1. [HEADLINE]
(Syracuse Post-Standard, April 11, 2008)

In this editorial, Thomas F. Slater of the Food Bank of Central New York advocates for Congress to pass the Farm Bill, which will authorize “necessary funding for two nutrition programs that are essential in reducing hunger: the Food Stamp Program and The Emergency Food Assistance Program.” According to Slater, the current high prices for food coupled with the program’s “inadequate benefit levels and asset limits” are eroding the value of food stamp benefits. 9.8 percent of New York residents are struggling with hunger today, he notes, and the addition of high fuel costs are driving more and more New Yorkers to apply for food stamps as well as take advantage of food pantries and soup kitchens. Slater writes that passing an extension version of the Farm Bill is a backward step. “It is imperative,” he concludes, “for Congress and President Bush to work together and enact this bill as soon as possible.”

2. FRAC President Details Why Food Stamp Participation is Up
(Democracy Now!, April 2, 2008)

In an interview conducted by Democracy Now!, FRAC’s president Jim Weill commented on why government officials are predicting record numbers of food stamp recipients (28 million) in the coming year. “[P]eople are losing jobs, losing hours of work, their wages are going down,” he said. “[T]hey need more assistance from the government in the form of food stamps and other help.” Weill said “…the poor are facing a double whammy” as job woes are coupled with the rising cost of food, especially for “staples that low-income people buy.” He mentioned that Massachusetts Governor Patrick compared the current situation faced by the nation’s poor with Hurricane Katrina last week at an anti-hunger summit, and that one out of every three children in Oklahoma have been on food stamps “at some point during the last year.” The Farm Bill reauthorization provides the opportunity to improve food stamp benefits by changing the standard deduction, raising the minimum benefit which has been frozen for years, and making eligibility for working families easier. While the first stimulus package provided another window for improvement, it didn’t include an increase in food stamps, despite wide ranging support by leaders on the Hill as well as Treasury Secretary Rubin and Republican economists Martin Feldstein and Ben Bernanke. Weill said the second stimulus package, now moving through Congress, should include a temporary boost in food stamps and improve unemployment insurance coverage.

3. Public Housing Residents Particularly Vulnerable to Hunger
(Seattle Press-Intelligencer, April 9, 2008)

In this commentary, Paul Haas of the Solid Ground Hunger Action Center cites a recent study showing that more than half of seniors and people with disabilities living in Seattle’s public housing projects experience food insecurity. In real numbers, this amounts to 3,000 adults in 28 buildings who often skip meals and struggle with hunger. The main reasons:

Poverty – most of the residents are some form of public assistance, including food stamps;
Location – the housing projects are near convenience stores, which don’t offer the same selections as grocery stores and often charge more; grocery stores and food banks are too far away;
Disability – residents experience a number of disabilities that make it difficult or impossible for them to walk long distances and carry ample groceries back to their residences.

While community-based grocery services exist and are successful, they’re underfunded and unable to adequately serve the entire population. And the hunger residents experience affects not only them, but taxpayers as well. Inadequate nutrition causes seniors and the disabled additional health problems which rack up millions annually in public health and community care costs. Haas advocates for additional support to grocery and meal delivery programs, and stepped-up community agency outreach to make sure public housing residents are receiving their entire food stamp entitlements.

4. Schools Altering Menus to Battle Rising Food Costs
(The Washington Post, April 14, 2008)

School systems across the country, including several in the D.C. area, are feeling the effects of skyrocketing food prices and have started to replace menu items in order to save money. “We’re having to be creative,” noted Eric Goldstein, chief executive for New York’s school support services, “but we’re worried it’s not sustainable. Increases in corn, wheat, milk – it’s really hitting us.” This year’s dairy bill for Maryland’s Montgomery County schools is expected to be $600,000 more than last year’s; Miami-Dade County schools are looking at a milk bill that’s $4.5 million more – a 47 percent increase. Systems are pinching pennies by replacing some vegetables with less expensive ones, or planning on charging more for breakfasts and lunches. One school added a full-fat cookie back to its snack offerings in an attempt to boost revenue. “"We do not want to serve our students highly refined sugar and flour products, which are more affordable… [W]e are continually being pushed down this path,” said Penny Parham, Miami-Dade County’s administrative director of school nutrition, to the House Education and Labor Committee last month. Federal subsidies for school meals aren’t keeping up with rising food prices. USDA raised the amount it gives to schools per lunch by 3 percent over last year’s amount ($2.47 over last year’s $2.40), although milk prices rose 17 percent and bread prices close to 12 percent.

5. Food Prices Could Climb Even Higher as Farmer Plant Less Corn
(CNNMoney.com, March 31, 2008)

Competitive prices for crops like soybeans are driving farmers to plant less corn, a move that could be felt by consumers in the near future. The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts soybean planting will rise by 18 percent later this year, while the number of acres devoted to corn has decreased by 8 percent since 2007, to 86 million acres. Corn prices are already up, driven by demands from the ethanol (fuel) industry and worldwide food demands. Corn is used also to feed animals like poultry, pork and cattle; the high cost of growing the crop has already hurt the farm animal companies. This new reduction in the number of acres devoted to corn will continue to be damaging to that industry, with costs then passed on to consumers.

