The Weekly Food Research and Action Center 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.

1. FRAC Guide Aims to Maximize Country’s Use of Federal Nutrition Programs
(glasscityjungle.com, February 25, 2010)

FRAC’s recently-released publication titled “Smart Choices in Hard Times” aims to help state and local use of federal nutrition programs in order to assist the millions of families and children struggling with the recession. “Officials can use the strategies outlined in this guide to make ‘smart choices’ and maximize federal nutrition benefits,” notes this blog posting. “Advocates can use the strategies to prioritize suggestions to policymakers and help guide efforts to improve the breadth and depth of the programs.” The posting also notes FRAC’s recent report on food hardship, and includes these statistics:

18.5% of U.S. households have experienced food insecurity in the previous 12 months.
24.1% of U.S. households with children have experienced food insecurity in the previous 12 months.
In 311 Congressional districts, 15 percent or more of those surveyed said they had recently lacked money to buy enough food.

2. Indiana’s Needy Receiving Millions in Stimulus Fund-Related SNAP/Food Stamps
(WXIN, February 19, 2010)

Nearly $169 million in SNAP/Food Stamps and other benefits, delivered through the federal stimulus package, have gone to Indiana’s needy, according to SNAP/Food Stamp officials. The stimulus provided additional SNAP/Food Stamp benefits to recipients. In November 2009, more than 780,000 Indiana recipients took advantage of the nutrition program, 18 percent more than in November 2008. The stimulus also provided more than $4 million to Indiana’s food banks, soup kitchens, and school meals.

3. Michigan Governor’s Budget Proposes Hiring More SNAP/Food Stamp Workers
(WLNS, February 18, 2010)

Hundreds of caseworkers could be hired to deal with the increase in SNAP/Food Stamp applications, as well as boost child welfare services, in Michigan if Governor Jennifer Granholm’s proposed budget is passed. It would take an additional $100 million from the state’s general fund and increased spending for the Department of Human Services. Michigan lawmakers recently began hearings on the proposed budget; the budget proposal is for the new fiscal year that starts October 1, 2010.

4. States Decrease SNAP/Food Stamp and Other Assistance Staff, Hours to Battle Budget Gaps

Nevada
(Las Vegas Sun, February 26, 2010)
Nevada’s government workers will start working a four-day week soon in order cut into the state’s $882 million budget deficit this year, and forecasters see a 2011 deficit of $2 to $3 billion. “I’m concerned that we can’t do a four-day workweek at our welfare office,” said Health and Human Services Director Mike Willden (who plans to seek an exemption to the four-day week). “Theoretically, it’s the same 40 hours, but it’s a compaction issue. We have 1,000 people a day applying for benefits. I don’t think we can compact that into 4 days.” A quarter-million Nevadans currently receive SNAP/Food Stamps, noted Willden, and budget cuts have already lengthened application lines and waiting times. Last year, the welfare office processed 95 percent of SNAP/Food Stamp applications within 10 days for emergency applications or 30 days for all other cases. It now only meets that deadline for 80 percent of cases.

California
(Santa Maria Times, February 25, 2010)
In California’s Santa Barbara County, supervisors are coming up with plans for battling a $40 million budget gap for the 2010-11 fiscal year. Board members were told that there aren’t enough funds to maintain the safety net programs run through the Department of Social Service (DSS). DSS faces a $700,000 cut in county funds, a drop in vehicle license fees, and $2.8 million more in salaries and benefits; the department may have to cut 56 positions and leave 74 vacant position unfilled. However, SNAP/Food Stamp, general relief, CalWORKs, and foster care have increased by nearly 40 percent in the past five years. Staff cuts would delay applications for SNAP/Food Stamps, adding in a four-to-six week waiting period. “We talk about public safety and how important that is, but when we talk about children and families not being able to get their essential food and protections and all those, which are equally as important,” said county supervisor Salud Carbajal.

Hawaii
(Honolulu Advertiser, February 26, 2010)
Hawaii proposes to cut costs by closing 31 welfare eligibility locations, which would eliminate 232 state worker positions. Advocates fear the closures could reduce access to SNAP/Food Stamps and other assistance programs. Two large processing centers – in Honolulu and Hilo – would handle the work previously done in the eligibility locations. “It is true that applicants and ongoing clients will not be seen in person at the proposed two…processing centers and they will be encouraged to make contact by phone, fax, mail or online,” said Human Services Director Lillian Koller. “However, for residents who are unable or unwilling to make contact by one of these methods, they will still be able to apply in person.”

