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. Georgia SNAP/Food Stamp Workers May Lose Jobs to Budget Shortfall
( Rome News-Tribune, February 26, 2010)

There may be fewer workers to process Georgia’s SNAP/Food Stamp applications as the state faces a possible $1 billion-plus budget shortfall for the fiscal year beginning July 2011. Other services run by the state would be affected as well, and 5,000 of the state’s 70,000 employees could be laid off. “We’ve got large caseloads on the ground and one furlough day a month,” said Department of Human Services Commissioner B.J. Walker. “It’s not easy and it’s very rough out there.” The agency could lose 137 SNAP/Food Stamp and Medicaid eligibility workers, which would slow down application processing time from 30 days to 50 days, Walker said. In addition, education officials bracing for more budget cuts are proposing cutting back the number of days children are in school rather than adding to unpaid furlough days for teachers. The shortfall could also force the state to raise college tuitions and lower payments to Medicaid providers. Republicans had pledged to not raise taxes at the beginning of this year’s legislative session. The dire budget outlook, however, is forcing some to say taxes and fee increases may be needed to be increased in order to head off other drastic cuts.

2. USDA Rewards Delaware for SNAP/Food Stamp Participation
(WDEL, February 24, 2010)

Delaware improved access to SNAP/Food Stamps, achieving an application processing accuracy rate of 99 percent, and was one of eight states receiving awards from the state’s Department of Health and Human Services for its efforts. USDA Under Secretary Kevin Concannon presented the award to the state - a cash bonus of $356,000.

3. California May Eliminate Program Providing Food Assistance to Some Populations
(Contra Costa Times, January 23, 2010)

The California Food Assistance Program, a food-stamp-like program run by the state which provides nutrition assistance to legal U.S. residents who have not lived in this country long enough to be eligible for the federal SNAP/Food Stamp Program, may be eliminated if Governor Schwarzenegger’s budget proposal is passed. In San Bernardino County, 1,500 families would be without the benefit if it is discontinued June 1. “The constituency who receives this are unaware of it in a way that would allow them to mobilize to fight it,” said Matthew Sharp of California Food Policy Advocates. “The benefits are invisible to the client,” since California residents apply for this program and SNAP/Food Stamps at the same time; some families have members who are eligible for the federal program and other members eligible for the state assistance. Many families get assistance from both programs, and receive combined benefits on their EBT cards. Last year, the Democratic-controlled legislature vetoed the cut. Sharp fears that the program could be successfully cut this year, since other state programs can’t sustain further cuts.

4. High SNAP/Food Stamp Demand in Colorado Causes Delays
(Greeley Tribune, March 2, 2010)

In Weld County ( Colo.), the increase in SNAP/Food Stamp applications has caused a backlog – the county’s Department of Health and Human Services is weeks behind in approving requests. Assistance payments administrator John Kruse said the agency is hiring and training more workers to reduce the load, but the delay will persist for awhile. The county has seen a 40 percent increase in SNAP/Food Stamp applications. In 2008, the county paid out $17 million in SNAP/Food Stamp benefits. In 2009, that number climbed to more than $27 million.

5. Nutrition and Other Forms of Assistance Available to Single Mother College Students in San Diego
(Daily Aztec, March 1, 2010)

In San Diego, college students who are also single mothers can take advantage of a number of programs that provide nutrition and other forms of assistance. They can get grocery vouchers through the WIC program, enabling them to purchase highly nutritious foods; the program also offers nutrition counseling, cooking demonstrations, breastfeeding classes and other help. The California Department of Education can provide assistance in paying for childcare. Expecting mothers can find a prenatal care provider, apply for Medi-Cal, and schedule doctor appointments through the Perinatal Care Network.

6. Michigan Food Navigators Project Aims to Boost School Meal Participation
(Crains Detroit, February 28, 2010 -- Article available by subscription only.)

In Southeast Michigan, the pilot Food Navigators program will hire 10 people in 2010 to help set up free meal programs in schools, and assist schools in developing in-classroom breakfast programs so that more children can participate. “We want to help so that kids who are hungry can be fed,” said Bill Sullivan, director of the 211 health and human services hotline for the United Way, which is sponsoring the project. “We think the food navigators will help schools achieve this, and by doing so…permanently (change) the system.” Sullivan noted that in the tri-county area, 290,000 children are eligible for free lunch (and most participate), but less than a third receive free breakfast, even though 81.5 percent of Michigan schools serve breakfast. “It’s harder for kids to participate in breakfast than in lunch, because…the buses would have to get there on time,” said Madeleine Levin, senior policy analyst at the Food Research and Action Center. “Kids that walk to school in Detroit may want to hang out in the school yard with their friends rather than eating breakfast… [serving breakfast in the classroom] takes a little bit of getting used to, but in the end everyone thinks the effort is worth it because kids benefit so much.” Levin noted that “research shows that offering breakfast at the beginning of the school day to all students in low-income districts reduces tardiness and absenteeism and improve their academic performance.” The United Way’s food navigator project “is a wonderful public-private partnership,” she added. FRAC is working with the United Way to encourage more low-income area schools to offer afterschool supper and snacks and summer meal programs.

