The weekly Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) 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.

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1. Low-Income Children Participating in Food Stamps and WIC Have Lower Levels of Health Problems, Study Finds
2. Journalist Sonja Hillgren Has Died, Remembered for Her Coverage of Food Stamps and Other Nutrition Programs
3. California – Op-Ed: Making Food Stamp Application Easier Will Alleviate Hunger and Encourage Healthy Eating Among Needy Californians
4. New Mexico – Op-Ed: Hunger Amidst Poverty Calls for Alarm and Action
5. Florida: USDA Food Stamp Grant Will Help Feed Big Bend Area
6. Massachusetts: Once Desperate Worcester Resident Now on Front Line of Fighting Hunger in Community
7. Oregon: South Coast Schools Beat Student’s Hunger with Free Breakfasts
8. West Virginia: Fayette County School to Serve Free Breakfast and Lunch to All Students
9. Illinois: Watseka Students Say Yes to School Breakfast
10. Illinois Governor Signed Law Increasing State’s Minimum Wage to $7.50 an Hour
11. Indiana – Editorial: State Should Slow Down with Privatization of Social Services
12. Editorial: Texas Officials Acknowledge Shortcomings of Welfare Privatization Plan
13. Texas New Strategy to Proceed with Welfare Privatization Wins Critics’ Approval
14. Tennessee: Online Tools that Determine Eligibility for Public Benefits Gain Popularity Among Social Service Providers
15. North Carolina: Low-Income Families Receiving Food Stamps and Other Assistance Get Relief from Paying for Fishing License

1. Low-Income Children Participating in Food Stamps and WIC Have Lower Levels of Health Problems, Study Finds

(“Effects of WIC and Food Stamp Program Participation on Child Outcomes,” ers.usda.gov, December 2006)

Both joint or separate participation in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and the Food Stamp Program (FSP) reduces the risk of child abuse or neglect and multiple nutrition-related health problems, according to a study conducted by the University of Chicago with the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The study showed that low-income, young children participating in WIC and (or) FSP had lower levels of anemia, failure to thrive and nutritional deficiency than those who received no services. This finding indicates significant benefits of WIC and FSP participation among those children.

http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/CCR27/

2. Journalist Sonja Hillgren Has Died, Remembered for Her Coverage of Food Stamps and Other Nutrition Programs

(On Death of Sonja Hillgren, January 2, 2006)

A prominent journalist Sonja Hillgren died Dec. 19 after a long battle with brain cancer at age 58. Hillgren was an influential figure in the anti-hunger community who had given much mentoring on covering agricultural issues, including nutrition, said Ellen Vollinger of the Food Research and Action Center. Hillgren often included food stamp and WIC and other nutrition programs on her beat, Vollinger said. Hillgren was senior vice president of editorial services for Farm Journal Media, the parent company of Farm Journal, which she edited from 1995 to 2004. She also worked for United Press International and Knight-Ridder Newspapers and served as president of the National Press Club in 1996.

Also see http://tinyurl.com/u37vd (“In Memoriam: Sonja Hillgren,” mediabistro.com, December 20, 2006)

3. California – Op-Ed: Making Food Stamp Application Easier Will Alleviate Hunger and Encourage Healthy Eating Among Needy Californians

(“Aim for Healthy New Year,” pasadenastarnews.com, December 23, 2006)

“Simply putting food on the table … is never easy for thousands of our neighbors,” writes Larry Wilson, editor of the Pasadena (Calif.) Star-News. Despite the growing need for food, California has the lowest participation in food stamps. Over two million Californians are eligible for food stamps, but do not participate in the program. “The myriad paperwork hassles are one problem - the application process is highly cumbersome,” points out Wilson. The savings of $2,000 disqualify people from being eligible for food stamps, even if they earn very little. “That’s not a good way to encourage working families earning less than $24,000 a year to save,” Wilson notes. Strengthening of the Food Stamp Program, a part of the Farm Bill, which Congress will consider this month, is an investment in America. “Ask our members of Congress to support reforms that make application easier, and that get more people involved,” he writes. “It encourages healthy eating for the poor when they have access to fresh food in markets rather than high-carb, high-fat meals in the form of fast food. “A healthier America will make for a happier new year,” argues Wilson.

http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/news/ci_4894742

4. New Mexico – Op-Ed: Hunger Amidst Poverty Calls for Alarm and Action

(“Time to Increase Food Security in Our State,” abqtrib.com, December 21, 2006)

