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. Increased Free and Reduced-Price School Meal Participation Likely
(Sacramento Bee, August 15, 2009)

USDA forecasts that 18.5 million low-income students will receive free and reduced-price lunch in the coming school year, and more than 8.5 million will take advantage of free and reduced-price school breakfast. Both are record numbers, and mirror record numbers in the lunch and breakfast programs set last year. Record job losses and high unemployment, rising family homelessness and steady SNAP/Food Stamp program participation indicate that this year’s enrollment in school meal programs could rise above expectations. “I think it’s certainly possible,” said Jim Weill, president of the Food Research and Action Center. “[W]e already know that there are more families struggling, and the school meals program is a great way for them to get support.” In Florida’s Polk County last year 13,179 students were eligible for free lunch (their parents receiving SNAP/Food Stamps or welfare); this year, 19,559 students are eligible. In Chicago, 107,144 children were eligible for free and reduced-price meals last year. This year, 139,417 are eligible.

2. SNAP/Food Stamp Numbers Continue Climb Across the Country

Alabama
(Times Daily, August 23, 2009)
According to Mary Lois Monroe, director of the Food Assistance Division of the Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR), the number of households receiving SNAP/Food Stamps (called Food Assistance in the state), rose from 236,930 in July 2008 to more than 300,000 in July 2009. “And (the 2008 figures) were up from 2007 when we paid out about $51 million in benefits to 223,386 households,” she said, adding that she expects the numbers to continue rising. The program is one of the most effective stimulus programs, with state officials pointing out that every $5 in Food Assistance funds generates $9.20 in the economy. More retail businesses in the state – including Target, Fred’s Discount Center, CVS, Family Dollar and Dollar General - are accepting EBT cards. “[I]n June we started accepting them in all our stores,” said Dave Fransen of Target, which now accepts EBT in its more than 1,700 stores nationwide. Family Dollar credits EBT purchases as one of the reasons sales are up 6.2 percent in the third quarter, with food and beverages seeing the most increase in sales. “This program allows people to have meals. We have replaced the soup lines of the Great Depression,” said Monroe. “[I]f not for the [Food Assistance] program,” said Louise Taylor, director of the Colbert County DHR, “there would be many, many children and older citizens doing without sufficient food.”

Ohio
(The Ada Herald, August 15, 2009)
According to Bob Norman, director of Hardin County Job and Family Services, the number of households on SNAP/Food Stamps in the county increased from 978 in 2008 to 1,278 in 2009. Only 750 households received the benefit in 2005.

Hawaii
(Honolulu Advertiser, August 23, 2009)
In June, 1 in 11 Hawaiians - 120,193 residents - received SNAP/Food Stamps, an increase of 23,000 (25 percent) over a nine-month period. Officials say the increase is because of the global economic crisis. The additional participation has slowed the time it takes for authorization appointments to be scheduled (after receipt of a new application), from an average of 10 to 14 days a year ago, to the current 18 to 21 days. The federal government requires states to complete an application in 30 days, which the state used to do 90 percent of the time, but is now only doing 87 percent of the time. The state is adding staff to a number of offices with big backlogs.

3. Recovery Funds Will Upgrade SNAP/Food Stamps, School Meals in Kentucky
(Business First of Louisville, August 18, 2009)

Kentucky will update software and equipment for the SNAP/Food Stamp program with $2.9 million in recovery act money, in a move to eliminate paper waste. Another $1.8 million in stimulus funds will help 46 school districts in the state purchase food-service equipment, including coolers, ovens, and dishwashers.

4. NYC Medicaid Recipients Linked to SNAP/Food Stamps
(WNYC, August 19, 2009)

City officials identified more than 600,000 Medicaid recipients not receiving SNAP/Food Stamps, and let them know about the benefit and that they might be eligible. Nearly 10 percent of them ended up qualifying for SNAP, according to City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. “That was federal money we were leaving on the table in Washington and now we are bringing it back to New York to help New Yorkers and also to move around in the New York City economy,” noted Quinn. Quinn said she has spoken with the state Department of Labor about reaching out to inform residents whose unemployment benefits will run out at the end of the year that they may be eligible for SNAP/Food Stamps.

