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. Minnesota Missing Out on Millions in SNAP/Food Stamp Benefits
(TwinCities.com, April 8, 2010)

In Minnesota, 368,000 residents eligible for SNAP/Food Stamps don’t receive the benefit, amounting to $200 million in federal dollars the state isn’t utilizing, especially critical during this time of massive state budget gaps. Those eligible but not participating are missing out on the help they need, and the state is missing out on the economic benefits provided by the SNAP/Food Stamp Program. “This is Minnesota taxpayer money left on the table,” writes Peter Lawyer, senior partner and managing director for The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in this op-ed. BCG studied why so many in the state have not signed up for, or are not receiving, SNAP/Food Stamps. Lack of awareness of the program kept 183,000 from receiving the benefit; 141,000 were deterred by stigma or the application process; income verification kept 37,000 from participating; and 7,000 failed to re-certify and stopped participating. To combat these barriers, BCG collaborated with Second Harvest Heartland and representatives from many concerned groups to develop a number of recommendations: telephone rather than in-person interviews, community outreach for application assistance, and getting residents in other federal programs cross-referenced for SNAP/Food Stamp participation. In addition, the groups suggest raising the state’s gross income limit for eligibility, which would add 80,000 to 90,000 more to the program, and administering the program at the state instead of county level. Currently 13 states administer the program by county, and have poor participation to show for it – 10 of these states are below the national SNAP/Food Stamp participation average. State run systems cost $37.80 per case to run, while county-based systems cost $53.78 per case. Following all the recommendations would add 180,000 needy residents to the SNAP/Food Stamp Program, and increase the state’s participation rate from 45 percent to 71 percent.

2. Sixth-Richest U.S. County Posts High SNAP/Food Stamp Participation
(Daily Record, March 28, 2010)

Since April 2007, New Jersey’s Morris County, the sixth richest place in the U.S., recorded the highest percentage increase in SNAP/Food Stamp applications and the number of families applying for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). These are two critical indicators of poverty, and signal the extent of the economy’s descent. In 2008, the county processed 3,645 SNAP/Food Stamp applications; the number jumped 39 percent to 5,079 applications by the end of 2009. TANF cases increased 37 percent, from 781 in 2008 to 1,070 in 2009. Unemployment numbers have increased in the county, which usually has the lowest rate in New Jersey – 7.2 percent of the county’s estimated workforce of 267,000 were jobless in January 2010 while 3.7 were unemployed in January 2008. And in January 2010, 653 county residents were homeless, up from 305 in January 2009. In fall 2008, employees at unemployment offices in the county were preparing for a rush of applicants as “financial giants” laid off employees and Bear Stearns was shut down.

3. Colorado’s SNAP/Food Stamp Participation Increase Strains County Caseworkers
(Denver Post, March 29, 2010)

Colorado’s SNAP/Food Stamp numbers jumped from 165,000 in November 2009 to 173,361 in February 2010, straining already overburdened human services workers who carry more than 500 cases in most urban area and some rural counties. The state has experienced nearly 17 straight months of job losses which are driving people to apply for federal benefits, but struggles with a “lethargic $243 million computer system” that has been refurbished over the past year. Advocates continue to criticize the state for its slow SNAP/Food Stamp application processing. In Adams County, 33 percent of new SNAP/Food Stamp applications were delayed, while 29 percent were late in Jefferson County. Most metro counties are not reaching the federal guidelines for processing times. While counties have moved staff around and quickly trained workers in the complicated computer system, “there is a lack of commitment and a lack of urgency,” said Ed Kahn, a lawyer at the Colorado Center on Law and Policy. “If people were escaping from jail or the penitentiary because the structure was defective, presumably we would be doing something about it.” Caseworkers in Jefferson County each handle 700 ongoing food and medical-assistance cases. "People have stopped looking for work, or have found jobs, but are still underemployed," said Kathy Underhill, director of the Colorado Coalition to End Hunger. "The numbers won't go down for some time."

