FRAC News Digest - October 1, 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 36, October 1, 2004

FRAC Provides Child Nutrition Reauthorization Implementation Materials
Childhood Obesity Battle Needs Whole Community, Report Says
States Receive $18 Million for Excellent Customer Service in the Food Stamp Program
Jobs Paying a 'Living Wage' Hard to Come By
States and D.C. Receive $1.7 Million for WIC
U.S. Hunger Rises as Wages Stay Flat
Few Eat Recommended Servings of Fruits and Vegetables
Obesity, Food Insecurity, and Hunger Not Mutually Exclusive
Arteries Already Stiff in Obese 7-Year-Olds, Study Says
Aftermath of the Tax Cuts, Working Poor Paying More; Meals on Wheels Waiting Lists Grow
Massachusetts: School Cafeterias Getting Healthier
California: Teens Want Healthier Food
California: Healthy Eating Would Bring Big Economic Boost to California Farmers
Colorado: Food Aid Pours in to Fill Gap

1. FRAC Provides Child Nutrition Reauthorization Implementation Materials

(Food Research and Action Center)

FRAC has prepared materials to assist with implementation of the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004. These materials include an outreach tool kit to maximize use of CACFP to teens in homeless, runaway and domestic violence shelters; a brochure on the new simplified summer food program; a model newsletter article for out-of-school-time programs; and fact sheets on California's year-round summer food pilot program; the seamless summer food option; severe need school breakfast; Provisions 2 and 3; and school lunch eligibility for migrant, homeless and runaway children as well as military families. FRAC has also summarized the highlights of the Act and included links to analyses and policy memorandum.

http://www.frac.org/html/federal_food_programs/cnreauthor/cnrc.htm

2. Childhood Obesity Battle Needs Whole Community, Report Says

("National Effort Urgently Needed to Combat Childhood Obesity; Actions Required by Schools, Families, Communities, Industry , and Government," National Academies Press, September 30, 2004)

A multipronged approach by schools, families, communities, industry, and government is necessary to reverse childhood obesity, according to a report by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. The recommendations were made by a committee of 19 experts in child health, nutrition, fitness, and public health. The report came in response to a request from Congress for an obesity prevention plan. Among the report's recommendations: schools should implement nutritional standards for all foods and beverages sold on school grounds and expand opportunities for all students to have at least 30 minutes of physical activity daily; the USDA should develop national nutritional standards for schools in consultation with independent scientific advisors; the food, beverage,and entertainment industries should develop and implement guidelines for advertising and marketing to children and youth; parents should provide healthy foods in the home and encourage physical activity by limiting TV, video game, and computer time to 2 hours a day; and community organizations, state, and local governments can encourage physical activity by building sidewalks, bike paths, parks, playgrounds, and other recreational facilities. The report speaks to the special problems low-income families face in preventing obesity because " food and physical activity options are more likely to be periodically inadequate, unpredictable, or of lower quality...Poverty and living in low-income neighborhoods limit access to healthful foods."

http://tinyurl.com/4o3l8

"New Approach to Childhood Obesity Urged," New York Times, October 1, 2004

A comprehensive report on the causes and solutions for childhood obesity in the United States takes a new approach to the epidemic by calling for a broad societal strategy rather than focusing on personal responsibility.

http://tinyurl.com/7xh4x

For the report "Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance":
http://books.nap.edu/catalog/11015.html

3. States Receive $18 Million for Excellent Customer Service in the Food Stamp Program

("USDA Awards $18 Million to States For Excellent Customer Service in the Food Stamp Program," U.S. Department of Agriculture, September 27, 2004)

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman announced the award of $18 million to States that demonstrated timely provision of services and ensured access to nutrition assistance in the Food Stamp Program. The states receiving awards were Delaware, Maine, Oklahoma and South Carolina for "Most Improved Participant Access Rate"; D.C., Missouri, Oregon, and Tennessee for "Best Participant Access Rate"; and Kentucky, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and West Virginia for "Application Processing Timeliness." These awards for program access follow another $30 million in program integrity awards, announced September 8, to States for lowest and most improved payment error rates and negative error rates.

