The weekly Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) 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. Senate Agriculture Committee to Hold Hearing on Nutrition Title in Farm Bill
2. Deadline Approaching for Organizational Sign-On Letter in Support of Strong Nutrition Title of 2007 Farm Bill
3. FRAC Outreach Materials Now Available in Spanish
4. Taste of the NFL XVI: Night of Wine, Fun and Football Raises Funds for Hunger Relief and Adds Excitement to Super Bowl in South Florida
5. U.S. House Ways and Means Committee Holds Hearing on Poverty
6. Universal Health Coverage Gains Momentum
7. Children Will Accept Healthier Food Items If They Are on the Menu, Study Says
8. California Families Suffer from Lack of Food, Clothing After Losing Jobs to Crop Freeze
9. New York City Hires Its First Food Policy Coordinator
10. Connecticut – Editorial: Exercise in Food Stamp Living to Provide “Realistic Understanding of Hunger” in Hartford
11. Michigan: Grand Rapids Schools Will Serve Free Breakfast and Lunch to More Students
12. Mississippi: State Representatives Pass Bill to Provide Healthier Food and More Physical Education to School Children
13. Connecticut: Farmers’ Market in New Haven Offers Fresh Produce Year-Round
14. Massachusetts – Op-Ed: Asset-Building Programs Are Crucial in Eliminating Poverty
15. Florida: High Springs’ Sinkhole Will Become Community Garden
16. California: Scarce Supermarkets Limit Residents’ Access to Healthy Food
17. North Carolina: Study Examines How Public Benefits Help Working Families Get Ahead
18. Illinois: Chicago Learns About Mismatch in Geography of Public Services and Communities That Need Them
19. Virginia Lawmakers Prepare to Fight Predatory Lending

1. Senate Agriculture Committee to Hold Hearing on Nutrition Title in Farm Bill 

The Senate Agriculture Committee will hold a hearing on the nutrition title of the Farm Bill on Wednesday, January 31st. This hearing will focus on the “Role of Federal Food Assistance Programs in Family Economic Security and Nutrition.”  For those interested in listening to the testimony, the hearing will be broadcast via a live audio feed from the Senate Agriculture’s Web site starting at 9:45 a.m

Link for the hearing and audio feed: http://agriculture.senate.gov/Hearings/hearings.cfm?hearingId=2511 

2. Deadline Approaching for Organizational Sign-On Letter in Support of Strong Nutrition Title of 2007 Farm Bill

(“Sign-On Letter in Support of Strong Nutrition Title of 2007 Farm Bill,” frac.org, January 5, 2007)

The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) calls for national, regional, state and local organizations to sign on to a letter in support of the strongest possible nutrition title of the 2007 Farm Bill. The letter is based on a joint statement issued recently by the 13 organizations that comprise the National Anti-Hunger Organizations. As the Food Stamp Program is nearing reauthorization, it is vital not only that lawmakers renew the program, but also that they address shortfalls in benefit adequacy and improve access for vulnerable people. FRAC urges organizations to show their support and to sign the letter.

http://tinyurl.com/yxmtze (FRAC’s Organizational Sign-On Letter in Support of Strong Nutrition Title)

Also see http://www.frac.org/pdf/NAHO.pdf (National Anti-Hunger Organization’s Statement on the 2007 Farm Bill Reauthorization)

3. FRAC Outreach Materials Now Available in Spanish

("New Back to School Resources for Afterschool Providers," frac.org, January 2007)

FRAC’s recently released outreach materials on the children’s afterschool and summer nutrition programs are now available in Spanish. The brochures and fact sheets include information for program providers about how they can start serving afterschool snacks and suppers and summer meals. The brochures also provide valuable tips for families about shopping for healthy foods on a tight budget, getting access to federal nutrition programs and increasing family activity.

http://www.frac.org/Out_Of_School_Time/Afterschool/back_schoolres.html

4. Taste of the NFL XVI: Night of Wine, Fun and Football Raises Funds for Hunger Relief and Adds Excitement to Super Bowl in South Florida

(“World-Renowned Chefs and NFL Greats Team Up to Tackle Hunger in America,” sev.prnewswire.com, January 23, 2007)

