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. Lawmakers Support Food Stamp Increase in Next Economic Stimulus Package
(The Wall Street Journal, October 21, 2008)

Discussions about an economic recovery legislation are underway on Capitol Hill, this time focusing on food stamps and jobless benefits along with aid to states and infrastructure spending rather than tax rebates to individuals which were the "centerpiece" of the last economic plan. "There is more interest in targeted measures," said Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) and member of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee. "Economists are quite in agreement that food stamps, unemployment insurance, and adjusting the paychecks of the bottom half of American workers would have a far greater effect," Blumenauer told Dow Jones. He added that economists weren't seeing that much of an impact from the previous economic stimulus package. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), have held out the possibility of convening a "lame duck" session of Congress between the election and Christmas, especially if there's "possibility of a deal with President Bush on the economic stimulus package."

2. In Next Economic Stimulus, Food Stamps Would Provide Most "Bang for the Buck"
(Economic Policy Institute, October 22, 2008)

Research shows that most people saved rather than spent their economic stimulus check, prompting analysts to support other options in the next stimulus package. Food stamps and unemployment insurance would provide the most economic benefit, according to this analysis by the Economic Policy Institute. According to Economy.com, for each food stamp dollar spent, the economy receives an economic boost of $1.73, placing it in first place of a roster of various stimulus provisions. Unemployment benefits place second, returning $1.64 for every dollar spent. Refundable tax rates boost the gross domestic product (GDP) by $1.26. Food stamps and unemployment benefits also assist those who have been hit particularly hard by the current economy, not expected to recover soon. Retail sales dropped 1.2 percent in September, and analysts predict negative GDP growth in the third quarter of this year.

3. Idaho Food Stamp Numbers Hit Record as More Apply
(Idaho Press-Tribune, October 22, 2008)

According to the state's Department of Health and Welfare, the number of Idaho residents receiving food stamps in August 2008 rose to 105,822 - "an all-time high" - from 87,771 in August 2007. More people are applying, including residents who have never applied before, as people "are being pinched by high costs, higher energy costs and even high housing costs," said Tom Shanahan, Health and Welfare's public information officer. "Some don't qualify because their incomes are still too high, but the costs have gone so high it's affecting them and their budgets still," he added. The numbers began spiking about a year ago; in June 2008, the Health and Welfare Department's head office in Boise averaged 38 applications a day - with some days seeing 60 applications. That average rose in October to 100 applications a day. The department expected to see a drop over the summer, as in years past. "This year, we never saw a drop," said Shanahan. "It increased every month."

4. Arizona Sees Rise in Food Stamp Numbers as Economy Falls
(KTAR, October 21, 2008)

Food stamps went to 47,000 additional Arizona families in August 2008, a 20 percent rise over the number from the year before. The increase is mostly due to the "sour economy" stated Marco Liu of the Arizona Department of Economic Security, although the federal government has made it "easier to qualify." Liu believes that even more people will apply for the benefit over the coming months, based on the figures over the past year.

5. High Demand for Food Stamps Swamps Three California Counties
(All Things Considered/California Public Radio, October 22, 2008)

State budget cutbacks and increased demand for food stamps have assistance offices in Sacramento, Placer and Yolo counties struggling to meet needs. In Sacramento County, where Human Assistance Director Bruce Wagstaff is dealing with a 3 percent budget cut, food stamp applications rose 25 percent over the past year. His staff is handling the increased workload, but it's stressful. "If you go into our waiting rooms…you see everything from people in ties to folks at the other end of the spectrum. It's a difficult time out there and we're doing the best to meet the demands that these folks have." Placer and Yolo Counties processed 19 percent more applications and are seeing the same waiting room numbers. Because of the demand, applicants will wait three weeks to be enrolled, a week longer than last year.

6. Food Stamp Calls in Florida Doubled Since 2007
(Central Florida News 13, October 23, 2008)

Florida's Department of Children and Families received 1.3 million calls for food stamps in 2007, a number that has doubled this year. The dramatic rise in demand means the department is "having a tough time" working through all the calls, and additional callers are having a tough time getting through to the office that handles food stamps.