4. Michigan Struggles With High Number of SNAP/Food Stamp Cases
(The Detroit News, April 5, 2010)

Families across the state of Michigan must wait for SNAP/Food Stamps and other assistance as welfare workers struggle with “an astronomical number of requests for help.” According to state employees and assistance recipients, the high number of cases have caused delays in emergency benefits, and some families have been erroneously kicked out of the welfare system. In welfare offices, caseworkers have been threatened and assaulted. “They’re just frustrated with us,” said Nancy Opatich, a Department of Human Services (DHS) employee who testified last fall before a Michigan House subcommittee. “We can’t get their work processed fast enough.” Per-worker caseloads skyrocketed from 320 in 2001-2002 to 740 now, and the state has cut field staff by 10 percent since 2002. “We’re trying to push too much water through a garden hose and stuff squirts to the side,” said Terry Salacina, DHS deputy of field operations. He said DHR needs 700 additional workers to handle the increase caseload. The House appropriations subcommittee is proposing hiring 514 more workers in the next year, less than the 856 workers proposed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm. Employees attending rallies across the state have demanded more hires, better security, and improved computer technology. The delays and other problems are forcing more people into soup kitchens, food pantries, free clinics or emergency rooms, said Jackie Doig, senior staff attorney at the Center for Civil Justice. Wayne County has the state’s heaviest caseload, and has tried to get clients to apply online or over the phone. Still, dozens show up at the county office. “Some folks are a little uneasy over the phone or online so they come in anyway,” said Dwayne Haywood, a DHS director who oversees the county’s 15 offices. In 2009, the state paid $18 million in overtime to staff processing applications. For some programs, applicants have to start all over again if their application isn’t processed by timelines stipulated in federal guidelines.

[Editor’s Note: A state's failure to process SNAP/Food Stamps applications timely is a violation of federal law and costly for all involved: hungry families miss weeks of benefits they need to put food on the table; state caseworkers have more paperwork to process than if the process had been completed correctly within the 30 day timeframe for normal case processing; and local neighborhoods miss out on the economic stimulus that comes when SNAP/Food Stamps shoppers start spending their benefits at grocery stores. For background on SNAP/Food Stamps timeliness rules and a menu of "smart" policies states can implement to improve SNAP/Food Stamps customer service, comply with timeliness standards, and alleviate workloads in SNAP/Food Stamps offices, see FRAC's publications Getting Food Stamps to Hungry Families on Time: Federal Rules and the High Performance Bonus for Timeliness (pdf) and Smart Choices in Hard Times (pdf).]

5. SNAP/Food Stamp Contract to Texas Ex-Official Raises Questions
(Dallas Morning News, March 31, 2010)

Former deputy commissioner of Texas Health and Human Services Gregg Phillips received a contract to fix the state’s privatized-yet-ailing SNAP/Food Stamp eligibility system. Now state auditor John Keel is questioning why the state awarded the contract to Phillips, since his offer to fix processing errors would only solve the problems of one-fifth of the state’s 3.3 million receiving SNAP/Food Stamps. In addition, Keel questions why the state did not seek other bids, and why a former official who had a major role in moving to the privatized system is now working to fix it. Phillips’ company, AutoGov, has received $207,500 in contract payments since November 2009.

6. Letter to the Editor Explains Benefits of SNAP/Food Stamp EBT Cards
(Battle Creek Enquirer, April 6, 2010)

A recent article in Michigan’s Battle Creek Enquirer expressing concerns over the state’s Bridge Card system [for SNAP/Food Stamps] prompted this letter to the editor, which explains that the benefit has been provided to participants on an [EBT] card for years, rather than through paper coupons. “[S]peaking from personal experience,” notes the letter, “when I was made guardian of my grandchild…I was given a Bridge Card to take care of his needs. I, too, had people looking over my shoulder and I’m sure passing judgment, but I just did what I needed to do, which was buying food and clothing for my 6-week-old grandson.” The writer also explains that when she worked as a grocery store cashier, she noticed that most Bridge Card users purchased milk, eggs, vegetables, while people paying cash purchased “sugary, unhealthy snack items” more often.