5. Express Stamps Get SNAP/Food Stamps to Needy Chicago Residents in 15 Minutes
(Chicago Tribune, August 20, 2009)

Chicago’s Irving Park Community Food Bank is one of two Cook County sites that provides needy residents with emergency SNAP/Food Stamps faster through the Express Stamps program. Volunteers enter an applicant’s information into Web-connected laptops at the sites; if the applicant is eligible, he or she receives an Illinois Link Card, which can be used in less than a week or as soon as they receive their PIN number from the Illinois Department of Human Services. Signing up takes about 15 minutes. Single mother Liz Bryant was reluctant to apply for SNAP/Food Stamps, envisioning waiting in line and other bureaucratic nightmares. After signing up through Express Stamps, she said “It was good, it was quick, it was easy.” The express benefits are good for two to six weeks, depending on when an applicant enrolls. In order to continue receiving benefits, recipients must go through the full SNAP/Food Stamp application process, including an interview. The Express Stamps program is designed to get eligible residents who are skittish about applying into the program quickly and easily. The Greater Chicago Food Depository launched the program in the two Cook County sites, and volunteers at the agency have signed up 74 households in a little less than a month. Depository executive director Kate Maehr notes that SNAP/Food Stamps are vital to ending hunger. “I don’t think the answer is people lining up in alleys,” said Maehr. “The best thing in the world would be for somebody to be able to walk into a grocery store and get food – food that they choose, food with dignity.”

6. Pennsylvania Encourages Residents to Apply for SNAP/Food Stamps Under New Guidelines
(Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, August 15, 2009)

For the first time in 30 years, Pennsylvania has raised the income limit for SNAP/Food Stamps, and the state is encouraging residents who had applied but weren’t eligible to now reapply. People making 160 percent of the federal poverty level are now eligible – previously, the level was 130 percent. For the elderly and disabled, the rate has been raised to 200 percent of the federal poverty level. “People have been excruciatingly borderline,” said Esther Bush, president of the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh, of those applying for SNAP/Food Stamps. “We’ve seen a tremendous increase in people asking for (emergency) food.” Stacey Witalec of the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare said the state estimates an additional 200,000 people will be eligible under the new guidelines. Policymakers made the change because so many people seem to be struggling, noted Joni Rabinowitz of Just Harvest, a Pittsburgh advocacy group. “It’s really going to help a lot of people who really need it,” she said. The state estimates that hunger costs Pennsylvania $3.2 billion a year -- $2.4 billion in health care, $330 million from reduced educational achievement and lower productivity, and $517 million in charitable activity expenses.

7. Ohio County SNAP/Food Stamp Accuracy Rate Highest in Region
(Cincinnati.com, August 21, 2009)

In FY 2008, Hamilton County, Ohio, had a SNAP/Food Stamp payment accuracy rate of 98.19 percent. This rate ranked the county first among the fourteen largest urban counties in Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois and Minnesota. The county’s Department of Job and Family Services received an award in recognition of their accuracy rate.

8. SNAP/Food Stamp Help Goes Online in Michigan
(ConnectMidMichigan.com, August 26, 2009)

Recently unveiled by Gov. Jennifer Granholm, Michigan’s new online assistance center – www.michigan.gov/helpinghand - is designed to help needy residents find out if they’re eligible for SNAP/Food Stamps and other forms of state assistance like unemployment, foreclosure help, and health care. Online application will be available for some services. Residents without computer access can find answers to their assistance questions by calling the state’s 2-1-1 call centers.

9. Recovery Funds Help Feed Students in Colorado
(KKTV, August 24, 2009)

Central High School in Colorado used federal funds to provide free lunch to all students. Previously, 77 percent of the school’s students qualified for free lunch. “What we're able to do is serve the children within our federal reimbursement dollars, and there is no need to charge the parents. The district will not be adding any funds…so it’s totally a federally funded program,” said Jill Kidd, director of Nutrition Services for Pueblo City School District 60 (D-60) schools. All students at D-60 schools receive free breakfast. D-60 also received funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to purchase new school equipment; some of the dollars went to Central High School to replace the school’s 54-year-old heating tables with new serving lines, which keep food warmer.

10. Texas School Year Begins with Focus on Healthy Eating
(Amarillo Globe-News, August 24, 2009)

Changes in state and federal guidelines have prompted Texas schools, including many in the Panhandle area, to offer more fruits and vegetables. The school year has started, and this is the final year of the state’s five year plan for implementing the nutrition policy that was updated in 2004. Some highlights for this year: ninth through 12-grade students will not have access to sodas and candy bars until the end of the school day; and schools will no longer offer deep-fat fried foods. Canyon Independent School District will offer fruit and vegetable bars, as well as low-calorie, low-fat snacks. Already, the state’s nutrition policy has reduced overall fat and trans fat contents in school food, helping the state improve its ranking for obese and overweight children from sixth to 20th.