5. Grant in Massachusetts to Help Boost Federal Nutrition Programs
(Worcester Telegram, February 23, 2010)

A project of the Worcester (Mass.) Food Advisory Council, titled Hunger-Free & Healthy, received a $354,375 grant from the Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts. The project will use the funds to increase access to SNAP/Food Stamps, increase free school breakfast participation, and improve the quality of food in Worcester public schools. The grant raises the amount of money the foundation has given the program to $1.1 million. Janice Yost, foundation president, noted that the program fundamentally changes how hunger is addressed.

6. Child Support Payments in New Hampshire Decrease; Affected Families Can Get More SNAP/Food Stamps
(Eagle-Tribune, February 21, 2010)

“In the food stamp program, if child support is reduced, that’s less income in the household and more food stamps are provided as a result,” said Terry Smith, director of the New Hampshire Division of Family Assistance. Since June 2008, the number of SNAP/Food Stamp recipients in the state rose 50 percent. In 2009, child support collection by the Division of Child Support Services dropped 6.7 percent, with unemployment being the chief reason for the decrease. “All parties are impacted” by this economy, said Mary Weatherill, the division’s director. “[B]oth the person responsible for paying support and the family on the receiving end.” There’s also been an increase in the number of people asking to have child support payments reduced, and more parents than in recent years are agreeing to the lower payments.

7. San Diego Works to Boost SNAP/Food Stamp Participation Through New Initiative
(San Diego Union-Tribune, February 21, 2010; Voice of San Diego, February 25, 2010)

“Thrive San Diego” is the title of an initiative to boost SNAP/Food Stamp participation. A partnership between the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency, San Diego State University, California State University San Marcos, and community groups serving low-income families, the initiative will have college students and volunteers help social service workers screen families for SNAP/Food Stamp eligibility, as well as help them receive the Earned Income Tax Credit. At a news conference announcing the plan, county supervisor, Greg Cox, said “These are obviously difficult economic times, and that has increased the demand for county services. We recognize the need and are trying to find innovative ways to address that need.” Only 35 percent of eligible county residents received SNAP/Food Stamps, according to a report by the Food Research and Action Center. Still, enrollment has climbed, from more than 100,000 in January 2008 to nearly 168,000 in January 2010. But eligible residents who sign up through this initiative may have to wait for their benefits. “It’s great to get more people knowing about food stamps and applying,” said William Oswalk, a Springfield College professor and community volunteer, “but at this point, about half of the applications are taking longer than 30 days to process. I wish they would put as much attention toward figuring out how to make the system work once people get in.” Oswald is co-author of a report which details the county’s treatment of poor people; the report notes that the computer used for the program in the county generates contradictory letters to participants, who have said it’s tough to get answers over the phone. SNAP/Food Stamp applicants are required to allow investigators to search their homes, an anti-fraud measure the report calls for cancelling. The Hyatt family has seen firsthand the difficulties in applying. On a recent Monday afternoon, Christine Hyatt and her husband traveled to a county center for a fingerprinting appointment; once at the center, they had to wait 30 minutes to be called. “Criminals get fingerprinted, so in my mind that’s what pops up,” said Hyatt. After submitting more documents, a county worker told the family they would be notified if more information was required. The Hyatts expect now to wait, but don’t know how long. “I expect the worst and prepare for the worst especially when it comes to the county,” said Hyatt. “They always take a long time anyway.”

8. SNAP/Food Stamp Applicants Wait While Connecticut Struggles with Backlog
(Hartford Courant, February 21, 2010)

According to Suzette Strickland, food stamp policy manager at End Hunger CT!, state workers are carrying twice the manageable number of caseloads. And more applicants arrive, especially first-time clients, like one woman who ended up trying to get her questions answered four times, and once waited four hours only to be told she needed additional documents. Strickland offers this advice to applicants: Be persistent, be proactive, and don’t wait for a call back. Keep copies of everything submitted, and get documents stamped with the date to prove they’ve been submitted. She also suggests getting an advocate, who can help with the constantly changing application rules – although advocates are stretched as thin as workers.

9. Florida Counties See Rise in SNAP/Food Stamp Numbers
(Bay News 9, February 21, 2010)

In Florida’s Manatee County, 10,000 additional residents received SNAP/Food Stamps in 2009 compared to 2008, a 50 percent increase. Hillsborough County’s participation was up 48 percent, to 200,000 residents. And 37 percent more residents in Pinellas and Pasco counties received the benefit. An estimated 1.8 million Floridians – 30 percent more than last year – receive SNAP/Food Stamps, and in December 2009, the state’s SNAP/Food Stamp hotline received more than three million calls. “I don’t think we will continue to see this kind of increase,” said Terry Field of the Department of Children and Families. “We hope we don’t. I think we will be stable for the next few years.”