A recent report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture showed that food insecurity in New Mexico is growing, write Lydia Pendley and Clark de Schweinitz of the New Mexico Task Force to End Hunger in The Albuquerque (N.M.) Tribune. In this rural state, a third of counties suffer from persistent poverty, and access to healthy and affordable food is limited by a paucity of grocery stores and available transportation. Food banks have become a regular source of food for many New Mexicans and need more support so they can return to their role as emergency food providers. But the state agencies that run federal food programs are squeezed by tight budgets and staff shortages. They are faced with the challenge of attracting people who still associate receiving food stamps with the stigma of accepting a handout. “In our Land of Enchantment, that so many go hungry is a cause for both alarm and action,” write Pendley and de Schweinitz. “The Legislature and the governor have an opportunity to act on several initiatives this forthcoming session that address school breakfast availability, increased food stamp and Women, Infants and Children benefits … as well as programs that support food transportation and delivery to hungry children and adults.”

http://tinyurl.com/sfel6

5. Florida: USDA Food Stamp Grant Will Help Feed Big Bend Area

(“Grant Helps Feed Big Bend,” tallahassee.com, December 28, 2006)

Tallahassee, Fla., resident Lakisha Murray, who lost her low-paying job at a call center in September, took pride in giving her two children a Christmas dinner “with all the trimmings.” The $320 in food stamp benefits the family now receives helped to make it happen. Dorothy Inman-Johnson of the Capital Area Community Action Agency is planning to use a $72,127 grant from the federal government to help more families like the Murrays apply for food stamps in the Big Bend area. The need is especially great among Hispanic immigrants and rural residents. “We’re having great difficulty in reaching the Hispanic population ... particularly in Gadsden County and Jefferson County,” said Inman-Johnson. “We have not had the funding to really do mass translations of all of our brochures, our materials, our posters, all of our outreach materials,” she explained. The agency is one of 14 recipients of food stamp outreach grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for fiscal year 2007, intended to improve awareness of and access to food stamps.

http://tinyurl.com/ubep4

6. Massachusetts: Once Desperate Worcester Resident Now on Front Line of Fighting Hunger in Community

(“Caseworker Once Faced Own Issues with Hunger,” telegram.com, December 26, 2006)

Adriana Ojeda of Worcester, Mass., recalls how six years ago she was struggling to feed and house herself and her child on the paycheck of a housekeeper at a local hotel. Too many times she had to choose between a meal for her young son or paying a bill, a decision, she said, no one should ever be forced to make. Her life changed after Friendly House, a human services organization serving Worcester residents, referred her to the WIC program and other assistance programs. Now Ojeda herself is a Friendly House caseworker and is working hard to persuade her clients to apply for food assistance instead of going hungry. “It’s hard to get some people to understand that it’s OK to ask for help when you need it,” she explained. Ojeda believes that in the end everyone benefits when life’s basic necessities such as food and shelter are provided to all. The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts announced that it has awarded a $151,862 grant to the Worcester Food Advisory Council as the first step in creating a coordinated regional effort to combat hunger. “Our goal is not only to end hunger in Worcester, but to create the system change needed to sustain a hunger-free community,” the council wrote in its grant proposal.

http://tinyurl.com/yyed2l

7. Oregon: South Coast Schools Beat Student’s Hunger with Free Breakfasts

(“More Getting Free Breakfasts at Schools,” theworldlink.com, December 26, 2006)

Coos Bay and North Bend schools in the South Coast region, Ore., are working to ensure that after the holidays students don’t start their day with empty stomachs. Coos Bay offers free breakfast to all elementary and middle school students. North Bend provides universal breakfast, which means all students, from kindergarten through high school, get a free morning meal. Coos Bay started their program about five years ago. Tim Watson-Williams, the food services manager, said he has seen the numbers increase steadily. “We’re in a community with a lot of poverty and anything we can do to help feed our kids is worth it,” Watson-Williams said. “Kids who are getting more nutritionally sound meals perform better in school,” he added. North Bend initiated its program in the school year 2002-03, because many children used to come to school hungry or wanted to eat before lunch time, explained Rhonda Hoffine, North Bend food services manager. “We wanted to offer it across the board because then everyone gets a chance to eat and there’s no stigma, especially if students eat in their classroom,” Hoffine said. Lynn Parker, director of child nutrition of the Food Research and Action Center, said she’d like to see more schools moving toward universal breakfast, providing free meals for all students.

