FRAC News Digest - September 3, 2004

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.

Issue 32, September 3, 2004

More Americans Uninsured and Poor in 2003, Census Finds
Half of All Americans Will Use Food Stamps During Adulthood
Welfare Rolls Down But Unemployment of Single Mothers Up
Financial Stress Contributes to Obesity
A Regular Soda a Day Boosts Weight Gain
Accepting Nominations for Outstanding Summer Food Service Sponsors
California: Bill OKs Food Stamps for Some Drug Felons
New York: Governor's Veto Leaves More New Yorkers Hungry
New York: More Than 1 in 4 New York City Children without Enough to Eat
Florida: School Closures in Central Florida Mean Children May Go Hungry
Michigan: Free Lunch Program Welcomes Children Back to School
Colorado: Food Stamp Requests Up in State and Nation

1. More Americans Uninsured and Poor in 2003, Census Finds

("More Americans Were Uninsured and Poor in 2003, Census Finds," New York Times, August 27, 2004)

The number of poor and uninsured grew in 2003 for the third straight year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Poverty rose sharply among single parent families. The poverty rate rose from 12.1 percent in 2002, to 12.5 percent in 2003, and now is slightly higher than in 1969. The disparity in incomes between the rich and poor grew after having fallen in 2002. And the wage gap between men and women widened for the first time in four years. "We have had a generation with basically no progress against poverty," said Sheldon Danziger, a professor of public policy at the University of Michigan. "The economic growth is not trickling down to the poor."

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/27/national/27census.html

U.S. Census report [PDF]
http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/p60-226.pdf

"Census Data Show Poverty Increased, Income Stagnated, and the Number of Uninsured Rose to a Record Level in 2003," Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, August 26, 2004
http://www.cbpp.org/8-26-04pov.htm

"Statement of Food Research and Action Center on Census Bureau Release of 2003 Poverty and Income Data," Food Research and Action Center
http://frac.org/html/news/Census_2003_Response.html

"NWLC Analysis of New Census Data Finds Poverty of Women and Children Increases for Third Straight Year," National Women's Law Center
http://www.nwlc.org/details.cfm?id=1989&section=newsroom

"733,000 Children Fell into Poverty --- 580,000 into Extreme Poverty in 2003; Latino and Black Children Hardest Hit," Children's Defense Fund, August 27, 2004
http://childrensdefense.org/pressreleases/040827.asp

2. Half of All Americans Will Use Food Stamps During Adulthood

("CU researcher: Half of all Americans will use food stamps during adulthood," Cornell Chronicle, August 26, 2004)

At least half of all Americans will use food stamps during adulthood, according to a study that will be published in the December 2004 issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. "The need to use food stamps is a common American experience," said professor of sociology Thomas Hirschl, co-author of the study. Food stamp use is often brief. The findings contrast with "the belief that the use of the nation's food nutrition safety net is something that happens to someone else...Rather, [the findings] indicate that Americans have a substantial need and use of food stamps, and they suggest a significant risk of food insecurity across the life course." More than 85 percent of African Americans will use food stamps some time between the ages of 20 and 65, compared with 37 percent of white Americans; and 64 percent of adults with less than 12 years of education will use food stamps. "The fact that at least four out of 10 Americans will experience food insecurity at some point during their adulthood would appear to represent a significant public health cause for concern," reported Hirshl and his co-author, Mark Rank, professor of social work at Washington University.

http://www.news.cornell.edu/Chronicle/04/8.26.04/food_stamps.html

3. Welfare Rolls Down But Unemployment of Single Mothers Up

("CBPP Response to HHS's Announcement that TANF Caseloads Fell in 2003," Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, August 23, 2004)

Caseloads in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program fell in 2003, announced the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently. However, the decline does not mean that more families are leaving welfare for work. The proportion of single mothers who were employed in 2003 fell from 71.5 percent in 2002 to 69.8 percent in 2003, a larger decline than among other parents or the population overall. The decline "suggests that more families may have fallen deeper into poverty in 2003 because they neither had a job nor received cash assistance,” said Sharon Parrott, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities' director of welfare reform policy. While cash assistance caseloads have not increased, caseloads in other low-income programs — including food stamps and Medicaid — have grown.

http://www.cbpp.org/8-23-04tanf-pr.htm

4. Financial Stress Contributes to Obesity

("Poor eating habits: Financial stress puts many Americans on dangerous diet," Milford Daily News, August 22, 2004)

Poor Americans often stretch budgets by consuming low-cost, less nutritious foods loaded with calories and often overeat when food is available. Furthermore, when a person's diet is periodically inadequate, the body can compensate by storing more calories as fat, according to a report released last year by the Center on Hunger and Poverty and FRAC. Low-income families also tend to be poorly educated about healthy food choices. Physical activity may be difficult in urban areas, where parents may not want children playing outdoors due to safety concerns. Furthermore, the poor often work long hours, leaving little time for exercise.

http://www.milforddailynews.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=54175

FRAC Center on Hunger and Poverty report, "The Paradox of Hunger and Obesity"
http://www.frac.org/html/hunger_in_the_us/hunger&obesity.htm

5. A Regular Soda a Day Boosts Weight Gain

("A Regular Soda a Day Boosts Weight Gain," Washington Post, August 24, 2004)