7. Bill Would Create Inter-County Transfer for SNAP/Food Stamps in California
(California Budget Bites, April 13, 2010)

A bill (AB 2018) in the California Legislature would establish an inter-county transfer process for SNAP/Food Stamp participants who move to another county. Currently, recipients who move from one county to another are required to repeat the entire application process to continue receiving the benefit, since the state doesn’t transfer SNAP/Food Stamp information across county lines. Not only do recipients have to re-apply, taking on a needless paperwork burden, but work is created for county staff, and may cause many Californians to lose benefits each year. CalWORKs and Medi-Cal already has inter-county transfer, and AB 2018 uses those processes for SNAP/Food Stamp clients also enrolled in those programs. Families who receive only SNAP/Food Stamps would have a “client-friendly” transfer process created. Another bill, AB 1642, further simplifies the SNAP/Food Stamp process by reducing reporting requirements from four times to two times a year. “These bills give Committee members a golden opportunity to lead the charge against red tape and toward program simplification at a time when the safety net is more important than ever,” concludes this blog posting.

8. Rhode Island SNAP/Food Stamp Recipients Affected by Floods Can Get Replacement Benefits
(Examiner.com, April 12, 2010)

Rhode Island’s victims of recent flooding who receive SNAP/Food Stamps and had food spoiled because of the flood can get replacement benefits. Victims can download the Request for Replacement of Food Purchases with SNAP Benefits form at http://www.floodrecovery.ri.gov/foodassisstance/pdf/SNAP_Final.pdf. The state’s flooding was the worst in recorded history.

9. Report Finds Atlanta’s Suburban SNAP/Food Stamp Rate Increased Faster than Urban Rate
(Atlanta Journal-Constitution, April 2, 2010)

According to the Brookings Institution, the number of suburban SNAP/Food Stamp recipients in Atlanta, Ga., increased faster during the recession than the number of urban recipients, and suburban unemployment almost matched urban unemployment. The number of suburban SNAP/Food Stamp recipients increased 36 percent last year, a response to the loss of thousands of blue-collar jobs, particularly those in the real estate industry. Atlanta’s overall unemployment rate (10.3 percent) has been only 1 percent higher than that of the suburbs (9.3 percent). Previous recessions saw city unemployment rates two percentage points higher than the suburbs. “I keep hearing on the news that this is going to be a jobless recovery,” said Hans Prorok, an IT manager for a Fortune 500 company who was laid off two years ago. “We’ll just have to wait and see. The unemployment pool is so large that companies can afford to be picky.”

10. Rural Oregonians Use SNAP/Food Stamps More than Other Assistance
(Eurekalert.com, March 31, 2010)

Working families in rural Oregon tend to use SNAP/Food Stamps more than other forms of assistance – and they use less public assistance, especially child care subsidies, than the urban areas, although the rural levels of poverty and unemployment are higher. According to a study by researchers at Oregon State University’s Family Policy Center, the unemployment rate in the metropolitan areas in 2000 was 5.8 percent; the rural rate was 10.3 percent. Rural residents are using public assistance at a rate less than or equal to urban areas, but use of SNAP/Food Stamps seems to be the lone exception. Only 5 percent of rural families with child care subsidies did not use SNAP/Food Stamps, compared with 8 percent of metro area residents. Although the researchers aren’t able to explain the discrepancy, they do know “that from a policy perspective, there seem to be equity issues in the state’s child care assistance program that is supposed to be equally accessible across the state,” noted researcher Bobbie Weber. Child care subsidies and SNAP/Food Stamps have different eligibility requirements. Previous research shows that rural families have better social networks, which could be keeping them needing the assistance. In addition, rural residents use more smaller, home-based childcare. The continued high unemployment and poverty rates in the state, noted Weber, should force policymakers to focus on public assistance access issues.