http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/2006/12/26/news/news01122606.txt

8. West Virginia: Fayette County School to Serve Free Breakfast and Lunch to All Students

(“Fayette Elementary Making School Meals Free,” sundaygazettemail.com December 26, 2006)

Starting this month, all students at Mount Hope Elementary in Fayette County, W.Va., will be offered free breakfast and lunch. The school will become the first in West Virginia to provide free meals to all children, regardless of their parents’ income. “Obesity isn’t as much of the problem here, it’s just that kids aren’t eating the right meals,” said Principal Randall Rhodes. About 87 percent of Mount Hope’s students get a free or reduced-price meal, but not all of those children whose parents pay for their lunch can afford to eat the breakfast too, according to Rhodes. The initiative of serving two free meals came after the School Breakfast Scorecard 2006, released by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), announced West Virginia the top state serving free or reduced-price breakfast to children from low-income families. Last year, the state’s schools served breakfast to 58.5 children for every 100 children who also participated in the federal School Lunch Program. Nationwide, only 44.6 low-income children got breakfast for every 100 eating lunch, according to the FRAC report.

http://sundaygazettemail.com/section/News/2006122516

Also see http://www.frac.org/pdf/2006_SBP.pdf (FRAC report, “School Breakfast Scorecard 2006”)

9. Illinois: Watseka Students Say Yes to School Breakfast

(“Unit #3 Board Discusses Breakfast Program,” watsekatimesrepublic.com, December 26, 2006)

School officials at Donovan CUSD #3 in Watseka, Ill., have started a debate about whether or not to begin a breakfast program for students. Superintendent Jerome Pankey asked cooks from high school and elementary school cafeterias to visit another school that already serves breakfast to observe how their program works. Pankey said that the management conducted a survey of around 200 students at the junior and senior high school. Of all participants, 43.72 percent said they normally eat breakfast at home, while 56.28 percent said they did not. When asked if they would participate in a breakfast program, 82.55 percent of students said yes and 17.45 percent said no. When asked whether or not breakfast would enhance their educational performance, 79.52 percent of participants said yes and 20.48 percent said no.

http://www.watsekatimesrepublic.com/articles/2006/12/26/news/265news03.txt

10. Illinois Governor Signed Law Increasing State’s Minimum Wage to $7.50 an Hour

(“$7.50 Minimum Wage Is Law,” chicagotribune.com, December 19, 2006)

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich signed into law a $1 increase in the state’s minimum wage. The bill raises the minimum wage to $7.50 an hour starting in July. It also includes a 25-cent-per-hour increase in each of the following three years, raising the minimum wage rate to $8.25 by 2010. Blagojevich said he will push to add automatic cost-of-living increases when the legislature reconvenes this month. A group of legislators has resisted the cost-of-living provision, arguing that a 25-cent annual increase may be better for workers than tying their pay to the cost of living. “Politicians come and go. … The men and women who are working hard to keep our economy moving shouldn’t be held hostage by the political whims and changes of politics,” the governor said. Blagojevich made a minimum-wage increase part of his campaign that won him a second term in November. He said Illinois had to raise the minimum wage because the federal government and President Bush have been unwilling to do so.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/west/chi-0612190278dec19,1,3349102.story

11. Indiana – Editorial: State Should Slow Down with Privatization of Social Services

(“FSSA Must Slow Down,” southbendtribune.com, December 26, 2006)

The U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services have taken a very cautious stance regarding Indiana’s plan to commit the state’s most vulnerable populations to a 10-year deal with a private contractor for processing welfare and food stamp applications, writes this editorial in the South Bend Tribune, Ind. USDA only agreed to proceed with a one-year pilot program. The agency expressed concerns about the delegation of duties between state and vendor employees, vendor oversight and the implementation schedule in its letter to the state’s administration. “If ever there were a deal that demanded caution and scrutiny, this is it. The change that [Gov.] Daniels and [FSSA Secretary] Roob are calling for would affect about a million Hoosiers and thousands of social services providers. If the USDA is worried about how it all will turn out, then we all should be worried,” argues the newspaper. U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, the incoming chairman of the House Government Reform Committee and the Senate Agriculture Committee, sent USDA letters of concern about Indiana’s plans. Privatization of social services application processing has been problematic in other states, such as Texas, they pointed out. Indiana authorities should slow down with the privatization scheme, the editorial contends. “It would be poor governance and contrary to good public policy to charge ahead without inviting thorough scrutiny.”

