program this summer than last year. The free meal program averages about 700 children for breakfast, 1,000 for lunch and 800 for afternoon snacks. Children also participate in activities at the sites offering the meals. The program is funded by USDA and administered by the Texas Department of Agriculture. Abilene school district employees prepare the food in the kitchen at the High School and deliver it to the summer food program sites. Each site is inspected and approved by the city health department.

9. Some New Jersey Counties See Significant Increase in Free and Reduced-Price Lunch Numbers
(Philadelphia Inquirer, July 22, 2009)

In New Jersey’s Lenape Regional High School District – containing 7,443 students from eight Burlington County towns with median family incomes that are close to $100,000 – there’s been a 131 percent increase in the number of students applying for free and reduced-price lunch between 2004 and 2009. “It really is a great feeling to know that these kids are being served,” said Connie Stewart, Lenape district comptroller. “But I think people in this area would be very surprised.” The numbers are outpacing the rest of the state, as administrators work to sign up more eligible students, families struggle with the recession, and demographics shift. In the more affluent Cherry Hill schools, applications increased 86 percent, the same rate as the less affluent Black Horse Pike Regional School District in Camden County. Cherry Hill improved its application forms at the start of the school year. New Jersey appropriated an additional $675,000 in state money in the 2009-10 budget to supplement the federal lunch program. The state also expanded the definition of “at-risk” students to those students qualifying for reduced-price (not just free) lunch, leading some schools to up participation so they then can get more aid from the state. Across the state, applications rose 7 percent between the fall of 2007 and fall 2008. “You see that across the board, throughout the nation, and I think most people are pointing to it being due to the economic situation,” said Lynne Richmond of the state Department of Agriculture.

10. Stimulus Funds Allow Mississippi Schools to Purchase Equipment Designed to Improve Student Nutrition
(Hattiesburg American, July 22, 2009)

Mississippi’s N.R. Burger Middle School and Earl Travillion Attendance Center bought new oven steamers, which will replace traditional fryers, with grant money that is part of the state’s $1.7 million in stimulus funds for child nutrition programs. The ovens steam or bake foods without the use of oils that add fat and calories. In all, 22 districts across the state received Equipment Assistance Grants for School Food Authorities. Mississippi has the most obese residents of all the states; the equipment purchases will hopefully help students make a “lifestyle change” noted Stephanie Hoze, Hattiesburg’s Child Nutrition Director.

11. Investing in Child Nutrition Programs Helps Students Academically
(PennLive.com, July 23, 2009)

“Much attention has been paid in recent months to twin ills plaguing our schools – flagging academic achievement and rising obesity among students,” writes Joseph A. Quattrocchi, executive director of the Pennsylvania Hunger Action Center, in this editorial. While a number of solutions to these problems have been presented, ensuring children have access to “sufficient, healthy food” daily during the school year and over the summer not only enhances their “academic performance” – a fact noted by research – it also can prevent childhood obesity. Schools acknowledge – “however inadvertently” – the link between nutrition and learning when they provide free breakfast to students during the week leading up to standardized tests (although the free breakfasts disappear once testing is over). Research also shows a link between hunger and obesity, since low-income families, to stretch their food dollars, must purchase cheaper, high-calorie foods to keep hunger at bay. In order to keep children from hunger as well as improve their academic performance and lower their rates of obesity, schools must increase participation in the School Breakfast Program and the Summer Food Service Program. Not only will these programs, in the long run, save money (from less “demand on hospital emergency rooms for routine treatment”), they provide additional federal funding as well as increase demand for Pennsylvania’s “agricultural bounty.” Quattrocchi wonders how health care reform can succeed if there’s not an equal push to improve child nutrition, and asks how Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell’s “commendable efforts” for improving school performance can succeed if schools are filled with hungry children. “The cost-benefit is clear,” he concludes. “Investments in childhood nutrition now will return much greater dividends later.”

