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(Washington, D.C.) March 15, 2006 – Eight key federal nutrition programs reach a significant number of low-income children and adults and respond effectively to changes in need caused by disasters as well as economic downturns. Still, they are leaving major gaps for vulnerable people in every state, according to the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) annual report, “State of the States: A Profile of Food and Nutrition Programs Across the Nation.” Moreover, some of the President’s budget cut proposals would widen those gaps.

“Food stamps, school meals, and other national nutrition programs are proven ‘responders’: they provide nutritious food to those in need, whether the need is driven by a weak and changing economy or by natural disaster,” said FRAC President Jim Weill. “Nonetheless, the programs could be reaching far more vulnerable people and providing them more adequate benefits. Budget proposals to terminate food stamps for 300,000 people in low-income working families, take away commodities from 420,000 elderly people, and undermine the WIC Program for mothers, infants and children are the wrong choices. Instead, we should be building on the success of the nation’s nutrition programs so that no one goes hungry in America.”

Updated with the latest data derived from official government sources, FRAC’s State of the States provides a comprehensive state-by-state snapshot of the extent of hunger, and of states' use of federal nutrition resources to address needs. The federal nutrition programs covered are: Food Stamps, School Lunch, School Breakfast, Summer Food, the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), WIC, The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP). The report also details economic and social indicators such as food insecurity, poverty, unemployment, and minimum wage levels.

Strong Responder to Disasters

“Food stamps and the child nutrition programs were important ‘responders’ in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma,” said FRAC President Jim Weill. “Food stamps alone provided this past autumn about $1 billion in aid that helped victims feed their families and boosted economies in the hardest hit areas.” According to FRAC, the effective food stamp support for hurricane survivors was due to a combination of factors: the entitlement structure of the program, which allowed it to respond quickly to deep and urgent need; strong leadership from political appointees and career officials at the U.S. Department of Agriculture; key efforts of state governments; efficiency of the Electronic Benefit Transfer delivery system; and outreach and advocacy by non-profit groups.

Recent Program Trends

State of the States analyzes the substantial nutrition program variation from state to state and year to year. FRAC Senior Policy Analyst Randy Rosso explained, “A recent general trend in greater participation in the federal nutrition programs is due not only to the continuing weak labor market, but to national and state policy improvements, as well as to more innovative education, outreach and enrollment practices to connect eligible people with benefits.”

For example, from August 2000 to August 2005, food stamp participation rose from 17 million to nearly 26 million people. Four hundred thousand more low-income children got school breakfast every day in the 2004-2005 school year than in the prior year—and the total of 7.5 million low-income children in 2004-2005 was more than double the level in 1990. The number of children eating federally-funded afterschool snacks grew to 1.4 million children, a 113 percent increase since FY 1999.

Service Gaps in States Cost People and Communities

Nonetheless, gaps in service exist in all the programs and recent growth trends do not fully make up for prior reductions in the scope of the nutrition safety net. The Food Stamp Program misses more than four in ten eligible people overall, and misses more than seven in ten eligible elderly persons. For every 100 low-income children who eat school lunch each day, only 44 participate in breakfast and only 19 participate in summer nutrition programs.

The gaps in the reach of the nutrition safety net are especially disturbing given the large numbers of people who live in households that are hungry or living on the edge of hunger, facing losses in their health and school preparedness, and whose receipt of benefits could boost their local economies. According to U.S. government estimates, 38.2 million Americans live in hungry or “food insecure” households.

Outlook: Budget Cuts Threaten; Better Choices Offer Progress

“Depending on the choices our nation makes, we can make progress in ending hunger or slide further away from that goal,” warned Weill. “The President’s FY 2007 Budget proposes nutrition program cuts that would: limit states’ ability to get food stamps to 300,000 people in working families with children which are low income but not receiving cash welfare; weaken the WIC program; eliminate the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) that provides nutrition assistance to 420,000 low-income elderly people; and eliminate the Community Food and Nutrition Program (CFNP) that supports local efforts to help needy families obtain nutrition benefits. These are the wrong priorities for the nation.”

“The nation has better choices available,” said Weill. “Congress could make a major difference for hungry children just by allowing more states to operate the Summer Food Program under simplified rules available now in 26 states and Puerto Rico (the so-called Lugar pilot states). Those rules changes are sensible, reduce red tape and help get children nutritious meals when school is out.”

Moreover, according to FRAC, w ise state choices and steps to replicate best practices from other states can bring in substantial federal funds through these programs in order to help more struggling families and stimulate the economy. For example, based on USDA research, FRAC estimates that every $1 in 100 percent federally-funded food stamps generates nearly $2 of economic activity in a state.

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The Food Research and Action Center (www.frac.org) is the leading national organization working for more effective public and private policies to eradicate domestic hunger and undernutrition.

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