http://tinyurl.com/y827mc

12. Editorial: Texas Officials Acknowledge Shortcomings of Welfare Privatization Plan

(“Undoing the Damage,” chron.com, December 24, 2006)

“When state officials negotiated a contract with private vendors to screen applicants for social service program eligibility, they made an expensive blunder,” writes this editorial in The Houston Chronicle. After repeatedly defending the $899 million deal with Accenture that caused thousands of public benefit recipients to be dropped from state’s rolls and did not produce the expected savings to taxpayers, Health and Human Services Commissioner Albert Hawkins acknowledged the shortcomings of the privatization plan. “We didn’t draw the line between vendor work and state work in the right place,” he said. Hawkins said his agency is slashing the Accenture contract by $356 million and the pact will be ended in 2008, two years earlier than previously planned. The state will also charge the contractor $30 million in service credits and payment discounts that is needed to rehire state workers to process backlogged applications. “Some state services, particularly those that provide a social safety net for the most vulnerable of Texans, should not be contracted out to companies more interested in amassing profits than serving needy citizens,” argues the newspaper.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/4424958.html

13. Texas New Strategy to Proceed with Welfare Privatization Wins Critics’ Approval

(“CPPP Statement on Texas Health and Human Services Commission’s New Strategy for Enrollment in Public Benefits,” cppp.org, December 21, 2006)

The Center for Public Policy Priorities (CPPP) applauds the new strategy for enrolling needy Texans in food stamps, Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance and welfare announced by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC). CPPP had been critical of the state’s handling of the social services privatization plan. The plan’s rollout created multiple problems for people who rely on public benefits to meet their basic needs. CPPP Executive Director F. Scott McCown said, “HHSC is moving in the right direction,” learning from the pilot rollout and making needed changes. “We especially support the modified division of labor between state employees and private contractor staff, “ commented Celia Hagert of CPPP. “In the modified business plan, the private contractor will gather and process information, forwarding any problems to skilled state staff for review and action. This new division of labor means the system should process applications more quickly and accurately.” While this change in the administration’s plans is good news, Hagert pointed out, HHSC still needs more staff to handle an increasing number or clients that has spurred a 30 percent workload growth since 2004. In addition, “the effectiveness of the new computer system – TIERS – will have to be closely monitored because everything depends upon it working,” stated Hagert.

http://tinyurl.com/yylmqd

Also see http://www.frac.org/html/news/newsdigest/12.11.06.html#18 (“Texas: Group’s Report Shares State’s Experience with Outsourcing Social Services,” FRAC’s News Digest, Issue 48, December 11, 2006)

14. Tennessee: Online Tools that Determine Eligibility for Public Benefits Gain Popularity Among Social Service Providers

(“Private Firms Try to Connect Eligible Poor with Welfare Benefits,” newschannel5.com, December 24, 2006)

EarnBenefits.org is an online program that takes just minutes to determine a person’s eligibility for food stamps, Earned Income Tax Credit, Medicaid and other public benefits. This program, currently available in Memphis, Tenn., Baltimore, Atlanta and New York City, exemplifies the use of Internet-secure software that private companies have been developing for charitable organizations and advocacy groups that serve low-income populations. Over the last three years, online applications increasingly have become valuable tools in helping needy people to do one-stop shopping for benefits without visiting crowded welfare offices. Volunteers set up their computers at food pantries, churches and health clinics to screen visitors for which assistance they might qualify. Such a program helped Celeste Molina, who visited a Columbus food bank last summer and left with food stamps and a connection to Jobs and Family Services, helping her apply for child care and file her federal income taxes.

http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=5855718

15. North Carolina: Low-Income Families Receiving Food Stamps and Other Assistance Get Relief from Paying for Fishing License

(“Fishing Law Spares Low Income Families,” rockymounttelegram.com, December 26, 2006)

Starting Jan. 1, North Carolina families receiving food stamps, Medicaid or participating in Work First Family Assistance are eligible for a waiver to avoid paying for a fishing license. All anglers 16 years or older are required to apply for a license to fish in state’s waters. “Some families supplement their diets by fishing, and … this waiver will assist them,” said Laura O’Neal of Nash County Social Services. The waiver lasts one year. If the person issued the waiver stops participating in one of the county assistance programs, his or her waiver will be valid through the end of that year, said Dureatta Gibson of Nash County.

http://tinyurl.com/uqy6l

For news tips, suggestions, comments, contact Olga Doty at odoty@frac.org