11. Michigan Launches “Myth Busting” Campaign
(Michigan Messenger, April 6, 2010)

The Michigan Department of Human Services (DHS) has launched, with 15 community and social services groups, a campaign to counter myths about welfare that are surfacing due to the “unprecedented number of people” seeking help in buying food or paying bills. DHS is pointing out that the SNAP/Food Stamp Program generates economic activity in communities when people use their benefits at local stores and farmers markets. Also, the typical family on assistance receives less than two years’ help, and is headed by a parent working part-time at a minimum-wage job. “Today, it is more likely than ever before that your relative, friend or neighbor collects one or more welfare benefits because of unemployment or home foreclosure,” said DHS director Ismeal Ahmed. In 2009, more than one-quarter of state residents received assistance from a state welfare program.

12. Two States Plan on Cutting Health/Welfare/Human Services Staff

Idaho
(MagicValley.com, April 7, 2010)
Idaho’s Department of Health and Welfare plans on laying off 126 employees and close nine of their 29 offices across the state, a response to fiscal year 2011 cuts in the department’s budget. The biggest reason people visit the offices is for SNAP/Food Stamps; 180,000 people received the benefit in December 2009, up from 123,000 a year before. The remaining offices, already short-staffed and operating with furloughs, will see longer lines, meaning longer wait times for clients to see staff and a shift to see families in crisis over other clients. About $7 million will be saved by the cuts, although this doesn’t take care of the department’s budget crisis. Office closures were based on the number of people visiting, distance to other offices, and the costs associated with keeping offices open.

Hawaii
(Honolulu Advertiser, March 30, 2010)
Nearly half of the 517 Department of Human Services (DHS) employees who process assistance applications in Hawaii will be laid off, and 31 eligibility offices will be closed as budget cutting plans go into effect June 30. DHS is experiencing increases in requests for SNAP/Food Stamps, Medicaid and other assistance because of the ailing economy; the layoffs and closings, according to DHS officials, should speed up application time as more and more people are able to apply for benefits online or by phone. Workers will be moved to two main offices, and their workloads will be “streamlined.” There remains, however, a backlog in applications. Advocates and the union for state workers fear that the changes will actually erect barriers to SNAP/Food Stamp and other assistance participation, especially for the elderly and those lacking skills in English. And although the cuts are expected to save the state $8 million, State Rep. John Mizuno, House Human Service Committee chairman, thinks the state will end up spending more money. Human Services Director Lillian Koller said that allowing people to sign up for services online, via phone, by mail, or by fax, will allow the department to expand participation in SNAP/Food Stamps.

13. Pennsylvania’s Erie School District Serves More Free Meals
(Times-News, April 4, 2010)

As of March 2010, more than 80 percent of Erie, Pennsylvania School District’s 12,400 students qualify for free or reduced-price school meals – the highest number in the District’s history. One in four Erie residents lives in poverty, and a third of the area’s poor are under 18. The county has the highest poverty rate in the state, and is near the bottom of the state’s 67 counties for health problems stemming from children in poverty. The National School Lunch Program will reimburse Erie School District nearly $5.8 million this year. Ninety-five percent of McKinley Elementary School’s 411 students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, and an average of 175 students show up for breakfast each morning – more on Mondays, when the kids are hungrier after the weekend. “The importance of these meals cannot be overemphasized,” said the district’s assistant superintendent Jay Badams. “For so many children, what they eat in school are the only meals they eat at all. The fact that is happening in the year 2010 in the United States is startling.” Douglas Krugger, the district’s coordinator of child accounting and attendance, believes that the district’s increased attendance rate of 92 percent is due in large part to the school meals. “For most,” he said, “the food we provide our students is their lifeline.” Diane Sutton, principal of the Wayne School, notes that hungry children can’t learn. “If the children are telling us about being hungry instead of focusing on class work, it distracts them,” she said.

