1 . Op-ed: Swift action needed for Farm Bill

(The Oregonian, September 23, 2007)

One-fifth of Oregonians rely on emergency food supplies, but food banks are facing shortages due to steep drops in commodities and contributions, writes David Sarasohn in this op-ed. The Oregon Food Bank used to receive 13 million pounds of U.S. Department of Agriculture commodities per year, but saw that amount drop to six million pounds last year. As a result, families who visit the food bank are likely to receive only three days’ worth of supplies rather than the usual five. The House-passed Farm Bill includes some increases in commodities and food stamps. Sarasohn points out that the bill is slowly making its way to the Senate, where the Senate Finance Committee must find money for the increases through offsets. “If Congress were to stir itself particularly quickly… it might provide help by later spring. Until then, the food bank – and hungry Oregonians – face a long, hard winter,” he writes.

     2. Food stamp benefits restored to New Yorkers

(New York Daily News, September 30, 2007)

A settlement reached in federal court restored food stamp benefits to about 30,000 low-income New York residents that had lost eligibility because of a computer glitch that eliminated food stamps for anyone also receiving federal disability benefits. "It was an error and it wasn't quickly corrected, so we filed suit," said Bill Lienhard of the Urban Justice Center. "We are gratified that so many people are now going to be able to feed their families again.” Those who wrongly lost their food stamps may get up to 21 months of reimbursed vouchers and will be reenrolled in the program, he said.

  3. Ohio: County commissioners take Food Stamp Challenge

(Toledo Blade, September 25, 2007)

Three Lucas County Commissioners took the Food Stamp Challenge, and all found it to be “tough, demanding, and eye-opening.” Pete Gerken, one of the commissioners, said it was “a powerful way to think about food. Probably as the week went on, the thing that got my attention the most was trying to get the most nutritional value for the money.” Rev. Kevin Perrine, program director of Toledo Area Feed Your Neighbor Program, issued the challenge to the commissioners. “What we’re trying to do is make the leaders more aware of this issue.”

Read more:           FRAC’s ongoing coverage of the Food Stamp Challenges

  4. Iowa Hunger Summit planned to mark state’s contribution to fight against hunger

(Wallaces Farmer, September 25, 2007)

Iowans can share stories and information on ways they are working to end hunger – one of the activities planned around the Iowa Hunger Summit. The organizers of the World Food Prize Day in Iowa included the summit as a way to focus on the state’s contribution to the fight against hunger. “The Iowa Hunger Summit will celebrate Iowa’s many efforts and activities to counteract hunger; enhance public attention to both the cause of and solution to hunger; and encourage increased action and partnership among Iowans to continue fighting hunger,” said Ambassador Kenneth Quinn, president of the World Food Prize Foundation.

Read more:       Iowa Hunger Summit

5. Rising food costs impact school nutrition programs

(The Huntsville Times, September 26, 2007)

The cost for a gallon of milk has risen to almost $5 at supermarkets, and schools are starting to feel the impact. At Madison City School (Ala.), students purchase 5,300 pints of milk a day – nearly 1 million boxes for the entire school year. According to Marty Tatara, supervisor of the child nutrition program, the school paid 16 cents for a pint of milk last spring. This school year, she said, the cost of a pint increased by more than 60 percent to 25 cents for a pint of milk. In the cafeteria, students now pay 40 cents for milk, an increase of 5 cents since last spring. “Produce is sky high, too,” said Tatara. “It’s a rough time.”

6. Letter to the editor: Breakfast is school’s best-kept secret

(The Timberjay, September 26, 2007)

Ann Spangler, the parent involvement coordinator for ISD 696 (Ely, Minn.), calls the school breakfast program one of Ely’s “best-kept secrets” in this letter to the editor. Spangler joins her first-grader for breakfast at school. Admitting that she was skeptical about the program in the beginning, Spangler found that the program offered “nutritious and appealing” choices for the students. Plus, she found that the children – including the high school and elementary students – enjoyed interacting with each other.

     7. Op-ed: Food for children, not just for tests

(The Herald Bulletin, September 26, 2007)

Children taking the ISTEP – Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress-Plus – receive nutritious snacks to help them improve their scores. “By concentrating on feeding kids taking the ISTEP, we are focusing on the test results rather than the child,” writes Lois Rockhill, executive director of Second Harvest Food Back of Central Indiana, in this op-ed. While this effort recognizes the links between nutrition and learning, she points out that “we are focusing this recognition on test time rather than all the time.” According to Rockhill, the School Breakfast Program is an underutilized tool that “has the potential of providing every student with that critical boost.”

 8. High school cafeteria promotes healthy eating

(The Village News, September 20, 2007)

Some school food service managers may have questioned how they would incorporate new wellness standards into their operations, but Fallbrook Union High School saw it as a way to revamp its cafeteria’s look and menu. Both the new food and surroundings have spurred an increase in students using the cafeteria – now known as the Beach Café. The number of students now serves 860 students daily, up from 560 students before the changes. For lunch, students can choose from options such as low-fat Orange Chicken or Verde Beef Bowls. In the morning, breakfast items now are sold with milk and juice.

  9. New superintendent has plan for New Orleans Recovery School District

(New York Times, September 24, 2007)

Paul G. Vallas, the new superintendent for the New Orleans Recovery School District, is credited with turning around school districts in Philadelphia and Chicago, but noted that his strategy for New Orleans would have to be different. “There’s much deeper poverty [in New Orleans],” he said. Vallas said he wants the “schools to be more than schools.” It’s not enough, he noted, to focus on the classroom, especially with the large numbers of children arriving to school hungry. To that end, he wants to make sure that children have access to three meals a day at school. “You begin to make the schools the community center,” said Vallas. “The whole objective here is to keep the schools open through the dinner hour, and keep schools open 11 months out of the year.”