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. D.C. Legislation Would Move Breakfast into the Classroom, Toughen Nutrition Standards
(The Washington Post, May 2, 2010)

The D.C. Council is set to approve legislation that is aimed at reducing the city’s childhood obesity rate, which is one of the highest in the nation according to the District’s Health Department. The bill was “inspired” by First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign, and would move breakfast into the classroom to improve participation. The bill also would eliminate reduced-price meals and replace them with free meals, require charter and public schools to offer free breakfast, and encourage schools to offer filtered water. The nutrition and physical education provisions would be among the strictest in the country, banning trans fats, limiting sodium and saturated fats, and tripling student exercise time. Public and charter schools would have to maintain the federal “gold standard” for lunch (mandating a different fruit or vegetable each day, and offer only low-fat or nonfat milk and whole grains). “Some states have different pieces of this, but I think this is probably the most comprehensive look at all of this anywhere in the country,” said Council member Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3), the legislation’s sponsor. The $6 million per year cost for the bill could be paid for by a citywide soda tax, which would bring in an estimated $16 million a year. The importance of school breakfast was highlighted by D.C. Hunger Solutions director Alex Ashbrook, who called breakfast the “magic bullet of school reform,” as research has linked it to increased student test scores and fewer school nurse visits. “If you want to do an intervention that will pay off, make sure every kid is fueled with a good breakfast,” she said. [NOTE: The D.C. City Council passed the bill on May 3, 2010.]

2. Ohio County’s SNAP/Food Stamp Participation Jumps
(Sandusky Register, April 10, 2010)

Ohio’s Erie County has seen SNAP/Food Stamp participation numbers double from 2007 to 2009, when thousands received the benefit which brought $14.6 million that year to the county. With jobs scarce, many college-educated residents and retirees are struggling with unemployment and poverty and are asking for help at the Erie County Job and Family Services agency.

3. California City Plan Aims to Improve Resident Access to Healthy Food
(The New York Times, April 2, 2010)

Although Richmond, California is considered a “tough, gritty city,” with a high crime rate and widespread poverty, the city is working to improve the health of its residents by enacting a 10-goal action plan which includes access to healthy foods. Residents of all income levels also will benefit from the plans to increase parks and open spaces, create good housing, and give the elderly and disabled access to public transportation. The city is working with the county to make sure eligible residents receive SNAP/Food Stamps, and is working on expanding farmers’ markets. People are planting community gardens, and the city has improved street lighting, planted more trees on streets, and enforcing traffic rules more strictly. City officials believe these changes will improve resident health. Not all are convinced. Mike Ghielmetti, president of Signature Properties and chair of the Home Builders Association of Northern California, said there is no clear scientific link between obesity and housing, noting that suburban neighborhoods in the 50’s were less walkable yet residents were healthier.

4. Arizona Family Strives to Eat Healthy on SNAP/Food Stamp Budget
(Arizona Daily Star, April 11, 2010)

SNAP/Food Stamp benefits are “not enough to afford a healthy diet,” said Elisa Ramos, an Arizona grandmother raising her six-year-old grandson, Jesus. Ramos tries to buy nutritious food on the $260 a month in SNAP/Food Stamps she and her husband, Gilberto, receive each month. The couple is on a fixed income, and was warned by one of Jesus’ doctors that he was at risk for becoming diabetic. On a recent shopping trip, Elisa bought bananas, apples, lettuce, chicken sausage and light cream cheese; she makes wheat tortillas at home to save money and restricts Jesus’ diet. Getting more exercise is a challenge: It’s not safe for Jesus to play outside in his neighborhood, and there are no parks nearby. Jesus only gets PE at school once each week.

5. Nevada Battles SNAP/Food Stamp Backlog
(KTVN, April 20, 2010)

The Reno, Nevada welfare office currently only processes 70 percent of SNAP/Food Stamp applications in 30 days, and social workers are working to deal with the backlog. Over the last few years, the number of Nevada residents on SNAP/Food Stamps has doubled, and the Welfare Division hopes to have the backlog eliminated by the end of May. Several hundred more workers have been hired, but they are still being trained. People waiting for SNAP/Food Stamps have turned to charities for food.

6. Teen Theater Piece Focuses on SNAP/Food Stamps
(Chicago Tribune, April 6, 2010)

Teens at Chicago’s Albany Park Theater recently presented a show titled “Feast,” which profiled the experiences of children on SNAP/Food Stamps in monologues that showed a range of attitudes about the program. The theatre’s artistic director, David Feiner, said the play developed out of discussions with teenagers about their experiences in receiving public aid. “For some it was the first time they’d talked openly about being on food stamps,” he said. One story celebrated the EBT’s cards arrival in the family; another showed a child acting as a family’s translator in helping immigrant parents figure out the four-page SNAP/Food Stamp application. Another teenager told of how he lives in fear that his friends will find out his family is on SNAP/Food Stamps. “I walked in as a curious local foodie but walked out as an astonished food policy journalist with a new perspective on her beat,” wrote Monica Eng in this blog posting, about her experience attending the play.