11. Michigan School District Expands School Breakfast Program
(Mlive.com, August 18, 2009)

Michigan’s Mattawan Consolidated School district plans to expand its breakfast program and offer it to all students, even though only 15 percent of students qualify for free and reduced-price lunch. Schools with 20 percent or more enrollment are required by the state to serve breakfast. The district chose to begin offering breakfast because “[a] lot of students were not getting breakfast and would come to the office looking for food,” said Christina Haller, the school district’s director of dining services. She also cited health reasons, improved test scores and better behavior as additional reasons to begin serving breakfast. The high school started serving breakfast in the 2007-2008 school year, and in elementary schools last year. The middle school will begin serving breakfast this school year. Although the program has been successful so far, Haller said plans are in place to promote the meal in the high school this year.

12. Breakfast Goes “Universal” for Several California Schools
(The Desert Sun, August 26, 2009)

Several of California’s Palm Springs Unified School District schools will begin serving free breakfast to all students this school year. “We are trying to instill a culture of healthy eating and active living in the Coachella Valley,” said Lenny Pepper, president and CEO of the Desert Healthcare District, the organization that provided the grant to the schools for breakfast. Desert Healthcare awarded the school district $219,500 to provide the universal breakfast program.

13. Tulsa, Oklahoma Parents Can Now Apply Online for Free and Reduced-Price School Meals
(Tulsa World, August 20, 2000)

Parents of Tulsa, Okla. students can now apply for free and reduced-price school meals online, a move that should help the school district’s budget. Getting the applications early in the school year helps guard against an inaccurate count of free and reduced-price meal students. “This not only generates income for the district’s general fund, it also helps with the school system’s E-rate, which is the discount we get for telecommunications and internet services,” said Kit Hines, director of operations for the Child Nutrition Department. Parents can also print out the application form, fill it out, and mail it in or deliver it to their child’s school. Plus, households can use one form to register multiple students in the family, instead of filling out a separate form for each child.

14. School’s Meal System Removes Stigma for Low-Income Students
(Greenvilleonline.com, August 21, 2009)

Students paying for lunch in Greenville, S.C. schools use their identification numbers instead of cash, making it impossible for others to tell whether or not a student is receiving a free or reduced-price meal. Parents struggling through the recession may be hesitant to apply for free and reduced-price school lunch due to the stigma often attached. This payment system removes that stigma. According to Jean Daniel of USDA, many school systems across the nation are using ID numbers or cards to remove stigma. “The most important thing is that the children are getting a balanced meal,” said Daniel, “and we certainly don’t want to put them in a position of…being singled out.” South Carolina has seen an increase in school lunch program participation, going from 62 percent of students in 2003 to 65 percent last year. As the recession continues, school officials expect the percentage to continue rising.

15. Virginia School Superintendents Say Year-Round School Keeps Children Fed
(NBC29, August 26, 2009)

At a recent “Education Breakfast,” school superintendents from Virginia’s Augusta, Staunton, and Waynesboro Counties voiced their support for year-round classes, in part because of the large numbers of students who rely on school breakfast and lunch. The event was sponsored by the Augusta Regional Chamber of Commerce, and also focused on possible virus outbreaks in the upcoming school year.

16. Nebraska Plans Outreach on New WIC Foods
(Lincoln Journal Star, August 23, 2009)

Nebraska will use two new training videos – one aimed at the checkers in 400 grocery stores that accept WIC, and the other at the 10,700 mothers in the state on the program – to provide information on the revised food package that will soon go into effect. The new package features more fruits and vegetables, whole wheat bread and brown rice; this is the first change to the program since the early 1990s. It’s estimated that one million Nebraskans have benefitted from the program since it began 34 years ago.

17. Officials Revise H1N1 School Closure Policy
(The Seattle Times, August 13, 2009)

Closing schools may contain the spread of the H1N1 flu virus, but the action causes secondary problems. Children who rely on school breakfast and lunch programs lose those meals, and parents are forced to find and pay for additional child care. During the recent outbreak last spring, 700 schools closed. In Seattle, school officials revised their closure policy in the event of H1N1 illness. The school system is now asking parents to keep a close watch on their children, and keep them home if they exhibit any flu symptoms. The federal government has followed suit, and now recommends that sick children can return to school 24 hours after their fever subsides, instead of two weeks under the previous policy. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now calls for a school to close: if there are many special-needs or medically fragile students; if there are high numbers of sick teachers and children; or if parents send a sick child to school.