7. School District in Wisconsin Starts Free Breakfast Program
(Wausau Daily Herald, February 28, 2010)

The 570 students in the Wausau (Wisc.) School District who received reduced-price schools now receive free breakfast, and don’t have to pay the 30 cents a day for the meal. Before the change, only 34 percent of students qualifying for reduced-price meals ate school breakfast. The District is looking to increase breakfast participation by 200 students and hopes to have the same success other school districts in the state have had by offering free breakfast. Those Wausau schools with higher breakfast participation have seen reduced student visits to the school nurse. Breakfast also helps students in the classroom. “The ones that have benefitted from having that breakfast are much more ready to go,” said Wausau science teacher Lisa Dunahee. The District will pay for the program through federal reimbursements. Last year, reduced-price breakfasts cost the District $53,500, and the government reimbursed all but $434 of that cost.

8. School Gears Up to Serve Meals to Students
(Southampton Press, March 2, 2010)

The Board of Springs School, in Southampton, New York, voted in early March to start offering food service to its 550 students. The move was spurred by an anonymous donation of $100,000 to start a meal program in response to media reports that children in the school were going hungry. The Board plans a three-phase plan to begin providing meals, and students could be eating breakfast at school by April and have a hot lunch program by September. The first phase includes purchasing refrigerators, freezers, a milk cooler, a cash register, a sink cart and electricity and will cost $30,000. Federal reimbursements for free and reduced-price meals will also help pay for the program. In a presentation to the school board, Superintendent Michael Hartner said that 190 students in the breakfast program would bring $56,000 in revenue and cost $48,000 to run. A lunch program (offering cold meals) would most likely break event at $104,000. Hartner began his position last fall, and has wanted to introduce school meals, partly because state and federal government gauge a school’s needs by the number of reduced-price school meals provided by the school.

9. Congressman Supports Child Nutrition Reauthorization in Remarks to School
(News Channel 34, March 1, 2010)

“I’m working in Washington on legislation to strengthen [the School Breakfast Program] and also on another piece to upgrade the funding for the program to make it strong, make it more effective, and make it easier for this school and other schools to bring in good high quality food and make sure that that good quality nutritious food gets to all of these students,” said Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) in a visit to New York’s Woodrow Wilson Elementary School. The school is part of the Binghamton City School District, which recently won an award in the Healthier US Schools Challenge for excellence in nutrition and physical activity. The Congressman is co-sponsoring the Universal Breakfast Expansion Act and the Access to Nutritious Meals for Young Children Act.

10. Record Numbers Get Free and Reduced-Price Lunch in One Alabama County
(The Clanton Advertiser, February 18, 2010)

The number of children in Alabama’s Chilton County receiving free or reduced-price school meals increased from 52 percent in January 2008 to 54 percent in January 2009, and then skyrocketed to 60 percent in January 2010. Higher unemployment is the most likely reason, said Pat Clements, child nutrition program director. Clements thinks that the current number of student receiving free or reduced-price school meals “is the highest it’s ever been.”

11. Lugar Bill Boosts Participation in Afterschool and Summer Nutrition Programs
(BigNews.biz, February 28, 2010)

U.S. Senator Dick Lugar (R-IN) has introduced a bill that would expand low-income children’s access to afterschool and summer nutrition programs. If passed, school districts with 40 percent of children qualifying for free or reduced-price school meals would be eligible for federal assistance in providing summer and afterschool programs. The current rate is 50 percent. In Indiana, 321 additional school districts would be eligible through the bill. “Proper nutrition is crucial to a child’s education,” said Sen. Lugar. “We have made good progress increasing participation by removing bureaucratic obstacles to the reimbursement process. This bill will appropriately place school nutrition programs on par with similar federal assistance programs and allow more children to receive nutritious meals and snacks.” Sen. Lugar and Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett sent a letter to organizations across the state in January asking for more sponsorship of summer food sites. Sen. Lugar introduced a pilot program in 13 states in 1999 which streamlined administrative procedures for the Summer Food Service Program. The “Lugar Pilots” were so successful that the Simplified Summer Food Program was expanded to all states. FRAC reported that Indiana’s participation increased 80 percent between 2002 and 2008. Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Bob Casey (D-PA) and Thad Cochran (R-MS) have co-sponsored Sen. Lugar’s new bill.

