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. SNAP/Food Stamps Going to One in Eight Americans
(CBS News, December 21, 2009)

36 million Americans are now receiving SNAP/Food Stamps, “a number so high it’s almost hard to believe,” said Katie Couric in her online Notebook at CBS.com. “That’s one in every eight people – on in every four children.” Researchers at Cornell and at Washington University note that participation rises for some groups over others – 90 percent of children with single parents, and 90 percent of African American children will find themselves on SNAP/Food Stamps at some point before they turn 21. Las Vegas, Phoenix and parts of Florida – more severely affected by the housing crisis - have seen soaring rates of SNAP/Food Stamp use. “But the high unemployment rate means hunger is a problem all across the nation,” said Couric. “Millions of us will head to the malls…for all that last minute stuff we really don’t need. Meanwhile, one in four children is in need of something much more important than a Nintendo Wii or a Zhu Zhu pet – enough food to eat every day of the year.”

2. SNAP/Food Stamp Participation Continues to Rise Across the Nation

California
(Ventura County Star, December 21, 2009)
SNAP/Food Stamp participation in California’s Ventura County increased more than 50 percent in the past two years, with 52,000 people receiving the benefit, the highest number since the mid-1990s. Affluent communities account for some of the highest increase rates, due mostly to the recession. Caseloads have doubled in Simi Valley and nearly doubled in Thousand Oaks. Unemployment in the county has more than doubled, going from 5.2 percent in September 2007 to 11.1 percent in September 2009. Increased numbers of eligible people and expanded outreach have also contributed to the increase. Many of the applicants are in shock – “You can see it in their faces,” said Marcia Hoffstadt, a county intake worker. “It’s really rough right now.” Stigma surrounding SNAP/Food Stamp use has eased, as many more people are finding they need to use the benefit. Still more people are eligible – across the state, only half of those eligible have signed up. The national average for SNAP/Food Stamp use is 66 percent.

Connecticut
(The Hour, December 12, 2009)
Nearly 300,000 Connecticut residents are taking advantage of SNAP/Food Stamps, and the benefit is going to households in “virtually every corner of the community.” “Everybody is hurting; it’s not just the poorer communities,” said Veronica DeJesus, resource specialist with Norwalk Economic Opportunity Now. “Obviously, the increase in food stamp use is terrible because it shows there's a growing need, but the fact that there's a program in the state that's being utilized to feed families is fantastic,” said Lucy Nolan, executive director of End Hunger Connecticut! Two factors in the state account for the increased numbers: the recession, and increased eligibility. This past summer, Governor M. Jodi Rell raised the income eligibility limit from 130 percent to 185 percent of the federal poverty level. The high enrollment numbers are helping remove the stigma many feel is attached to the benefit. People are now recognizing SNAP/Food Stamps as “temporary nutrition assistance” noted Nolan. (Article available through subscription.)

Delaware
(News Journal, December 11, 2009)
In November, 103,000 Delaware households received SNAP/Food Stamps, a 35 percent increase from last year according to the state’s Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS), which is struggling with the increase. “Our department is the biggest in state government and we have many needs,” said DHSS Secretary Rita Landgraf, at a meeting of the Delaware Anti-Hunger Coalition. “We are in triage mode, at this point.” DHSS predicts another 115,000 residents will be eligible for the benefit in the next year. The state is working on a number of changes to reduce bureaucracy and increase access to the program, and will soon allow SNAP/Food Stamp applicants to be interviewed by phone. In addition, the verification process for an applicant’s expenses (such as utilities and rent) will be simplified; child support will be deductible from income; and recertification will be moved from every six months to every 12 months for most recipients and up to 24 months for the elderly. Food Bank of Delaware president and CEO Patricia Beebe and First Lady Carla Maxwell also spoke at the Coalition meeting.