7. Food Stamp Cases Soar in Massachusetts
(Boston Globe, October 16, 2008)

Between July 2004 and July 2008, the number of individuals receiving food stamps rose from 342,370 to 527,000. With increased accessibility, and higher demand, food stamp application lines are longer, and wait times for recipients have also increased. Caseworkers in high-unemployment areas struggle to keep up with the demand and are calling in extra help. "Our lines are out the doors some days," said Linda Domingo, a caseworker at the Department of Transitional Assistance office in Lawrence, Mass. Lawrence's food stamp participation rose between July 2004 and July 2008 from 13,361 to 18,597, with the number of cases per caseworker increasing from 357 to 600 over the same time period, according to Mark Williams, vice president of Service Employees International Union Local 509. Meanwhile, the number of caseworkers has dropped, from 82 Lawrence office workers in 2004 to the current number of 55. Williams said five more caseworkers are needed in the office to keep up with the demand. Because of the numbers, this is the first time caseworkers are taking the maximum seven days to see a food stamp applicant or the maximum 30 days to process an application. Despite increased food stamp demand and caseload, USDA recently ranked Massachusetts as first in the nation for timely application processing, according to USDA.

8. First Time Food Stamp Applicants Number in Thousands
(WLWT, October 16, 2008)

Recent numbers released in Ohio show that approximately 10 percent of Hamilton County's population is on food stamps, with a record 85,000 people receiving some assistance. The Hamilton County Job and Family Services offices have seen lines wrapped around the block; spokesman Brian Gregg said that 35 percent of people applying for food stamps have never been on assistance before (or haven't been for the past five years). He said the rise in numbers is due to the "poor economy." April Graves, waiting for food stamps, said "It's hard for people to survive. The cost of living is going up, the cost of food is going up."

9. California County Sees Steep Rise in Food Stamp and Other Assistance Requests
(Lompoc Record, October 17, 2008)

Counties in California are experiencing 20 to 25 percent increases in requests for food stamps and shelter as residents struggle with high grocery and gas prices, home foreclosures and rising unemployment. In Santa Barbara County, 7,653 families received food stamps each month during the 2007-2008 fiscal year; that number rose to 8,350 in the first two months of this fiscal year. "Before we used to see maybe two to three families a week, but in the last three months it's been two to three families a day," said Josie Mora, the food and emergency services coordinator for Santa Ynez Valley's People Helping People. Unemployment in the County rose 31 percent since August 2007, and the largest and fastest growing group of unemployed in the state are those persons who have lost their jobs. "The increases we're seeing are across the board," according to David Coelho with Catholic Charities, who added, "It's a tough time to pay rent and utilities and often times people have very little left over for food."

10. Ohio's Food Stamp Numbers Mirror Rise of Economic Problems
(Toledo Blade, October 20, 2008)

Construction worker Wayne English is one of hundreds of thousands of Ohio residents dealing with job layoffs and rising inflation in Wood County. English began visiting the Bowling Green Christian Food Pantry recently after losing his job. Struggling with finances and a frustrating job search, he noted "If something doesn't happen in the next 35 days, I'll be homeless, sorry to say." Wood County ranks in the top 10 of the state's hardest-hit poverty areas; between 2001 and 2005, the state saw 300,000 additional poverty-stricken people, bringing the state total to 4.1 million. Ohio's food stamp participation, a key indicator of rising poverty, rose to 1.1 million residents; one in 10 Ohioans now receive the benefit. Lucas County experienced a 40 percent rise in food stamp applications from families in suburban zip codes over the last five years, and the city of Toledo experienced a 27 percent jump in families seeking food stamps over the same time period. To address the state's growing poverty, Governor Ted Strickland launched a task force recently. While his administration has been working to provide stimulus packages to jumpstart the creation of new jobs, the state is currently focusing on boosting programs that provide direct help to the poor. Still, there are many in the state like Linda Anderson of West Toledo, who described her first visit in 2006 to a food pantry as "a devastating experience to say the least." The line she stood in was so long that, by the time she reached the front, the pantry had run out of bread, and she "knew the small bag of groceries she was able to get would not be enough for herself, her husband, and four children." (Part of a three-story series.)