18. New York’s Back-to-School Bonus Deserves Praise
(The Buffalo News, August 23, 2009)

New York families on TANF or SNAP/Food Stamps are receiving $200 in stimulus payments to help outfit their children for school, an initiative that Anne Erickson, president of the Empire Justice Center, and Kristin Brown Lilley, the organization’s legislative director, term “remarkable” in this op-ed. “Unfortunately,” they write, “some poorly informed individuals have publicly disparaged” the initiative. Erickson and Lilley note that those speaking out against the program “appear to have no problem with other federally funded initiatives that provide $4,500 payments to purchase new cars or $8,000 payments to buy homes and are not targeted to those in need.” Hundreds of thousands of low-income families across the state can buy school supplies through the initiative, helping local economies by funneling $175 million into retail stores. The Open Society Institute and Soros agreed to contribute $35 million, which met the federal government’s 20 percent match requirement; consequently, New York State did not have to spend state or county money to acquire the stimulus funds. “The Paterson administration, Soros and the Open Society Institute deserve thanks, not criticism,” the op-ed concludes.

19. Research Suggests Healthy Foods Unaffordable for Many
(Progressive Grocer, August 25, 2009)

In a recent survey by the food industry research firm Technomic, 70 percent of respondents said it’s increasingly difficult for them to afford healthy foods, while 53 percent are often purchasing less healthy foods because they’re cheaper, and 44 percent claim their budgets are keeping them from eating healthy foods. It also found that more than half of survey respondents said they are more concerned with what they eat today than they were a year ago. “Healthy eating is still important to consumers, but evidence strongly suggests that it is a lower priority these days,” said Technomic EVP Bob Goldin, who noted that one way consumers are economizing in food purchases is through buying less healthy foods.

20. NYC Social Services Agencies Reeling from Loss of Grants
(The New York Times, August 22, 2009)

Nonprofits in New York City are struggling to provide the help city residents are demanding in rising numbers while government, individual and foundation grants are down as much as 50 percent. Programs are being delayed or trimmed, and staff are being cut, “in essence contributing to the very problems they exist to fix.” More than half of 750 nonprofit social service providers surveyed by Baruch College and the Human Services Council report some reduction in government funds in the past fiscal year, and a quarter report losing an entire contract; 80 percent of respondents noted losing private financing, and 73 percent said they had no reserves to fall back on. The New York Community Trust has stepped in to help, donating $7 million to nonprofits, and Mayor Bloomberg is working to boost loan programs and speed payments to agencies. Nonprofits with city contracts will also be able to obtain interest-free bridge loans to help with cash flow and short-term costs. The fund has $20 million available, an increase from the originally-planned $8 million.

21. States Cutting Student Financial Aid to Meet Budget Shortfalls
(The Pittsburgh Channel, August 12, 2009)

Students who need college money the most are finding themselves short on cash as states coping with billion dollar deficits cut financial aid programs. This is happening at a time when more students need help paying for college because parents have lost jobs and savings during the recession. Need-based grants are particularly affected – money that complements school and federal government financial aid. Some students are dropping out of school, transferring to cheaper schools, or cutting back on groceries to get by. “There’s almost no question the folks coming in are probably going to have much more difficulty getting by year to year in college and staying enrolled as a result,” said Sara Goldrick-Rab, a financial aid expert and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “The safety net is falling away.” In the first quarter of this year, 620,000 more students applied for federal assistance as compared to last year, according to the U.S. Department of Education. In Illinois, 145,000 low-income students who depend on the state’s need-based Monetary Award Program grants won’t get them for the next spring semester, as the state has said the money ran out. In Ohio, grants of up to $2,496 for low-income community college students have been eliminated; students at four-year universities are seeing their grants cut by 50 percent. Student debt is at an all-time high, according to Education Sector, which notes that more students are taking out riskier private student loans. A study by the organization warns that more students could default on their loans in the future, and that access to higher education could be reduced.

22. Recession is Gold for DC-Region’s Cupcake Market
(The Washington Post, August 26, 2009)

While the recession has pummeled many of the region’s businesses, the “pint sized cupcake sector” is enjoying a boom time. Georgetown Cupcake is seeing lines of 100 or more customers, waiting to take advantage of a bargain priced treat at $2.75 each. On a weekend day, the store will bake 5,000 cupcakes. Now the company has competitors, eager to find success in a market that offers “a simple, inexpensive indulgence at a time when the economic news seems so depressing.” According to Paul Sapienza, vice president of the Retail Bakers of America, “They are an economic treat, which helps out in the recession.”