10. SNAP/Food Stamps Still Hard to Access in NYC, Public Advocate Writes
(The New York Times, February 21, 2010)

“It is still incredibly difficult to get food stamps in New York City,” writes Public Advocate Bill de Blasio in this letter to the editor commenting on the article “Food Stamps Finding New Acceptance as Enrollment Surges.” The city’s finger imaging requirement discourages potential applicants, and the practice has not been shown to prevent fraud. He notes that even Kevin Concannon, Under Secretary of Agriculture, says “the jury is out” on whether it really works. Blasio notes that the city has become less hostile to applicants over the past decade, but writes “there is still more to be done to ensure that families in need can gain access” to the benefit.

11. California Bay Area 211 Calls Increase
(Mercury News, February 19, 2010)

Calls for assistance to the 211 line in a nine-county area of California, including Marin, Napa, San Francisco, and Solano counties, increased 39 percent last year to 200,000 calls. Requests for help finding food, clothing, shelter and other needs increased by more than half, suggesting that nonprofits and government agencies are struggling to provide assistance in the face of budget cutbacks to more and more people affected by the recession. Agencies running the 211 lines say they’re struggling themselves with the load, and some calls must be cut short. “We are stretched to the max here,” said Barbara Bernstein, executive director of Alameda County’s Eden I&R, which provides 2-1-1 service in that county. “We’ve gotten over 500 calls in one day.” Last year, Eden I&R answered 83,000 calls, amounting to 10 an hour. “It’s beyond a growing awareness,” said Bernstein. “It’s the growing reality. More people are being laid off, some for the very first time at the exact same time there are less services. It’s not a pretty picture.”

12. Norfolk Mayor Urges Replacement of School Breakfast Program Budget Cuts
(Virginian-Pilot, February 20, 2010)

Norfolk Virginia’s Mayor Paul Fraim termed “unacceptable” Gov. Bob McDonnell’s proposed reduction in school breakfast program funds. The state also plans to cut $40 million in state aid to the city’s schools, which the Mayor finds “catastrophic.” Mayor Fraim said the city “will do everything possible to increase our funding for the schools. We are duty-bound to do the right thing for our children.” He also asked City Manager Regina V.K. Williams to compensate for the cuts by increasing city aid to the public schools.

13. S.C. Ranks Second in National for Breakfast Participation
(WCIV, February 22, 2010; Greenville Online, February 23, 2010)

In South Carolina, 60.2 percent of students participated in both the school lunch and school breakfast program in 2009, ranking the state second in the nation in school breakfast participation according to the Food Research and Action Center. All public schools in the state have been required to offer the federally funded School Breakfast Program since the 1993-94 school year. Each year, the program serves nearly 37 million breakfasts, with an average of 222,500 students receiving breakfast each day, 84 percent of which are free or reduced-price. Rising poverty rates are making the program even more important, notes State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex. “Nationally, we’ve seen a real increase in breakfast participation among low-income children both because of the recession and because states generally have slowly been increasing breakfast use, but participation is just not growing fast enough,” said FRAC President Jim Weill. “States can do a better job of reaching more children, and also Congress needs to take steps to make it easier for schools and children to reap the benefits of school breakfast.” In South Carolina’s Greenville County, only 37 percent – one out of every three students - eating free or reduced-price lunch also receive school breakfast. One reason, cited by school district spokesman Oby Lyles, could be that students are arriving too late to get breakfast at school. There’s a school board proposal to start the school day fifteen minutes later, as nearly half of middle school buses, and one-third of high school buses, have been arriving late. Earlier buses, however, would also make it easier for students to access breakfast at school.

14. Wisconsin Event Aims to Boost School Breakfast Participation
(WXOW, February 23, 2010)

Community and business leaders joined students and parents at Wisconsin’s Onalaska High School recently for “Taste of School Breakfast,” an event aimed at getting more students to eat the morning meal at school. The event provided a chance for attendees “to come and see what school breakfast is all about…and to learn about the importance of school breakfast for teenage children,” said Katie Wilson, the school nutrition director. Getting teenagers to eat breakfast is vital, noted Wilson, even though it can be difficult. “Today we live in a very rushed society,” she said, “we have parents going off to work, kids getting on buses very early, and I like to make sure that people understand that breakfast is for all children, not just those of financial need.” The event highlighted the many choices of breakfast items available to students.