11. Letter to Editor: Food Stamp Applications Require More Information than Mortgage Applications
(Albany Times-Union, October 19, 2008)

Kathleen DuFresne, a social worker in Schenectady, NY was moved to comment on the inequality between information gathering to be eligible for government programs - like food stamps - and applying for mortgages over the past few years. As she helped a parent with the "many questions about personal income, resources, living arrangements and expenses" in the online food stamp application, she "mused 'banks should have used this as their mortgage application form.'" She points out the state law advisory on the food stamp form, which "provides for fines or jail or both, for a person found guilty of obtaining Food Stamp Benefits by hiding the facts or not telling the truth." "Meanwhile," writes DuFresne, "over on Wall Street, after years of hiding the facts and not telling the truth, multimillionaires by the dozen await the government's multibillion dollar bailout."

12. Economy Hits New Jersey Food Pantries Hard
(NJ.com, October 22, 2008)

New Jersey's food banks are serving an estimated 250,000 additional clients this year - a 20 percent increase - as many in the middle class, affected by layoffs, foreclosures, and inflation, join the poor, working poor and elderly in seeking assistance. However, the banks have also experienced a 20 percent decline in food donations, prompting Governor John Corzine to include an extra $3 million in the state's economic stimulus plan for emergency food assistance. Additional recent setbacks for food banks in the state include:

- New Jersey lost 2.5 million pounds of surplus food from USDA as producers made more money selling abroad;
- Paterson's largest food bank, which added 230 new clients, had to close for a day recently because it had no food;
- For the first time in its thirty-year history, Community Food Bank of New Jersey in Hillside announced it would "very likely" begin rationing food;
- The number of new clients at Interfaith Food Pantry in Morristown climbed 400 percent (half of whom had never applied for assistance before), while food costs for the pantry rose 300 percent.

Meara Nigro of the Community FoodBank commented: "We realized that we've been running short of everything nutritious, but it was only last week that we really looked at our donation sources and realized the roof was falling in." According to Adele LaTourette, director of the Statewide Emergency Food and Anti-Hunger Network, "I've been working on anti-hunger initiatives for 29 years and I've never seen anything even close to what's happening right now. With a nasty winter expected and fuel prices out of control, anybody who isn't scared is out of their mind." LaTourette also noted that New Jersey residents are not taking advantage of food stamps; the state only has a 58 percent participation rate, and loses approximately $245 million in federal dollars each year as a result.

13. Western New York Food Bank Distributing More Supplies
(Buffalo News, October 22, 2008)

Responding to increased demands from food pantries, the Food Bank of Western New York experienced a 12 percent increase this year in the amount of food it redistributes to the 204 pantries and soup kitchens in Erie, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua and Niagara counties. In the St. Vincent de Paul Society dining room, the staff cooks 1,500 to 2,000 more meals per month than in 2007. Mark Zirnheld, the Society's executive director, said the number of meals served "was stunning to us," and added that food pantry requests are increasing too. The Society is serving more children on the weekends, up from a dozen to 30, and saw one man, in a tie and with a laptop, come in for a meal between job interviews.

14. Florida Food Bank Starts Food Stamp Outreach
(Orlando Sentinel, October 17, 2008)

Responding to increased demands for assistance and decreasing supplies of food, Central Florida's food bank has sent teams of workers into the community to help people sign up for food stamps. These outreach specialist are equipped with laptop computers, wireless Internet access, printers and scanners and travel to charities where residents are looking for groceries or free meals. Homeless persons and the elderly have been particularly well-served through this outreach, with workers successfully signing up many residents who don't normally apply for food stamps. The outreach effort, according to Dave Krepcho, executive director of the Orlando-based Second Harvest Food Bank, came about because "The demand for food is just so far outpacing what we can collect that we had to look at what else could possibly be done." This year, food stamp applications have "surged" because of the economy, with areas reporting application increases of between 30 and 65 percent. Central Florida's six counties lose about $160 million a year in unclaimed food stamp benefits.

