FRAC News Digest - November 26, 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 44, November 26, 2004

Congress to Approve $35 Billion for Food Stamps, $12 Billion for Child Nutrition Programs
Congress Boosts Spending for Some Programs for Poor, Cuts Others
U.S. Poverty and Hunger Left Aside as Public Issues
36.6. Million Americans in Hungry, Food Insecure Households in 2003
Media Cover FRAC Report that Finds More Children Eating School Breakfast, Many Going Without
After Welfare Reform, Many Workers Still Need Help
South Carolina: Obesity a New Face of Poverty
South Carolina: After Hollings, Voice for Poor Needed
Oregon: State Hunger Rate No Longer Worst in Nation
Florida: State Welfare Office Closings Leave Poor and Employees Stranded
Washington, D.C.: Jobless Rate Low, but So Is Pay
Colorado: Federal Report Slams State Welfare Backlog
New York: City Council Blasts Mayor for Poor Food Stamp Services
New York: Number of Hungry New Yorkers Up
Illinois: Families in Poverty on Rise in Chicago
Illinois: More New Mothers and Children Benefiting from WIC Nutrition Program

1. Congress to Approve $35 Billion for Food Stamps, $12 Billion for Child Nutrition Programs

(Food Research and Action Center, November 23, 2004)

Congressional lawmakers approved a conference report on annual spending for an array of federal programs, including the food stamp and child nutrition programs. The fiscal year 2005 Omnibus Conference Report funds the Food Stamp Program at $35.155 billion, the child nutrition programs at $11.8 billion, and Women, Infants and Children (WIC) at $5.277 billion. All discretionary programs are subject to a .83% across-the-board reduction. (The discretionary federal food programs are WIC; Commodity Supplemental Food Program; Farmers' Market Nutrition Program; administrative funding for The Emergency Food Assistance Program; and the Bill Emerson and Mickey Leland Hunger Fellowships.) A final vote on the omnibus spending bill is expected to occur on December 6th.

http://www.frac.org/Legislative/Omnibus_FY2005.html

2. Congress Boosts Spending for Some Programs for Poor, Cuts Others

("Big spending bill makes a winner of Mars program but many losers elsewhere," New York Times, November 22, 2004)

Congress approved a spending bill over the November 20-21 weekend that gave modest increases in funding for nutrition aid and rental assistance for poor families, but some other programs for the poor were cut. The nutrition program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) received its largest budget ever, $5.2 billion, up from $4.6 billion in the last fiscal year. Experts said this should be sufficient to serve the eight million families that are expected to apply for aid. In a reflection of a growing need among the working poor, demonstrated in lengthening lines at food banks and pantries, Congress approved an increase of nearly $1.5 billion in the food stamp program. The Low-Income Housing Energy Assistance Program was allocated an increase of more than 15 percent, to $2.2 billion this year from $1.9 billion last year. However, the increase in the program, which helps poor people meet their winter home-heating costs, lags far behind increases in fuel prices. The new bill will have little effect on decreasing the budget deficit, which climbed to $412 billion in 2004. The president had promised during the campaign to halve the deficit by the end of his term. Administration and Congressional budget analysts expect that domestic discretionary spending will increase about 1 percent in fiscal year 2005, which began on October 1, and will decline slightly after adjusting for inflation.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/23/politics/23spend.html?oref=login

3. U.S. Poverty and Hunger Left Aside as Public Issues

("Shh, Don't Say 'Poverty'," New York Times, November 22, 2004)

With the recently released numbers from USDA that 12 million U.S. families worried about putting enough food on the table in 2003, this op-ed by New York Times columnist Bob Herbert calls the number "dismal...for a country as well-to-do as the United States." Of the 12 million families, 3.9 million had members who went hungry at some point last year. "The other two-thirds...obtained enough food to avoid hunger using a variety of coping strategies," the federal report said, "such as eating less varied diets, participating in federal food assistance programs, or getting emergency food from community food pantries or emergency kitchens." The report's introduction says, "The implied bargain America offers its citizens is supposed to be that anyone who works hard and plays by the rules can support his or her family and move onward and upward." If that was the bargain, we've broken it again and again, writes Herbert.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/22/opinion/22herbert.html?oref=login

4. 36.6. Million Americans in Hungry, Food Insecure Households in 2003

As reported in last week's Digest, on Friday, November 19th, USDA issued the annual food insecurity report for 2003.