7. Disaster SNAP/Food Stamps Implemented in Connecticut after Floods
(ConnecticutPlus.com, April 6, 2010)

Families on SNAP/Food Stamps in Connecticut who lost food during the recent floods can get replacement benefits. Governor M. Jodi Rell recently announced the availability of disaster-related SNAP/Food Stamps, which can replace food lost by recipients through power outages or other flood-related damage to homes. More than 164,000 Connecticut households receive SNAP/Food Stamps.

8. Alabama Legislators Try to Remove Tax on Groceries
(AP, March 31, 2010)

A recent bill introduced in the Alabama Legislature by Rep. John Knight (D-Montgomery) aims to remove the state sales tax from groceries, and raise the income taxes of the state’s wealthiest four percent in order to make up lost sales revenue. This is the 12th year that Knight -- with help from Alabama Arise, a group representing the state’s poor –– has tried to get the state to remove the sales tax. Rep. Mac Gipson (R-Prattville) calls it a “redistribution of wealth,” but Knight prefers to call the bill “a redistribution of fairness.”

9. New Mexico Groceries Will Remain Tax-Free
(Associated Press, March 25, 2010)

Although New Mexico’s tax on groceries was lifted in 2005, the state Legislature proposed this year to reinstate the tax to help balance the state’s budget. Governor Richardson vetoed the measure, which would have provided $68 million in tax revenue to the state. Richardson did approve other tax increases that would provide $170 million to the state, and said that cash reserves will help balance the budget. The Governor said the food tax would hurt poor and middle-class families. “The food tax, I believe, is one of my legacies,” he said, “one of my signature accomplishments – getting rid of it. It’s the right thing to do and the responsible thing to do.” He also vetoed a $5 million expansion of an income tax rebate to low-income residents, stating that it’s unnecessary since groceries will not be taxed. Among the tax measures he approved – raising personal income taxes for one-fourth of the state’s taxpayers, and raising the cigarette tax 75 cents per pack.

10. New Jersey Proposes Eliminating State Contribution to School Meal Programs
(New Jersey Newsroom, April 21, 2010)

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie proposed eliminating the state’s contribution to free school breakfast and lunch programs, stating the change will save $2.4 million. Public schools would lose only the breakfast aid, while private (charter and parochial) would see both breakfast and lunch contributions cut. The state currently contributes 10 cents per meal. State Treasurer Andrew Eristoff told the Assembly Budget Committee that the federal government reimbursement - $1.46 per meal – would continue, and that the quality of meals would not be affected. The decision has come under criticism. Assemblymand Gary S. Schaer (D-Passaic) thought the elimination was “a mistake” in the budget, stating “I would think one’s nutrition effects one’s ability to perform.” The proposed cuts would “greatly affect school districts and will dissuade schools from making breakfast programs more accessible or providing breakfast altogether, due to the loss of funds,” argued the New Jersey Anti-Hunger Coalition. The group said the state ranks 45th in breakfast participation by low-income children. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, “[t]he School Breakfast Program is a result of studies suggesting that academic achievement and student behavior improve when breakfast is made part of the school day.”

11. School Breakfast Participation Jumps after Arizona School Starts Breakfast in the Classroom
(Arizona Republic, April 7, 2010)

Alta Loma Elementary School in Arizona’s Peoria Unified School District saw its school breakfast participation jump from 100 students a day to 500 students a day after instituting breakfast in the classroom. The program has also decreased the number of late students by 10 percent, according to principal Rae Conelley. Students eat the meal at their desks during the 15-minute morning announcements. “Children that are well-fed with a good breakfast are ready to learn and are more alert,” said Helen Mae Savage, the school’s cafeteria manager, who informed administrators about the program when she learned about its potential benefits to children. “They are also excited to go to school because they have a meal waiting for them when they get here.” One teacher spoke of the need, saying “I’m positive that a lot of kids leave home without having breakfast, but now they have an option and I encourage kids if they’re hungry to take it.” Although Alta Loma is the only elementary school in the district offering breakfast in the classroom, the district plans to expand the program in the fall to its other Title 1 schools.

12. More Mothers Using WIC in Missouri
(KFVS-12, March 27, 2010)

According to state health officials, more than 150,000 Missouri women receive benefits through the WIC program, up 13 percent from two years ago. The benefits provide women with vouchers to purchase grocery basics – milk, cereal, and produce. “Families that don’t have a lot of money or enough money, it really really helps a tremendous amount,” said recipient Kelly Eastman, who has a six-month-old daughter. “One goal of WIC is to improve outcomes of pregnancies by helping mothers eat well and stay healthy,” said nutritionist Sarah Pelts Spence.