http://tinyurl.com/5nfrm

4. Jobs Paying a 'Living Wage' Hard to Come By

("No surprise: 'Living wage' jobs hard to come by," Bend.com, September 23, 2004)

There is only one living wage job available for every six single adult job-seekers in Oregon, according to the report "Search for Work that Pays: 2004 Northwest Job Gap Study." For single parents, only one in 24 job openings pay a living wage. The report finds that a single person must earn $10.17 an hour, or $21,156 a year, to meet his or her basic needs. A single parent with two children must earn $21.44 an hour, or $44,586 a year, far more than Oregon's minimum wage of $7.05. With so few job openings that pay a living wage, many working families must choose each day between adequate health care, balanced meals, and bills. "A job should lift you out of poverty, not keep you in it," said Michael Funke, chairperson of Central Oregon Jobs with Justice.

http://www.bend.com/news/ar_view%5E3Far_id%5E3D18142.htm

For the report: "Search for Work that Pays: 2004 Northwest Job Gap Study"
http://www.nwfco.org/job_gap.htm

Washington: "State short on 'living-wage' jobs," Seattle Times, September 24, 2004

http://tinyurl.com/5qzqh

5. States and D.C. Receive $1.7 Million for WIC

("USDA Awards Approximately $1.7 Million for WIC Special Project Grants to Seven States and the District of Columbia," U.S. Department of Agriculture, September 28, 2004)

Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman awarded approximately $1.7 million to seven States and the District of Columbia to help States develop, implement and evaluate new or innovative methods of service delivery to meet the changing needs of participants in the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program. Full grant funding was awarded to California, Michigan and Oregon. North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, West Virginia and the District of Columbia were each awarded $15,000 grants for one year to develop their concept papers into full grant proposals on how to improve consumption of fruit and vegetables among WIC participants.

http://tinyurl.com/4x7gh

6. U.S. Hunger Rises as Wages Stay Flat

("In the land of plenty, the hungry are growing," Philadelphia Inquirer, September 26, 2004)

Hunger is on the rise, including for those with jobs. Food pantries and agencies that distribute food say working families are a fast-growing segment of their clientele. Joyce Boyah, a refugee from Liberia was surprised at the demand the first time she visited a food pantry. "I thought in America no one could be hungry. I thought Americans were so rich, they'd never go to a food pantry," she said.

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/9759712.htm?1c

7. Few Eat Recommended Servings of Fruits and Vegetables

("Within reach: How to get nine servings of fruit and vegetables a day," Belleville News-Democrat, September 28, 2004)

Only 12 percent of people get the government's recommended daily allowance of five to nine servings of fruit and vegetables every day, found a recent study by the Produce for Better Health Foundation. Three percent of people eat no produce. Nearly half think they eat one or two servings. Getting the recommended servings, experts say, is not difficult. A serving is usually just a half-cup. Dr. Lewis Pincus, medical director of the Methodist Health System Weight Management Institute, cites four reasons for the lack of produce in people's diets: people "lack a plan," are not in the habit, do not have fresh produce readily available, and are cooking less at home.

http://www.belleville.com/mld/newsdemocrat/9778423.htm

8. Obesity, Food Insecurity, and Hunger Not Mutually Exclusive

("Poverty Paradox," Commercial Appeal, September 27, 2004)

"Obesity and food insecurity and hunger are not mutually exclusive," says Susan Sanford, director of the Memphis Food Bank. Poor people have less access to healthy food because they often lack transportation, particularly in inner city and rural areas. Consequently they rely on the corner convenient store or small market as their supermarket, where prices are higher and fewer healthy foods are available. People in poverty may also be prone to obesity because they often adopt a feast-or-famine approach to eating, as resources rise and fall. A study by the USDA and other agencies found this leads to the same metabolic slowdown common in yo-yo dieters, one that can cause weight gain and make losing weight difficult.

http://tinyurl.com/4btez

9. Arteries Already Stiff in Obese 7 Year Olds, Study Says

("Arteries Already Stiff in Obese 7-Year-Olds - Study," Reuters.com, September 27, 2004)