15. Floods Force Thousands to Apply for Disaster Food Stamps in Illinois
(Chicago Tribune, October 21, 2008)

Thousands of individuals in seven Illinois counties affected by last month's floods continue to sign up for disaster food stamps, with 5,000 residents already receiving the benefit. The federal government extended its application deadline, since "thousands more are still in need," according to Marielle Sainvilus, spokeswoman for the state's Department of Human Services. Residents began lining up at one state office at 3 a.m. one recent morning; the line at that time was already "a few hundred people deep." Wendy Weather of Calumet City was grateful for the assistance, even after standing in line for hours, and received $447 for her and her two young daughters; "God bless what they're giving. It does make a difference," she said. Weather's home was deluged with two feet of water, causing power outages that spoiled most of her food.

16. Louisiana Award Will Improve Disaster Food Stamp System
(The Advocate/WBRZ, October 22, 2008)

Louisiana's $1 million award for timely food stamp application processing will be used to improve the technology for its disaster food stamp system. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services gave the "Outstanding and Timely Customer Service Award" this year to Louisiana's Department of Social Services' Office of Family Support for "timeliest processed applications in its regular food stamp program" during fiscal year 2007.

17. Don't Forget Diabetics on Food Stamps, Says Food Stamp Challenge Participant
(Public News Service, October 22, 2008)

Maxine Thome, a Type One diabetic and executive director of the National Association of Social Workers - Michigan Chapter, participated in the recent Michigan Food Stamp Challenge, and said her blood sugar was "so difficult to control that she had to break into a supply of sugar outside the Food Stamp budget when her blood levels dipped dangerously low." It made her ask "What happens to people who are diabetic, on Food Stamps, that don't have adequate access to health care? People must be dying." Thome is sharing her health record during the Challenge with the University of Michigan, where researchers are currently doing a study of diabetic health for people on food stamps.

18. South Dakota Invites Residents to Take the Food Stamp Challenge
(SD Food Stamp Challenge Blog, October 20, 2008)

South Dakota's Food Stamp Challenge will take place during the state's Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, November 16-22. Sponsored by the Community Food Banks of South Dakota, Black Hills Regional Food Bank, and Bread for the World, the organizations invite residents to live on a food budget of $25 a person for the week, in order to "raise awareness about struggles many people in [SD] and [the] nation face trying to eat only on food stamps. Guidelines for signing up are at http://sdchallenge.blogspot.com.

19. Michigan Food Stamp Challenge Article Draws Ire of Readers
(MLive.com, October 22, 2008)

Andrew Heller's column about taking the Food Stamp Challenge, printed several weeks ago in MLive.com's blog, got a number of angry responses from readers who claimed that they easily live on a food budget $5 a day per person. "Some readers got the point" of the piece, noted Heller. He wrote, "I passionately disagree that getting by on $5.87 a day is a picnic, especially for a single person." Heller was surprised at the angry responses, and asks "Aren't civilized societies supposed to help out the least fortunate?" He concludes. "simply…If you're on assistance, things obviously aren't going well."

20. Complaints Could Derail Expansion of Indiana's Computerized Food Stamp System
(Evansville Courier and Press, October 22, 2008)

Indiana lawmakers have recommended Indiana not expand its efforts to "modernize" its welfare system, after advocates and clients have complained about application and renewal processing delays, lost documents, and difficulties in navigation experienced by elderly and disabled users. The new system, which two bipartisan committees urge be halted until problems can be fixed, began under Governor Mitch Daniels' administration in 2006 with an award of $1.16 billion to IBM for food stamp, Medicaid and TANF application processing. As part of the privatization, individual caseworkers were replaced with telephone support and online application capabilities in 59 of Indiana's 92 counties.