For the 16th year, Taste of the NFL will host its Party with a Purpose® that raises awareness and dollars to fight hunger in America. This year, the event takes place Saturday, Feb. 3, at the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Taste of the NFL gives the public an opportunity to try dishes prepared by world-renowned chefs and mingle with football stars during a night of wine, fun and football. The event started in 1992. Since then, it has raised more than $6 million for anti-hunger charities and has become one of the premier events of Super Bowl weekend. “The support of our guests, volunteers and sponsors on a national and local level are the driving force behind our success,” said Wayne Kostroski, Taste of the NFL founder and executive director. “The significant contributions from our partners allow us to generously give to hunger relief organizations nationwide.” Taste of the NFL benefits a range of anti-hunger groups, including the Food Research and Action Center.

http://sev.prnewswire.com/beer-wine-spirits/20070123/UNTU05223012007-1.html

For tickets and information, visit http://www.tasteofthenfl.com

5. U.S. House Ways and Means Committee Holds Hearing on Poverty

(“Childhood Poverty Is Found to Portend High Adult Costs,” nytimes.com, January 25, 2007)

“The high cost of childhood poverty to the U.S. suggests that investing significant resources in poverty reduction might be more cost effective than we thought,” said Harry J. Holzer, an economist at Georgetown University and the Urban Institute and one of the four authors of the report on the consequences of childhood poverty. According to the report, children who grow up poor cost the economy $500 billion a year because they are less productive, earn less money, commit more crimes and have more health-related expenses. Holzer was one of several poverty experts who testified at the first hearing of the House Ways and Means Committee. This hearing is expected to be the first of many over the upcoming year to focus on millions of Americans living below the official poverty line. Lawmakers are expected to focus on refining and continuing existing programs for poor children, including Head Start, food stamps and a health insurance plan known as S-CHIP. Holzer and other speakers stressed that the Earned Income Tax Credit and quality prekindergarten education had been shown to justify their cost and deserved to expand.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/25/us/25poverty.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

6. Universal Health Coverage Gains Momentum

(“Talk of Universal Health Care Grows,” washingtonpost.com, January 20, 2007)

The idea of health care for all has re-emerged this year with proposals in several prominent states. Maine raised the issue in 2003, with a law seeking to provide universal coverage. In California, the nation’s most populous state, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger introduced a plan that would provide health care coverage for 6.5 million residents without insurance. Pennsylvania has come up with a similar proposal. Last month, state leaders in Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin have declared universal coverage an attainable goal. Massachusetts and Vermont are beginning their programs this year. States are building on a Massachusetts program that requires residents to acquire a health insurance plan, much like car insurance. The health care system can’t survive another few years on the same track without collapsing, said Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell. “If California, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts prove it’s doable … it will create an unstoppable momentum,” he stated.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/20/AR2007012000686.html

7. Children Will Accept Healthier Food Items If They Are on the Menu, Study Says

(“Schoolchildren Drop Fries for Veggies,” chron.com, January 22, 2007)

French fries are decreasing in popularity and interest in carrots is skyrocketing, according to a survey of school food service directors conducted by Penn State University. As choices on the lunch line change, many children are accepting them, said Martha Conklin, an associate professor at Penn State. “If you present these healthy offerings to children, they may turn them down the first time, but you can’t give up. Children will adapt,” she said. The School Nutrition Association’s annual survey also showed that among students in kindergarten through 12th grade, french fries dropped in popularity from 1998 to 2006, while carrots and fresh vegetables became more popular. Federally mandated school wellness policies promote healthy nutrition to students. In addition, at least 17 states enacted some form of school nutrition legislation in 2005 and at least 11 more approved them last year.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4487173.html

8. California Families Suffer from Lack of Food, Clothing After Losing Jobs to Crop Freeze

(“Respite for Farmworkers,” montereyherald.com, January 20, 2007)

In addition to citrus and artichoke crops, recent cold temperatures in California affected the communities that grow and harvest them. “We want to make sure this economic disaster is not any worse than it could be,” said State Labor Secretary Victoria Bradshaw at an artichoke field near Castroville. “We are providing unemployment, job service, medical assistance, health assistance, food stamps, low-income energy assistance and shelter services.” The tax filing deadline has been extended for every employer affected by the freeze, Bradshaw stressed. State Superintendent of Schools Jack O’Connell appeared at a Salinas school to describe Gov. Schwarzenegger’s plans to help migrant families whose jobs were eliminated with the loss of the crops. The state will provide subsidized child care and focus on promoting food stamps or cash aid. Local families have already been calling the school to ask for food or clothing. “They are trying to survive,” school employee Lucila Valenzuela said. “Some families are living in a garage with no heat.”