6. WIC Numbers Increase with Rising Food Prices
(Patriot Ledger, , 2008)

The WIC program in Weymouth, Massachusetts usually has an assigned caseload of 4,080 recipients. That number has jumped to 4,700, as skyrocketing grocery prices have pushed more families to seek help from nonprofits and food pantries. According to the Weymouth office’s director, Irene Van Rompay, “Our program is just booming with people.” She also noted that the caseload numbers “[are] the highest we’ve ever seen.” Pregnant women and new mothers can receive $55 to $65 a month through the WIC program, which covers 20 North Shore (Mass.) towns. In addition, food pantries in the area are straining to provide with the upturn in numbers – the Weymouth Food Pantry, which serves an average 400 families per month, saw 539 families seeking assistance in January 2008. The clergy are noticing the strain on parishioners, and are working to help residents deal with the pressures the sluggish economy has brought.

7. Groceries are More Expensive in Stores Serving Low-Income Neighborhoods
(Denver Post, April 6, 2008)

Residents of Colorado’s affluent neighborhoods pay slightly less for groceries than individuals in low-income neighborhoods, according to a survey conducted by the Denver Post. The review found that stores serving more food stamp recipients don’t offer lower prices on average compared to stores in higher-income neighborhoods. Groceries from a store catering to the low-income shopper can be about 20 percent higher than at comparable stores, but the overall average was lower, at four percent. Even that seemingly low increase amount is particularly felt by individuals and families receiving government nutrition assistance. Low-income shoppers lacking cars aren’t able to travel to stores offering lower food prices. They are forced to shop for groceries at stores that lack surrounding competitors, which would force prices down due to competition. Experts doubt that stores raise prices specifically in low-income neighborhoods, and say that the lack of competing stores allows for variable pricing. The Post’s survey covered the purchase of 11 staple grocery items that could be in anyone’s shopping cart – apples, bananas, oatmeal cold cereal, milk, eggs, sugar, bread, flour, bologna, macaroni and cheese, and ground beef. Kathy White, project director at the Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute was surprised by the review’s findings. “For some reason,” she said, “I would have thought that stores located in low-income neighborhoods were pricing identically to the others in the chain. It’s disheartening.”

8. Weak Economy + High Food Prices = More Bay Staters on Food Stamps
(MetroWest Daily News, April 4, 2008)

Although the Massachusetts Food Stamp Program has seen an increase in the number of recipients due to their successful outreach programs, the current economic downturn coupled with the high prices for food has meant that 500,000 residents are now receiving food stamps. Just five years ago, only 200,000 were enrolled, according to the state’s Executive Office of Health and Human Services. The agency’s spokeswoman, Alison Goodwin, commented that “[t]hose numbers have really escalated over the past four to six months. Project Bread’s executive director, Ellen Parker, noted "Obviously, the problem is poverty. It doesn't matter if you're talking about gas going up or heat going up or anything going up. When people are living on a very fixed income, it's hard to keep the devil away from the door."

9. NYC to Restore Food Stamps to Low-Income Parks Department Employees
(Sun Herald, April 8, 2008)

In New York City, 6,000 low-income families will receive more than $7.2 million in food stamp benefits through an order handed down by the United States District Court of the Southern District of New York. These “transitional food stamp benefits,” denied to welfare recipients placed in temporary jobs with the Parks Department at $7.50 an hour between March 2003 to October 2006, were available to households in similar situations. The New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG) started federal court proceedings as a class action suit, and commented “…this is an enormous victory for working families in New York who struggle to provide food for their families and make ends meet.” The hardship was felt by many, including Tanya Walker, who saw her food stamps reduced from $256 to $94 a month – more than 60 percent – when she was placed in a temporary Parks Department job. “These food stamps were not just for us, but were also for our kids,” she said. Families named in the suit will receive an average of $1200 in food stamps.

10. Food Stamps Provide for the Needy, but Barely
(Springfield News, March 29, 2008)

“I live on TV dinners because I can get them for 99 cents,” said Patricia French, who is 68, retired, on social security and receives $60 each month in food stamps. That amount, however, isn’t enough to provide her with fruits and vegetables or dairy foods as grocery prices continue to rise. Ohio’s Clark County now provides 12 percent of its population, or 18,166 people, with food stamps. That number is up from the previous year’s 16,807 recipients. The need is felt particularly hard by Patty Timms, a single mother whose $159 monthly food stamp allotment is not enough to provide for her and her two teenagers. “It’s ironic that you called me today,” she told the Springfield News reporter, “because it’s the end of the month and I am out of money, out of food and I don’t have any gas in my car.”

11. State to Enroll More Food Stamp Recipients
(KPTM, April 7, 2008)

The Nebraska legislature approved a bill this week requiring the state “to aggressively seek federal options and funding that could help more people get food stamps.” Nebraska currently has approximately 120,000 of its residents receiving food stamps.