21. Philadelphia Group Highlights Food Stamp Improvements
(Philadelphia Inquirer, October 17, 2008)

Working-poor Philadelphians are being helped by the Food Stamp Program through bureaucratic improvements and "slightly higher benefits," noted a recent forum held by the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger. Mayor Nutter commented that everyone in the city deserves access to "affordable, healthy food," and noted "The thought that some people don't have [access] may strike some people in the city as unusual. Unfortunately, it's a reality." About 430,000 Philadelphians in the five-county area receive food stamps, according to the Coalition. Improvements to the Food Stamp Program include removal of household limits to eligibility (like pensions, investments and savings accounts), increased benefits to families with high child-care costs, and the minimum monthly amount raised from $10 to $14. Senior citizens are one group not fully taking advantage of the benefit, with "Philadelphians…leaving around $100 million on the table" said Mayor Nutter. Not all the news was good - a recent Drexel University report found that the maximum food stamp benefit is still insufficient at providing healthy food to recipients. With the average monthly cost of food, as identified through the Thrifty Food Plan, at $805 for a family of four, that family is still missing 49 percent of funding to purchase food in that plan solely through food stamps, researchers found. Over one year, that food stamp family in Philadelphia would still need an extra $3,165 to purchase the Thrifty Food Plan.

22. Rule Change Will Increase California's Food Stamp Numbers
(Ventura County Star, October 9, 2008)

Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law in September legislation that removed the cap on "liquid investments" which disqualified families from receiving food stamps. This could expand food stamp participation by 86,000 residents across the state and approximately 1,800 in Ventura County. Previously, families with more than $2,000 were ineligible; the new rule helps households that have "stowed money for a large purchase or emergency fund" become eligible. "My guess is they don't have a lot of income," noted Curtis Updike, deputy director, Ventura County Human Services Agency, "but they have been trying to save for some reason - a house, first and last month's rent for an apartment or a vehicle." The change, which counties will phase in by the middle of 2009, comes on the heels of another relaxed rule - in May, the Farm Bill exempted Individual Retirement Accounts from assets that would make families ineligible. Cars, owner-occupied homes, and employer-sponsored 401(k) retirement plans were already excluded. The change comes at a time when Ventura County welfare workers have noticed an upswing in the number of self-employed people applying for the benefit, as well as those who have lost jobs after long years in the work force. Food stamp renewals have grown by one-fifth, and new applications grew nine percent. California joins close to 20 states that have dropped, or are dropping, the liquid assets cap.

23. State Raises Price Tag for Ongoing Computerized Social Services System
(Dallas Morning News, October 7, 2008)

Although TIERS, the Texas Integrated Eligibility Redesign System, is a "good investment" according to the state's social service officials, the system, which enrolls the needy in food stamps and other government programs, will take 12 years to roll out and cost $1 billion, according to a release from the Office of State Auditor John Keel. State employee groups say the system is cumbersome, and low-income group advocates say the state, in replacing caseworkers with call-center operators, damaged its workforce. Still, TIERS doesn't require needy individuals travel to social services offices, and eligibility worker caseloads can be transferred among offices to increase efficiency and timely processing of applications. Stephanie Goodman, Health and Human Services Commission spokeswoman, said TIERS showed its real strength during the recent hurricanes - while coastal offices lost power, emergency food assistance requests were handled by inland offices unaffected by the storms. Lawmakers, even those supporting privatization, are unhappy about the length of time it's taking for the system to operate statewide; Texas also has a second, older system in place that has not been phased out. "We cannot afford to keep paying for two mammoth, expensive, duplicative computer systems," said Senate Health and Human Services Committee Chairwoman Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound. The audit "also question why one-fifth of new applications for food stamps…aren't processed in the first 30 days, as the law requires."