Women who drink non-diet soda or fruit drinks sweetened with sugar or high-fructose corn syrup every day gain weight quickly and are more than 80 percent more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes than women who have such beverages once a month, according to a major study released recently. Although the study involved only women, the researchers believed that the risks also hold for men. "The message is: Anyone who cares about their health or the health of their family would not consume these beverages," said Walter C. Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health, who helped conduct the study. Neither diet soda nor unsweetened fruit juices appear to carry the same risks. "The conclusions from this study are scientifically unsound, and they are at odds with all that's known in the scientific community," said Richard Adamson, vice president for scientific and technical affairs at the American Beverage Association.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29434-2004Aug24.html

6. Accepting Nominations for Outstanding Summer Food Service Sponsors

(Summer Sunshine Awards, U.S. Department of Agriculture, August 2004)

USDA is accepting applications for the 2003/2004 Summer Sunshine Awards to recognize creative and successful Summer Food sponsors, advocates and special interest groups, including faith-based organizations. Groups may nominate themselves for Sunshine Awards. The link below goes to the application package, which should be submitted to Summer Food State agencies. While each State agency has set its own due date, nominations must be sent to USDA's national headquarters no later than September 24, 2004.

http://www.summerfood.usda.gov/states/2004_Sunshine_Awards.html

7. California: Bill OKs Food Stamps for Some Drug Felons

("Bill Oks Food Stamps for Some Drug Felons," Los Angeles Times, August 26, 2004)

Certain drug felons could be eligible for food stamps, according to a bill approved by the California Senate. The bill would reverse a nearly 8-year ban on benefits for drug offenders. Officials estimate that 1,640 Californians are denied food benefits every year because of the current law, losing the state $1.8 million in food stamp benefits for the poor. There should be no fear that food stamps might be traded for drugs, said state Assemblyman Mark Leno, since food benefits are now distributed through electornic debit cards. If the state Assembly and Governor Schwarzenegger approve the measure, California will join 32 other states and territories that extend food stamp benefits to some or all otherwise eligible drug offenders.

http://tinyurl.com/652sr

8. New York: Governor's Veto Leaves More New Yorkers Hungry

("With N.Y.'s hungry, gov takes the cake," New York Daily News, August 26, 2004)

"Let them eat cake" is Governor Pataki's message to New York's most vulnerable residents with his recent veto of several budget items. The vetos mean soup kitchens and food pantries have $2 million less in state support than 3 years ago. The action came days after he also vetoed a bill to increase the state's minimum wage, which will have the effect of "driving more working families to soup kitchens and food pantries," said Joel Berg, executive director of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger. "Now he has vetoed funding for these agencies," even though need has increased, said Berg. Last year, more than 500,000 children in New York had to turn to soup kitchens and food pantries for food. The number of people fed statewide by emergency programs increased 20.4 percent from September 2002 to September 2003, according to the Hunger Action Network of New York State. Hunger, homelessness organizations, and religious denominations in New York City issued a nonpartisan statement recently thanking volunteers but saying that charity cannot replace government action.

http://tinyurl.com/3zkqy

9. New York: More Than 1 in 4 New York City Children without Enough to Eat

("City Kids Go Hungry," New York Observer, September 3, 2004)

More than 500,000, or more than 1 in 4, New York City children go to bed hungry every night. The statistic conjures images "not of a big-hearted, progressive city, but of Dickensian London." Some of the city's soup kitchens now feature high chairs, notes Julia Erickson, executive director of City Harvest. Child poverty extends beyond New York City to the nation. Almost 18 percent of American children live in poverty, the highest percentage in a decade.

http://www.nyobserver.com/pages/editorials.asp

10. Florida: School Closures in Central Florida Mean Children May Go Hungry

("School shutdown means low-income students may go hungry," Sun-Sentinel, August 20, 2004)

With school campuses closed in the aftermath of Hurricane Charley, more than 107,000 poor students who rely on their schools for free breakfasts and lunches may be going hungry or making do with meager meals. Normally, school food service workers see plenty of hungry students, particularly on Monday mornings, who eat little beyond those meals offered in the cafeteria under the federal school lunch program. "We're mainly snacking on crackers and whatever we can get our hands on," said Thomas McGuire. His family usually relies on the free breakfast and lunch program at school for his children, ages 8 and 15, to stretch the family's meager food-stamp budget.

http://tinyurl.com/4l5eo

11. Michigan: Free Lunch Program Welcomes Children Back to School

("Free lunch plan helps schools," The Flint Journal, August 30, 2004)

As schools reopen, children and their families may be able to save more than $500 on lunch costs per year if they apply to receive free and reduced-price lunch and breakfast. Most districts have families eligible for assistance who do not apply due to stigma, privacy concerns, preparing lunch from home, or a preference for the school's a la carte menu, which is not covered under the program. Applying also benefits the school or district, since milions of dollars in state assistance and grants are based on the free and reduced-price lunch numbers.

http://www.mlive.com/news/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-23/1093879635135790.xml

12. Colorado: Food Stamp Requests Up in State and Nation

("Food stamp requests increase in Colorado, nation," Rocky Mountain News, August 25, 2004)

The number of people receiving food stamps in Colorado jumped 36 percent in the two years ending in May, according to the most recent federal data. More than 65,000 people joined the program, for a total of 246,000 people in Colorado. Nationally, the number of food stamp recipients rose 26 percent during the same period. "Most of the people coming in and applying are people whose hours have been cut back. Many of them have been laid off," said Brenda Woolsey, director of Arapahoe County Community Support Services.

http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_3135520,00.html