See the report "Household Food Security in the United States, 2003":
http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/fanrr42/

FRAC's press release on "Household Food Security in the United States, 2003":
http://www.frac.org/Press_Release/11.19.04.html

Related story:
"12 million U.S. families affected by hunger in '03," Star Tribune, November 20, 2004

About 12.6 million families, or 11.2 percent of all U.S. households, had at least one member who went hungry or worried about hunger at some time last year, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Food Research and Action Center said the reach of federal nutrition programs remains inadequate. "More hunger and food insecurity mean more children who have trouble at school, more illness among children and adults, less ability to purchase a balanced and nutrition diet and higher levels of anxiety for parents trying to make ends meet," said FRAC's director of child nutrition, Lynn Parker.

http://www.startribune.com/stories/484/5096082.html

5. Media Cover FRAC Report that Finds More Children Eating School Breakfast, Many Going Without

(Food Research and Action Center, November 18, 2004)

As reported in last week's Digest, FRAC issued its annual "School Breakfast Scorecard" on Thursday, November 18th. The report found more than 7.1 million children received free or reduced price meals in the 2003-2004 school year, but 9.4 million low-income students who participate in school lunch still go without school breakfast. The report, which offers state-by-state data and state rankings, generated national media attention. For a news roundup, visit the link below.

http://www.frac.org/Press_Release/11.18.04.html

6. After Welfare Reform, Many Workers Still Need Help

("After PRWORA: Barriers to employment, work, and well-being among current and former welfare recipients," National Poverty Center," Fall 2004)

Many former welfare recipients remain poor after welfare reform, according to the latest "Poverty Research Insights" newsletter. The current issue of the newsletter reviews several studies on the impact of welfare reform on former recipients' well-being. Among the findings are that some women who leave welfare for work lose some or all of their public benefits, including Food Stamps and Medicaid. A synthesis of studies found that about a quarter or more recent welfare recipients experience food hardships, including problems having enough food at some point after leaving TANF. Similar percentages have trouble paying rent or utilities. Additionally, welfare leavers might incur work-related costs such as child care and transportation. Also of concern is the small but growing proportion of welfare leavers who are neither working nor receivng welfare.

http://www.npc.umich.edu/publications/newsletter/fall04/index.shtml

7. South Carolina: Obesity a New Face of Poverty

("35 years later, poor face new maladies," The State, November 21, 2004)

While the stark hunger that stalked the state decades ago has largely disappeared thanks to federally funded programs and food banks, obesity is afflicting many of the state's poorest people. Overweight is leading to diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension. Overeating to compensate for times without food, and using inadequate resources to purchase filling but less nutritious foods are tendencies among low-income persons, both of which can lead to overweight. South Carolina's retiring U.S. Senator, Sen. Ernest Fritz Hollings, believes there is little political will today to tackle complex poverty and health issues. In 1969 Hollings toured the poor area of the state. "We had a conscience about the hunger and we said, wait a minute, South Carolina can't get ahead unless we start taking care of this minority population," said Hollings. His 1970 book, "The Case Against Hunger," called for a national policy to eliminate malnutrition. If Hollings visited today, he "wouldn't find the hovels, but the poverty would be just as real, the lack of food would be just as real, the lack of health care would be just as real," said Rep. Joe Neal, (D-Richland), pastor of the Calvary Baptist Church.

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/10236638.htm

8. South Carolina: After Hollings, Voice for Poor Needed

("After Hollings, new voice needed to champion poor," The State, November 23, 2004)

Thirty-five years ago, U.S. Sen. Fritz Hollings broke the silence about hunger in South Carolina by saying many in the state went to bed cold and hungry. As Hollings exits public life, many say South Carolina will be hard pressed to find a high-profile politician, in Washington or Columbia, to focus on issues of the poor. More than 500,000 South Carolinians remain in poverty, many in substandard housing. The Food Research and Action Center ranks the state ninth in the nation in “food insecure” households, defined as the inability, for financial reasons, to enjoy a sufficient diet at all times.

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/local/10250967.htm

9. Oregon: State Hunger Rate No Longer Worst in Nation

("State hunger rate no longer worst in U.S.," OregonLive.com, November 20, 2004)

The percentage of Oregon households reporting hunger has declined, from worst in the nation from 1995 to 2001, to eighth worst in the most recent period that ended last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports. Bruce Weber, an economist at Oregon State University, and Holly Wilkalis of the Oregon Hunger Relief Task Force credit the decrease to efforts that enrolled more people for food stamp and other federal food programs. During 2001-2003, Oregon increased the number of households receiving food stamps by 34 percent, to 135,000 households. Oregon this month received a $1.9 million bonus from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for expanding its food stamp program more than all but three other states last year. "It shows that food stamps work, and we've done a good job at getting that assistance to families," said Michael Leachman, policy analyst for the Oregon Center for Public Policy.

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1100955544155870.xml

10. Florida: State Welfare Office Closings Leave Poor and Employees Stranded

("DCF closing welfare offices," Herald Tribune, November 20, 2004)

At a time when more Floridians than ever may be needing a helping hand from the state because of this season's hurricanes, state officials are aggressively pushing a plan to close more local welfare offices. The closings could affect 750 state employees and 2.3 million poor Floridians, including the 1.7 million who receive health care through Medicaid and another 600,000 who use food stamps. The offices help screen people for eligibility for public programs. The state plans to replace the offices with a system that allows the poor to access services through a phone network, the Internet, and local community agencies. Many question the closings in light of the jobless and homeless rates after the hurricanes, the expertise of state workers that will be lost, and doubts that many of the poor, particularly in remote rural areas, will be able to use the new system.