Mississippi
(Jackson Clarion-Ledger, December 15, 2009; Greenwood Commonwealth, December 21, 2009)
According to the state’s Department of Human Services (DHS), more than 563,000 people in Mississippi received SNAP/Food Stamps – one in every five residents – in October 2009. That’s an increase of more than 19 percent (91,000 people) over participation in October 2008, and a 27 percent increase from two years ago. “I have 37 years with DHS, and we’re at the highest caseload I’ve ever seen,” said Cheryl Starkman, director of the Division of Economic Assistance. “I don’t think we’ve seen the end of it. The numbers just keep creeping up every month.” The benefit helps many of the state’s unemployed, especially those who don’t receive unemployment compensation. “People are on food stamps because they really need the help,” said Warren Yoder, executive director of the Public Policy Center of Mississippi. “The program has always been important for families trying to make it on a part-time or low-wage job.” He added that only a quarter of unemployed people receive unemployment insurance, although the amount isn’t enough to support a family. SNAP/Food Stamps pick up the slack, said Yoder. “Otherwise, we would have families who are just totally desperate.” SNAP/Food Stamp use also protects local jobs, noted Ed Sivak, director of the Mississippi Economic Policy Center. SNAP/Food Stamp recipients “spend the money at the local grocery store,” said Sivak. “As local dollars turn over, that supports jobs in the local economy.” In Leflore County, 30 percent of residents receive SNAP/Food Stamps, bringing into the county $12.7 million. “We are one of the leading industries here,” said Dynetha Thornton, director of the Leflore County Department of Human Services. Thornton noted that the money boosts the local economy, especially grocery stores. Applicants have been able, over the past year, to have their intake interviews done by phone, a move that makes it easier for those in rural areas to sign up.

New York City
(CrownHeights.info, December 21, 2009; LoHud.com, December 17, 2009)
The New York Human Resource Administration (HRA) recently reported that the number of Brooklyn, N.Y. residents receiving SNAP/Food Stamps rose 34 percent over the past 22 months, to more than half a million people. Increases are occurring in “many stable, middle-class” neighborhoods. Since January 2008, new SNAP/Food Stamp use increased 24 percent in Carroll Gardens, 44 percent in Park Slope, and 57 percent in Dyker Heights. Poor neighborhoods have also seen dramatic increases. East Flatbush saw its numbers increase by 68 percent. “People are having a hard time finding and keeping work,” said Fort Greene SNAP/Food Stamp center director Andrew Monroe. “I've seen a lot more young people applying; the elderly and singles, too... people need the assistance.” Increased participation is also occurring in Lower Hudson Valley zip codes considered some of the area’s most affluent: Katonah, Somers, Larchmont, Orangetown and Clarkstown among others. "It's everybody, said Felix Castillo, owner of Mamaroneck Avenue Food Market in White Plains. “Before you would know the type of customer who would use food stamps. Now you would be surprised. They could come in with a suit and tie … Some ask me, 'What can I get with this?' You can see that they're new to this." Sales from SNAP/Food Stamps at Castillo’s food market have increased to as much as $5,500 a month from less than $1,000.

Washington
(Tacoma News-Tribune, December 21, 2009)
The recession and expanded eligibility have combined to increase the number of Washington state residents receiving SNAP/Food Stamps by 60 percent – twice the national increase – over the past two years. King County saw a 39 percent increase in participation over the past year, and Snohomish County experienced one of the highest increases – 50 percent – in the state. More than 3,000 people in the state are applying for SNAP/Food Stamps each day. People with a mortgage and car can now receive the benefit, and the income eligibility limit in the state was raised from 130 percent to 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Last year, the state launched an outreach campaign to sign up more eligible residents. The increase in participation has generated about $1 billion in food purchases across the state, officials say, as every $1 in SNAP/Food Stamp benefits paid out produces $1.80 in local community economic activity. And use of the EBT card has helped reduce the stigma generated by the “old” food stamp system. “It was humiliating to go in the line and use those because everybody knew what they were,” said Charlene Robbins of Maple Valley. Now she blends in with everyone else by paying with the EBT card.

3. Maryland Struggles in Getting SNAP/Food Stamps to Needy
(The Washington Post, December 11, 2009; WBOC, December 16, 2009; WTOP, December 13, 2009)

Maryland’s Department of Human Resources has lagged in getting SNAP/Food Stamps and other assistance to needy residents, and has missed deadlines set by state and federal law. A Maryland judge recently gave the department 45 days to provide a plan to correct the problems. Thousands of qualifying Maryland families have been waiting weeks for their benefits to arrive, instead of the federally-mandated 30 days. The agency is struggling to approve applications although hundreds of employees have left in recent years and the state has been operating under a hiring freeze. About 120 positions in Family Investment are vacant; at the same time, applications for SNAP/Food Stamps and other assistance have increased. The state saw a 44 percent increase in SNAP/Food Stamp applications over the past two years. The state also expects revenue to drop another $77 million; the state budget already has a deficit of between $1.5 billion and $2 billion. “You've seen the sad situation of more people applying for food stamps and yet we have fewer staff to even process the critical need of food for families who have to turn to assistance,” said Governor Martin O'Malley. “So we really have our work cut out for us, and we need our federal government to help us once again and I'm hopeful they will.” Frederick County’s Department of Social Services is the most understaffed in the state, operating with 20 percent of positions unstaffed. At a public meeting with the county’s eight-member delegation to the Maryland General Assembly, a delegation representing the county’s board of social services noted that managers average caseloads of 1,000 cases a month and the call center fields an average of 10,000 calls each month. They also said that, in the last year, the number of SNAP/Food Stamp and other assistance applications increased 30 percent. About $4.2 million in federal funding came to the state to help process the higher numbers of SNAP/Food Stamp applications, but according to one board member, local departments have not seen the money.