12. For Some Children, Bottled Water May Be Better Than Tap
(National Geographic News, March 3, 2010)

Children benefit nutritionally from drinking more bottled water and fewer sugary beverages. But environmental pressure to switch children from bottled water to tap water has challenges in Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. schools, where older pipes risk lead contamination. Lead affects physical and mental development; drinking water in 27 states is contaminated with lead and other toxic substances, according to a September 2009 Associated Press investigation. The high costs of lead remediation keep many school districts from testing their water. “Even when we offer to do the analysis for free, the majority of schools don’t want to know,” said Marc Edwards, a civil engineer at Virginia Tech. Lead-removing filters can be put on taps, said Edwards, and water fountains can be flushed after periods of stagnation, which would decrease lead levels. Baltimore City public schools found it was cheaper to offer students bottled water than tackle the lead problem in their pipes. The school system switched to bottled water after it discovered 10 out of 84 randomly-selected water fountains had lead levels higher than the EPA’s 20 parts per billion cutoff. “Environmentalists place a higher burden on people who drink water instead of soda, and that isn’t fair,” said Margo Wootan, director of nutrition for the Center for Science in the Public Interest. She noted that environmental groups should focus their campaigns on all bottled beverages, including soda, instead of singling out water.

13. Stimulus Working Says Congressional Budget Office
(Congress Daily, February 23, 2010)

In the fourth quarter of 2009, the stimulus package increased economic growth by 1.5 to 3.5 percent during that period, and added between 1 million and 2.1 million jobs, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Higher-than-expected unemployment and SNAP/Food Stamp spending raised the total price tag of the stimulus from $757 billion, as scored by CBO, to $867 billion. “The policies that were enacted in the stimulus bill are increasing [gross domestic product] and employment relative to what it would otherwise be,” said CBO Director Elmendorf at a Joint Economic Committee hearing on the best ways to create jobs.

(Article available by subscription only.)

14. Record Number of Households Apply for Heating Assistance
(The New York Times, February 23, 2010)

Record numbers of Americans have applied for heating assistance, increasing by 15 percent, with 8.8 million households projected to request funds to help heat their homes through the Low Income Heating Assistance Program (LIHEAP). California aid applications increased 17 percent, Michigan saw a 28 percent jump, New Jersey 24 percent and Wisconsin 210 percent. A large majority of recipients are low-income elderly and disabled people and families with incomes below the poverty line. In some states, households at 150 percent or double the poverty line are eligible for grants. Through the program, states provide households with grants averaging $500 – more in colder states where heating bills that can run to $1,800 or more during the winter. Congress, however, approved $5.1 billion – the same amount as last year – for the program, causing some states to stretch their money by reducing grant amounts. Some states may be forced to cut payments or scale back weatherization and summer cooling aid unless Congress votes for more program funding. Many states have moratoriums which keep utilities from shutting off heat to families in the winter, and households may delay payments; officials expect a surge of cutoffs this spring when the moratorium ends and households find they owe large amounts of money to the companies.

15. California County Sees Sharp Increase in Numbers Applying for Aid

(Plumas News, March 3, 2010)

California’s Plumas County Department of Social Services (DSS) recently reported that the agency received 300 applications for assistance in November, the highest number of applications since 1997, and has received more than 200 applications per month for 18 months. The current average of applications – 231 per month – is the highest its been in the past 10 years. DSS Director Elliott Smart reported these statistics to the county’s Board of Supervisors, prompting board chair Sherrie Thrall to note it “[s]eems like a significant percentage of our county population” is requesting aid. DSS tracks use of the cards, “because we’re interested in where people spend their money and I think it’s good news that two-thirds of that money stays in the community, is spent at local food distribution sites,” Smart noted. Recipients may spend their benefit out of the county in Reno ( Nev.) at a Winco. “That’s where we see those expenses going – big shops at Winco once a month – and to me that’s smart management of your grocery money,” said Smart.

16. State Tax Revenues Continue Falling in 4th Quarter of 2009
(The Rockefeller Institute of Government, February 23, 2010)

State tax collections from major sources were $134.5 billion from October to December 2009, down from $140.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to a compilation of data by the Rockefeller Institute at the University of Albany in New York. Oklahoma reported the largest fourth quarter decline (26.9 percent), and Arizona followed (17.1 percent). In 39 of 46 early reporting states, total tax revenue declined. Seven states reported growth for the quarter: Arkansas, California, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. The Institute forecasts that more states will begin “seeing year-over-year growth in some revenue sources over the next few months, particularly the sales tax.” Even so, tax revenue is expected to be below the pre-recession peak “for quite some time,” as many states reported shortfalls in budget projections. More spending cuts and tax increases are likely in the future for many states as revenue will be insufficient to cover current spending commitments. Those states not taking significant action to balance their FY 2010 budgets will be particularly affected.