24. Some North Carolina Schools Cut Universal Breakfast, University to Study Impact
(University of North Carolina Greensboro News, October 15, 2008)

A number of Guilford County Schools in North Carolina had to cut their universal free breakfast program (where all children eat for free) due to rising food costs and declining revenues. The University of North Carolina received a $250,000 grant "to study the budgetary, academic and health effects of a reduction in the number of Guilford County schools offering universal-free breakfasts." The universal breakfast program allows all children access to a nutritious, substantive breakfast including those who may not get breakfast at home. The free- and reduced-price breakfast and lunch programs will still continue in these schools; for those students who qualify for this program, school meals may be the only food they can access.

25. Middle School Cafeteria Serves Breakfast In Classrooms
(Dalles Chronicle, October 19, 2008)

Oregon's Dalles Middle School cafeteria starts preparing food early - 6:15 a.m. some mornings - in order to serve breakfast to 340 students every morning in their classrooms, "free of charge, right to their desks." Brian Hughitt works in the cafeteria and notes "I know they love the food. They love the Breakfast in the Classroom program. A good breakfast, right when you get to school. It's a pretty sweet deal." As soon as breakfast is served, the cafeteria squad starts on lunch. The school offers "fresh lettuce, broccoli, baby carrots, cauliflower," and cucumbers on the salad bar daily, and the students "seem to like making their own salads than just being served one." Staff reports that students "tend to eat every last bit" of the salads they make themselves. The food served here, say some, "is a far sight better than cafeteria food from many past students' memories." This day, the cafeteria made more than 700 meals for the school, as well as more than 1,000 meals for other schools, serving more than 1,000 cartons of milk "and dozens of bagels."

26. Jobless Flood Unemployment Offices; Staffs Struggle with Workload, Funding
(Stateline, October 7, 2008)

Economists are saying that the number of weekly unemployment claims across the nation, which has "exceeded 400,000 for 11 weeks," indicates a recession; a year ago, the weekly claim number was 324,000. States are running low on funds, with unemployment insurance trust funds "in danger of insolvency in California, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Ohio, South Carolina and Wisconsin." The National Employment Law Project, a New York City-based advocacy group, said 11 additional states are running into problems in paying jobless benefits. Unemployment benefits last 26 weeks, 39 weeks for states with high unemployment rates. The Law Project's deputy director, Andrew Stettner said states reduce payroll taxes in good economic times, which means many states haven't built up their trust fund reserves. Stettner sees a crunch ahead from the recession, as state jobless funds are affected in early 2009 when "tax revenues are traditionally slower." Specific challenges in states include:

Tennessee - So many are calling the state's unemployment office that callers are finding it tough to get through, thereby delaying their benefits;
North Carolina - State employees are working overtime on weekends to reduce the backlog that has grown to 17,000 cases; a year ago, the backlog was just a few cases;
Michigan - The state has the highest unemployment rate in the nation at 8.9 percent, and doesn't have enough money to cover claims; the unemployment office is borrowing from the federal government to pay benefits;
South Carolina - In the middle of January 2009 the state will run out of benefit money and has been hit hard by a recent surge in manufacturing and construction layoffs;
Wisconsin - With a jobless rate of 5.1 percent, the state faces problems meeting benefit claims in the near future, even though Governor Jim Doyle raised unemployment taxes in March;
New York and New Jersey - The recent Wall Street meltdown has added to the already-rising jobless rates in these two states.

27. New Englanders, Advocates Already Worried About Heating Homes This Winter; Food Stamps Can Help
(MassLive.com, October 19, 2008)

High heating oil prices, combined with high food and gas prices along with rising unemployment have New Englanders like convenience store employee and 50-year-old single mother Martha Ferrante worried about making it through the upcoming winter. Ferrante uses 600 gallons of heating oil a year, which cost $956 in 2004; this year she's looking at a bill of at least $2,150. "I've been doing all the common sense things, but still, the bills are more than my income can handle," she said. "I work as much as I can. But how much more can I do? You look for another job, but everyone knows what that's like. There are tons of other people out looking for jobs." Federal programs in addition to heating assistance can help, particularly the Food Stamp Program. Approximately half of all Massachusetts residents who are eligible have not applied for food stamps. For New Englanders, the upcoming winter promises "a potential blizzard of financial hardship." Aid workers are worried families will have to choose heating their homes and forgoing food or medicine, which have bad health consequences, especially for the elderly and young children. "There's a chance some of them will freeze to death," said Elliott C. Stratton, head of the emergency fuel program for the Council of Churches of Greater Springfield. When the oil runs out, many families will resort to space heaters or ovens, which carry their own dangers as well as run up high electric bills. If they can't pay their bills, families will then see their electricity turned off in April when the moratorium on utility shutoff ends.