12. PE Classes in Illinois Aim to Fight Obesity, But One School’s Space Issues Make Frequent Classes Tough to Come By
(Mercury News, July 15, 2009)

Although the gym at Chicago’s Eberhart Elementary School is bright and spacious, with high ceilings, basketball hoops and a large climbing wall, each class is limited to one 40-minute PE class each week. The gym serves as the school’s cafeteria, providing meals to 1,800 plus students. “I understand the funding issue,” said Betty Hale, a PE teacher at Eberhart. “I understand the space issue. [But] our children are getting shortchanged.” Illinois is one of only two states (Massachusetts is the other) that require P.E. classes for all students in grades k-12. In Illinois, the state mandate requires all students to attend P.E., but does not standardize the curriculum. The state does not monitor schools to ensure they are meeting daily P.E. requirements and there are no penalties for not meeting the standards. So while Eberhart students get PE once a week, other nearby schools have better equipment. The Illinois General Assembly provides waivers to districts with financial issues or that want more classroom time. Health experts recommend a daily minimum of 30 minutes of exercise for elementary school students and 45 minutes for students in junior high or high school. In a recent CDC study, less than 4 percent of elementary schools, 8 percent of middle schools and just over 2 percent of high schools required daily P.E. for all students the entire school year.

13. Research Reveals Drop in Underweight U.S. Children
(Washington Times, July 21, 2009)

Evidence that the billions of dollars spent by the federal government in nutrition programs (along with state programs, food banks, private charities and the work of anti-hunger professionals and volunteers) is working can be found in a couple of new reports on the percentage of underweight U.S. children, writes Cheryl Wetzstein in this editorial. In the 1970s, research found that 5.1 percent of American children were underweight; a new report on underweight children and adolescents from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) shows the current rate has fallen to 3.3 percent. The statistics don’t mean “that there’s not still hunger,” notes NCHS researcher Cheryl Fryar. “We don’t want to go that far.” Children and teens are classified as underweight if they weigh less than the fifth percentile on federal growth charts, which are based on age, sex, body mass and height. The new percentage of underweight children means that 2.4 million between the ages of 2 and 19 are underweight. Malnutrition, lack of food, illness, and eating disorders can be the cause of underweight children, and in babies, failure to thrive can be the cause. Data in the report show a 3 percent drop in the percentage of underweight preschoolers (6 percent in the 1970s to less than 3 percent in the mid-2000s); elementary age children who are underweight dropped from 5 percent to less than 3 percent. Another federal study – the Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance – mirrors these numbers for the percentage of very young, low-income children who are underweight, which went from 9 percent in the 1970s to 4.5 percent in 2008. These kinds of “low-profile” reports can often get lost in the media which scolds us about obesity and hunger, concludes the editorial.

14. Obesity Rate in Low-Income Preschoolers May Be Slowing Down
(U.S. News and World Report, July 23, 2009)

According to the July 24 issue of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the rate of obesity in preschoolers may be leveling off. In 2003, the prevalence of obesity in 2- to 4-year-olds increased to 14.5 percent from 12.4 percent in 1998. That prevalence only increased to 14.6 percent in 2008. “Among lower-income, preschool-aged children, we are actually seeing a stabilization of obesity rates,” said Laurence M. Grummer-Strawn, co-author of the report and chief of CDC’s Maternal and Child Nutrition Branch in the Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity. Still, one in seven preschoolers from low-income families is obese. “Of course, we are not where we want to be,” said Grummer-Strawn. “We want to see much more improvement, but it’s at least good news that things are not continuing to get worse.” American Indian or Alaska Native children had the highest rates of obesity in 2008 (21.2 percent). Hispanic children followed at 11.8 percent. White children had the lowest rate – 12.6 percent; for black children, the rate was 11.8 percent.

15. IBM Plans Improvements to Controversial Indiana Assistance System
(Associated Press/Google News, July 23, 2009)

Anne Murphy, secretary of the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, said recently that IBM’s 10-year, $1.16 billion dollar contract to run the state’s welfare system could be cancelled if the company’s 362-page plan for improvements fails. The plan calls for more face-to-face case worker help – the lack of which has drawn harsh criticism from lawmakers and advocates – and keeping clients from having to access “self-service channels” like telephone call centers and online applications. IBM had already hired 150 additional call center workers and 40 new managers; there are currently 2,600 private employees for the state’s 1.2 million benefit recipients. Problems cited by the IBM plan include the twice-monthly failure of the automatic call distributor, and infighting among IBM’s coalition of partners running the system. Clients like David Parrish, disabled by heart disease, noted the double standard the current welfare system operates under: benefits are cut off if a client misses a deadline by one day, but the system took 15 days (instead of the 10 days promised) to restore his Medicaid benefits after he successfully appealed his denial last year.

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