Obese children as young as 7 already show signs of artery disease, Italian and U.S. researchers have found. "We know that obesity in childhood increases the risk of atherosclerosis and death in adulthood," said Dr. Maurizio Trevisan, who led the study. The carotid arteries, which carry blood to the head, were found to be stiff and thick in 100 obese children. "In adults, arterial thickening has been shown to be a precursor of arterial narrowing and to predict clinical coronary artery disease," added Trevisan.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=6345833

10. Michigan: Aftermath of the Tax Cuts, Working Poor Paying More; Meals on Wheels Waiting Lists Grow

("Special Report: Tax Cut Impact," The Detroit News, September 26, 2004)

To pay for federal tax cuts, many programs that served the working poor were reduced or eliminated as the deficit grew. This special report on "withering government assistance shows working poor and destitute Americans are increasingly likely to be put on waiting lists for help, receive reduced services, or be denied service entirely. shows that the amount of money millions of Americans now pay for services ranging from child care to housing is greater than the amount they saved through the tax cuts. In many cases, the poorest lost services and got no tax cut at all. Articles from this series include "Working poor suffer under Bush tax cuts," "Poor juggle bills as heat aid dries up," and "Meals on Wheels pares back from hot food to frozen."

http://www.detnews.com/specialreport/index.htm

"Meals on Wheels pares back from hot food to frozen"

Because federal funding for the Meals on Wheels program has stagnated while the needs of the senior population have grown, shut-in seniors who are on the waiting list for the federally-subsidized hot meals program will not get help unless a current participant drops out or dies. Some seniors have been waiting for more than a year. Feeding those on the waiting list would cost an additional $181 million nationally, the equivalent of 1 percent of the Bush tax cut on capital gains and dividends this year. Meals on Wheels is seen as an inexpensive way to keep seniors out of costly managed care.

http://www.detnews.com/2004/specialreport/0409/26/a15-284398.htm

11. Massachusetts: School Cafeterias Getting Healthier

("Healthy choices in cafeteria lines," The Republican, September 26, 2004)

Cafeterias in Greenfield District schools got healthier, and lunch lines are getting longer. The proportion of elementary children eating school lunch rose from 71 percent two years ago to 89 percent last year. In middle school and high school, the participation jumped from 26 to 59 percent. Vending machines in schools are off until after 1 p.m. every day, and children punch in an identification code before buying from the cafeteria line so parents can know their children's diet.

http://tinyurl.com/637bh

12. California: Teens Want Healthier Food

("Teens want healthier food," Marin Independent Journal, September 28, 2004)

Many Marin County students would choose salad over fries and juice over soda if they were available on their school menus. About 53 percent of the 550 high school students responding to an online survey said they would eat at school, instead of at off-campus restaurants, if additional food choices were available. "Many of the results (of the study) come as no surprise," said Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma. "Their (students') attendance is better and they do better in school when their stomachs are full - especially full of nutritious food." Maureen Sedonaen, president of the Youth Leadership Institute says young people "want healthier choices" and would want them "if they were provided."

http://www.marinij.com/Stories/0,1413,234~24407~2431787,00.html

13. California: Healthy Eating Would Bring Big Economic Boost to California Farmers

("Healthful Eating Would Bring Big Economic Boost to California Farmers," September 27, 2004)

If Californians were to follow long-established recommendations to eat more fruits and vegetables, it would benefit not just their health, but net an estimated $460 million to $1.44 billion for fruit and vegetable farmers annually, according to a report published by the University of California Agricultural Issues Center (AIC). Much larger impacts would result if all U.S. consumers, not just those in California, ate more fruits and vegetables.

http://tinyurl.com/67y7n

14. Colorado: Food Aid Pours in to Fill Gap

("Citizens respond to plea for food," Rocky Mountain News, September 29, 2004)

Due to a computer glitch in the state computers, a backlog in processing food stamps has forced thousands of families to turn to the local food banks, which have been running low on supply. More than a dozen schools, citizen groups and businesses launched food drives Tuesday in response to Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper's call for food donations to help needy families.

http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_3216705,00.html