14. School Enrollment Increase Outpaced by Increase of Students Receiving Free or Reduced-Price Lunch
(Associated Press, March 28, 2010)

According to USDA, 19 million students received free or reduced-price lunch in the 2008-2009 school year, 865,000 more than the year before. This jump of 5 percent – typically, the increase is 1 to 2 percent per year – outpaced the overall increase in school enrollment. “We have seen record program growth over the past two years as we go through this difficult period,” said USDA spokeswoman Jean Daniel. Omaha, Neb., saw a 62 percent increase, as 67 percent of its public school students received free or reduced-price lunch. “Families are struggling more and more,” said Jennifer Adach of the Food Research and Action Center, who also noted SNAP/Food Stamp use is up.

15. Connecticut Congressman Shows Support for Breakfast in the Classroom
(Hartford Courant, April 8, 2010)

Connecticut is working to increase the number of students eating school breakfast, after consistently placing last in ranking among states for its low number of schools serving the meal. Recently, Congressman Joe Courtney toured Greenville Elementary School’s “Breakfast in the Classroom” program, in response to the need to increase support for the school breakfast program in the upcoming Child Nutrition Reauthorization. Greenville is situated in Norwich, which has the second-highest school breakfast participation in the state. The Congressman’s visit was organized by End Hunger Connecticut!

16. U.S. Representative Promotes Child Nutrition Programs in Idaho
(Heartland Connection, April 7, 2010)

At a recent visit to Ottumwa, Iowa’s James Elementary School, U.S. Representative Dave Loebsack focused on child nutrition programs and discussed legislation currently before Congress. Although most Idaho children who qualify for free or reduced-price school meals are getting them, Loebsack said “we have some who are still…falling between the cracks. And throughout America, there are a good number of these children who really should be in these programs, but they’re not. So my legislation…is designed to make sure that we get all of these kids in there if possible.”

17. Chicago Boosts Nutrition in School Meals
(Chicago Sun-Times, April 7, 2010)

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) will adopt new nutrition guidelines starting in June, which will ensure that students will get more whole grains, less sodium and no high-calorie, energy-dense foods in their meals. Whole grains will be required at lunch, sodium will be reduced five percent annually, and donuts, Pop-Tarts and items with “dessert or candy-type” ingredients will be removed from breakfast menus. Dark greens or orange vegetables will be served at least three times a week, with starchy vegetables served only once each week. These guidelines will meet or exceed USDA’s Healthier US Schools Challenge guidelines for a gold certification. Although the changes are expected to cost $3 million a year, CPS estimates that the bids it receives for a new food service contract will likely make the cost neutral to the system.

18. Food Security Should Be Core of International Agenda, Says Agriculture Secretary
(USDA, April 7, 2010)

Delivering the keynote address in early April at the Partners in Agriculture Global Food Security Symposium in Tokyo, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack spoke on the need for children around the world to have access to food. “No matter where they live, children will only realize their full potential if they have regular access to food,” he said. “Giving a child the opportunity for a brighter, more productive future, affects not only the individual child, but the community where the child is raised, the country where he or she lives, and all the world. Working to eliminate food insecurity across the globe will provide incredible economic benefits to developing and developed countries alike.” He noted that last year’s “economic woes” increased globally the number of people lacking enough to eat to more than 1 billion in 2009, according to the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization. “Food insecurity is first and foremost a moral issue,” he said. “[T]hroughout the developing world, a child dies every six seconds from malnutrition and related causes.” He called on the world to take on the challenge on ensuring “that children do not go to sleep hungry.” This will only become more challenging, said Vilsack, in the coming years as the world’s population grows by 79 million – or 6 Tokyos – each year. By 2050, food demand will increase 70 percent, a challenge to “our capacity to grow and raise enough food.” Scarce water supplies and industrial and urbanization energy needs threaten agricultural productivity. Vilsack also said that climate change will have a huge impact. “Variations in temperature, increased frequency of extreme weather like drought, floods and storms, and the spread of pests and diseases to new geographic areas” will affect productivity. “These challenges,” he said, “are sobering reminders of why food security must remain at the core of the international agenda.