http://tinyurl.com/4rjnd

11. Washington, D.C.: Jobless Rate Low, but So Is Pay

("Jobless Rate Low, but So Is Pay," Washington Post, November 21, 2004)

Even with low unemployment in the outer suburban Washington, D.C. area, applications for food stamps are growing at a faster rate than the population. Many of the jobs being created are lower-paying ones in retail and services. In Loudon, the number of families on food stamps has almost doubled since the middle of the recession in 2001, from about 700 to 1,350 in July. Some social services officials attribute the rise in food stamp demand partly to the huge jump in housing costs. The federal government has been encouraging more eligible people to apply for food stamps, but local officials say that outreach effort is just one of several forces behind the increased demand for benefits.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64391-2004Nov20.html

12. Colorado: Federal Report Slams State Welfare Backlog

("Federal report blasts state welfare backlog," Rocky Mountain News, November 23, 2004)

A federal report highly critical of Colorado's new computerized welfare program says hundreds of families are waiting months to get food stamps and 80 percent of the state's food stamp caseload did not receive a cost-of-living adjustment to their benefits on October 1, as required by law. In a letter to the Colorado Department of Human Services, the U.S. Department of Agriculture criticized the state's new computerized welfare benefits system that has created a backlog in processing applications for public assistance. The feds ordered the state to reduce its backlog because it violates federal law. The USDA report also asks for a corrective plan of action and a report to be made by the end of the month.

http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_3347996,00.html

13. New York: City Council Blasts Mayor for Poor Food Stamp Services

("Pols have beef on food stamps," New York Daily News, November 21, 2004)

City Council officials charged the mayor's administration with not doing enough to ensure that hungry New Yorkers get the food stamps to which they are entitled. Nearly 2 million New Yorkers are eligible for food stamps, but only about half that number get them - a loss of as much as $1.5 billion in services a year, according to the City Council. Council investigators, in their visits to 36 food stamps offices, found problems such as inordinately long lines, a lack of written information and, in some cases, no food stamp applications at all. Council Eric Gioia (D-Queens) recommended allowing hungry New Yorkers to submit Internet applications for food stamps and requiring the centers to keep longer hours.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/254747p-218161c.html

14. New York: Number of Hungry New Yorkers Up

("Record Demand, Fewer Resources at NYC Feeding Programs," New York City Coalition Against Hunger, November 23, 2004)

The number of people going hungry and the number of working poor in New York City have risen since last year, according to the report "Empty Plates, Empty Pantries" by the New York Coalition Against Hunger (NYCCAH). The city's kitchens and pantries fed an estimated 9 percent more people in 2004 than in 2003, even though state budget cuts have forced a record 48 agencies to shut down entirely. Of the agencies that were able to stay in business, limited resources forced more than half (53%) to ration their food by either turning away hungry New Yorkers, reducing portion size, and/or cutting hours of operation. "Parents are working hard and playing by the rules – working 40, 50, and sometimes even 60 hours every week – but their children still face hunger," said NYCCAH executive director Joel Berg. Berg called for the federal and state governments to raise the minimum wage, to expand the number of workers covered by the City living wage law, for city government to remove barriers of access to the Food Stamp Program, and ensure more children take advantage of the universal school breakfast program.

http://www.nyccah.org/media/SurveyPressRelease2004.doc

Download the report "Empty Plates, Empty Pantries":
http://www.nyccah.org/media/full%20report%20text04.pdf

15. Illinois: Families in Poverty on Rise in Chicago

("Families in poverty on rise, study shows," Chicago Tribune, November 23, 2004)

More Chicago-area families are scraping to get by, according to a new study that shows the percentage of those living at or just below the poverty line increased from 8 percent in 1989 to 11 percent in 1999, even though at least one family member was working. In the city of Chicago, that number was one in six families according to the study, "Working Poor Families in Chicago and the Chicago Metropolitan Area," by researchers at the Chicago Urban League, Roosevelt University, and Northern Illinois University. "It's distressing," said Paul Street, a co-author of the study. "The American Dream depends on the idea that if you work, you should be OK."

http://tinyurl.com/4z3n6

See the study "Working Poor Families in Chicago and the Chicago Metropolitan Area":
http://www.cgsniu.org/publications/publications.htm

16. Illinois: More New Mothers and Children Benefiting from WIC Nutrition Program

("WIC caseloads rise as word of program spreads," Qunicy Herald Whig, November 22, 2004)

"Around here, we drink milk like water. You've got to be healthy," said Alicia Ehrhardt, a participant of the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) nutrition program. If she did not receive WIC benefits, she would have to cut back on drinking milk, she says. A growing number of women like Ehrhardt and her four young boys are taking advantage of the program, which provides nutritious food, nutrition counseling and referrals to health and other social services at no charge to low-income expectant mothers, new mothers, infants, and young children. The WIC caseload in Adams County has increased dramatically in the past five years, and in particular in recent months. "I don't think we're unique," says Lois Hendrickson, WIC coordinator. The increase is "mostly the economy, and food prices have been up lately."

http://www.whig.com/286132130059182.php