4. Lawsuit Aims at Improving Texas SNAP/Food Stamp Application Processing Delays
(Dallas Morning News, December 18, 2009)

In November, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission processed only 58 percent of SNAP/Food Stamp applications on time, a trend that has led to a lawsuit asking the Commission to comply with the federal rules that non-emergency SNAP/Food Stamp applications be processed within 30 days. “Some of these people have been waiting for six months. It's ridiculous,” said Robert Doggett, an attorney with Texas RioGrande Legal Aid in Austin. “We're asking for a judge to order the department to make these decisions timely.” A federal SNAP/Food Stamp official this fall suggested that the state suspend finger-imaging and remove asset tests for applicants, which could speed up processing. However, the state has not made those changes. “They need to get a little more creative than trying to pressure all their workers to work overtime,” Doggett said. Commission spokeswoman Stephanie Goodman said the state is “moving as fast as we can” to process applications and hopes to catch up by February. She also said the state has added 600 eligibility workers to its field offices and plans on adding 400 more, although she cautions that training them will take time. The same lawyers who filed this suit filed a federal suit last summer which protested the processing delays. The case was dismissed by a U.S. District judge, who said that federal SNAP/Food Stamp law doesn’t allow suits. “We reviewed it and realized the answer is suing in state court,” Doggett said. “It's a state actor, it's a state law and there's a clear remedy.”

5. Food Banks Report Skyrocketing Need over the Past Year
(Shop Talk blog/Reuters, December 18, 2009)

At the same time SNAP/Food Stamp usage numbers have been climbing to record highs, 99 percent of food banks surveyed by Feeding America have reported increases in demand for services over the past year. Ninety-eight percent of the food banks reported that this demand has been driven by first-time users. More middle-class families, struggling to put food on the table, are applying for SNAP/Food Stamps. “These are our neighbors, our friends, the people we go to church with,” said Margaret McKenna, president of the Wal-Mart Foundation.

6. Chattanooga’s Poor Pay More for Food
(Chattanooga Times Free Press, December 23, 2009)

A recent report by the Ochs Center for Metropolitan Studies found that the poorest Chattanooga residents pay the highest prices for food at neighborhood food stores. Residents of low-income neighborhoods like East Chattanooga and Highland Park have few grocery stores nearby and must shop at corner stores and convenience markets. Perishable items at these stores are considerably more expensive. “The poor are paying more, whether it’s in higher prices (at corner stores) or in the cost of transportation” to supermarkets, said David Eichenthal, president and CEO of the Ochs Center. The study found that fresh fruits and vegetables cost an average of 41 percent more in corner stores than they do in grocery stores; milk and cheese were 29 percent higher. A sample grocery list that the researchers came up with – which includes milk, bread, meat, and fruit – cost an average of $34.12 at a corner store and $23.91 at a grocery store – a $10 difference for someone making $12,000 a year, amounting to a kind of “food tax” for those who can least afford it. Only six percent of East Chattanooga residents live within a mile of a grocery store, compared to 55 percent of Hixson residents.

7. South Central Kentucky WIC Participants Now Using EBT Cards
(WBKO, December 18, 2009)

WIC recipients in South Central Kentucky recently started using EBT cards to purchase items using the benefit. “It’s a little more convenient and a little more private because it’s like an everyday transaction,” said recipient Lisa Gregory. The two year pilot project came to this area because Warren County has the largest number of WIC participants in the state. The EBT card gives clients the opportunity to purchase grocery items as needed, noted Dennis Chaney, director of the Barren River District Health Department. “The actual products that the people can purchase with those cards are embedded in the card, so it will tell the person how much product and what kinds of products they can actually receive,” said Dr. Janey Thornton, USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services. EBT cards can be used at Wal-Mart, Save-A-Lot, Diemer’s and Houchens Stores. It’s estimated that 50 percent of all babies born in the U.S. are born to mothers in the WIC program.