28. Hundreds Apply for Public Housing in New Jersey
(NJ.com, October 7, 2008)

Demand for public housing increased over the past months in New Jersey as applicants struggle with foreclosures, Wall Street's economic storms and the sluggish economy. According to the article, this demand could be termed desperation, especially over the next few months. Millville saw more than 400 applicants last week lined up at the city's housing authority, looking to be placed in available apartments and single-family homes. Atlantic City residents seeking Section 8 housing were turned away in large numbers - 350 in all - and protested after only 150 of the total 500 were allowed inside the city's housing authority.

29. Maryland Programs Battle Array of Problems Leading to State's High Infant Mortality Rate
(Baltimore Sun, October 5, 2008)

Maryland's high infant mortality rate "is totally out of line with the nation," commented Alma Roberts, president and CEO of Baltimore Healthy Start. The state showed an infant mortality increase in 2007, when 14 newborns out of 1,000 live births died; in 2005, the state's infant death rate ranked 31st in the nation. Racial disparities in infant death widened last year, with black infants three times as likely to die in their first year as white infants. The statistics reflect on Maryland as a whole, as "Infant mortality is one of the most sensitive indicators of the health of a community" noted Roberts. Because of the high rate, agencies, officials, advocates and health care providers are working together to solve the complex problems giving rise to these statistics. According to Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, Baltimore's health commissioner, "We are looking at rethinking the whole approach. There are limits to what prenatal care can accomplish, and for many it's coming so late." In addition to health, other factors affecting infant mortality rates include "poverty, psychological stress, pre-existing health conditions, substance abuse, nutrition, the father's role, maternal age, and the critical time between pregnancies known as the 'inter-conception period.'" Medicaid access in the state was recently widened, as parents with incomes up to 116 percent of the federal poverty line ($20,500 for a family of three) were included; before, the cap was 40 percent, causing women too poor to afford health care going without until they became pregnant. Communities must be healthy too, in order to bring mortality rates down; Leigh Cobb, health policy director for Advocates for Youth and Children emphasizes "supportive environments free from violence and with access to nutritious food" as critical - factors that can be tough to find in Baltimore. But advocates from the group Healthy Start have been blanketing the community with education, advice, food and even furniture. Food deserts in the area contribute to the difficulties. Said Roberts of Healthy Start, "We work with women on their diet and about good nutrition…but there are no grocery stores in Sandtown-Winchester. That's part of the problem."

30. Low-Income Population Never Benefitted from State Economic Growth
(Montgomery Advertiser, October 15, 2008)

Economic growth over the past few years never "trickled down" to low-income households in states like Alabama, where 33 percent of working families must still rely on public assistance. According to a report titled "Still Working Hard, Still Falling Short" by the Working Poor Families Project (a national initiative supported by the Annie E. Casey, Ford, Joyce and C.S. Mott foundations), 42 million adults and children - one in four working families - were considered low-income in 2006; between 2002 to 2006, the number of low-income people grew by 350,000 people. While the current economic and financial crisis is on top of many agendas, the crisis for low-income population has "been going on for many years," said Ed Hatcher, president of The Hatcher Group. In Alabama's case, while the state's economy blossomed, "we missed a golden opportunity to make investments in improvements for low-income working families," said Ron Gilbert, senior policy analyst for Arise Citizens' Policy Project. Gilbert cites adult education and education assistance as two areas neglected, and notes that while some funding was funneled to subsidized child care, "that now has to be cut."

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