12. State Budget Cuts Further Hurt the Already Needy
(Palm Beach Post, April 3, 2008)

Food stamp applicants waiting for their paperwork to be processed will be forced to wait in an even larger backlog as Florida’s state budget cuts target food stamp processing employees. The wait time, already a month in length, currently means that $105 million in possible food stamp, free or reduced-price school meals and “other aid” is unused in Palm Beach County. Some feel the cuts, described in this commentary as “heartless” and “irresponsible,” are sending Florida “back to the Dark Ages.” The Food Stamp Program is not the only benefit or service experiencing cuts in order to save the state $1 billion. Some of the other cuts:

- two hundred Medicaid processing employees (alongside the food stamp processors);
- hospice care for 8,000 terminally ill patients;
- eyeglasses, hearing aids and dentures for 150,000 poor seniors;
- drugs for 20,000 people experiencing catastrophic illness or with organ transplants.

State Democrats are trying to target tax loopholes to increase state revenue rather than save money by making the needy suffer more. Wealthy developers save $200 million each year through a real-estate transfer tax loophole – money that could be going to the state – while companies make use of offshore tax shelters to avoid $400 million in state taxes each year.

13. County Initiative Streamlines Food Stamp Application Process
(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 1, 2008)

A waiver received by Wisconsin’s Milwaukee County has paved the way for the “Online Means No Lines” campaign, the goal of which is to improve the application process for government benefits. The waiver allows for low-income residents to now apply for food stamps online, over the phone or by mail, instead of scheduling a face-to-face interview. Two sites offer self-service computers for applicants, and in-person interviews are still available. Jeff Aiken, of the Milwaukee County Department of Human Services said that scheduling interview appointments took a long time, and that applicants were forced to be in the benefit office “[t]ypically…half a day.” Clients will still need to provide documenting information (birth certificate, pay stubs, etc.) to aid offices, and can mail them in or drop them off. In addition to food stamps, other aid programs benefiting from the streamlined processing include BadgerCare Plus, Medicaid and SeniorCare.

14. State’s Food Aid Numbers Double in Less Than a Decade
(KCCI, March 31, 2008)

Food assistance went to 270,000 Iowans in 2007 – a number that’s more than doubled from a total of 123,000 people in 2000. Officials at the Iowa Department of Human Services said the number has gone up each year since 2000 to February’s total of more than 250,000 people. Des Moines resident and food stamp recipient Mary Hill said she “…depend[s] on food stamps to take care of my son and daughter,” but since food costs so much now, “…that’s part of the reason my food stamps don’t last.” As food and fuel prices continue to rise, the state is reaching to get more people signed up for food stamps, as well as convert to the debit card system instead of issuing paper stamp booklets to recipients.

15. Advocates Praise School Breakfast Benefits
(WCAX, April 1, 2008)

“The atmosphere of a school changes when children have been fed,” said Dorigen Keeney of the Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger. The Campaign mentioned studies showing reduced absenteeism, improved classroom behavior and increased test scores in schools that feature breakfast programs. The state is working on expanding the reach of school breakfast programs by eliminating the 30 cent reduced rate. Targeting approximately 7,500 children, the program expansion would be funded through a bill in the state legislature, providing $170,000 a year for school breakfast. Rep. John Morley, R-Orleans, commented on the cost and said “I think it’s a small price to pay.” 296 schools in Vermont currently offer breakfast to students.

16. High Food Prices Don’t Deter School Breakfasts
(Wausau Daily Herald, April 6, 2008)

Food services supervisors in Wisconsin’s Wausau School District are bracing for even more students to take advantage of the meals at schools, as families continue to struggle with 4 to 5 percent hikes in grocery costs. Administrators know the value of breakfast:

- eating breakfast helps students have the energy to pay attention and learn; - studies have shown that teenagers who eat breakfast are less likely to be overweight, as well as exercise more and eat healthier according to a University of Minnesota study of 2,216 adolescents.

17. Universal In-Classroom Breakfast Key to Battling Child Hunger
(Metro.us New York, April 10, 2008)

New York City Coalition Against Hunger executive director Joel Berg highlighted the importance of universal, in-classroom breakfast as an important factor in reducing the incidence of child hunger, as well as improving school attendance and attentiveness. He said that while public schools offer breakfast free to all students, there’s still the stigma when some students are singled out by going to a separate lunchroom or arriving early to take advantage of the meal, which decreases participation. At a recent visit to a Newark pilot program offering in-class breakfast, he asked the students if they would have eaten breakfast if they didn’t have it here. At least half said no. To further reduce possible stigma, the Department of Education is beginning to offer a debit card to all students, to use either as cash or “pay” for free or reduced breakfast. The New York Coalition Against Hunger estimates that 400,000 children in the city lack enough to eat.

18. School Rewarded for Increasing Breakfast Participation
(Streetinsider.com, April 8, 2008)

Students at New York City’s George Washington High School were treated with a visit from “Super Bowl Champion” New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs, in recognition of their work in increasing participation in their school breakfast program. Sponsored by the American Dairy Association and Dairy Council, in partnership with the NFL and the NYC Office of SchoolFood, the event also served to raise awareness of the importance of school breakfasts in helping students achieve at school.

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