http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/16506309.htm

9. New York City Hires Its First Food Policy Coordinator

(“City Hires Coordinator of Food Policy,” nytimes.com, January 21, 2007)

As part of a campaign to combat hunger and improve nutrition, New York City has hired its first food policy coordinator. Benjamin Thomases, who has worked for nonprofit organizations focused on helping low-income people, will oversee a task force that will help agencies providing social services develop and coordinate nutrition programs. The duties of the new food policy coordinator also include finding ways to ensure that people eligible for food stamps are able to get them. In addition, he will oversee a plan to expand to 1,000 stores a program that encourages bodegas in low-income areas to offer more products like low-fat milk and fresh vegetables.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/21/nyregion/21food.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

10. Connecticut – Editorial: Exercise in Food Stamp Living to Provide “Realistic Understanding of Hunger” in Hartford

(“Learn About Hunger,” courant.com, January 18, 2007)

“How well could you eat on $4 a day?” asks this editorial in the Hartford ( Conn.) Courant and offers readers to find out by living a week or month on a budget of an average food stamp recipient. “Participants must agree to buy and eat only what food stamps will provide, and not accept food at social gatherings or eat what’s already in the house. Participants can, however, visit soup kitchens or food pantries. In other words, they will eat as many in Hartford do, hand to mouth,” the newspaper writes. The initiative comes from the Charter Oak Cultural Center and Center City Churches. They are challenging individuals or families to experience life on food stamps to get “a realistic understanding of hunger in the city” and encouraging donations to help the hungry.

http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/editorials/hc-hunger.artjan18,0,188962.story?coll=hc-headlines-editorials

11. Michigan: Grand Rapids Schools Will Serve Free Breakfast and Lunch to More Students

(“GR Schools to Serve More Free Meals,” mlive.com, January 23, 2007)

Starting February, Grand Rapids schools will provide free breakfast and lunch to students eligible for reduced-price school meals. Administrators say the district is the first in the state and among the first in the nation to make this decision. In Grand Rapids, 72 percent of 21,000 students are eligible for free meals, and 6 percent are eligible for reduced-price meals. Children from families whose income qualifies them for subsidized meals are charged 40 cents for lunch and 30 cents for breakfast. The schools will use an $800,000 surplus in its food service budget to cover the 70 cents in the cost of reduced-price meals. The goal is to get more kids eating the meals, said district’s director of nutrition services, Paul Baumgartner. About 74 percent of the students eligible for free meals participate in the lunch program, but only 59 percent of those eligible for reduced-price meals eat at school, according to Baumgartner.

http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-34/116956754492150.xml?grpress?NEG&coll=6

12. Mississippi: State Representatives Pass Bill to Provide Healthier Food and More Physical Education to School Children

(“Bill Means Big Changes for School Menus,” hattiesburgamerican.com, January 23, 2007)

House Bill 732, passed in a 79-41 vote by Mississippi state representatives, mandates more physical and health education at schools and requires administrators to monitor students’ body mass index (BMI). Mississippi’s rates of obesity-related diseases such as diabetes among adults and children are the highest in the United States. The bill includes annual testing of a child’s BMI and at least 30 minutes of daily exercise and a weekly 45-minute health lesson. It prohibits fast food during breakfasts or lunches for students and teachers, bans cooking oils that contain trans fat, and reduces amounts of sugar and sodium used by school cooks. Education Chairman Cecil Brown, D-Jackson, defended the bill against those who criticized it for making too many changes too soon, saying the Department of Education gave its support. “This doesn’t cost anything, and it is an opportunity to do something to give our kids a healthy future,” Brown said.

http://tinyurl.com/2yh3qv

13. Connecticut: Farmers’ Market in New Haven Offers Fresh Produce Year-Round

(“Market to Stay Open Year-Round,” yaledailynews.com, January 22, 2007)

CitySeed launched the first state year-round farmers’ market in New Haven, Conn. The Wooster Square market now offers “all the ingredients for a complete, nutritious dinner” in the winter months, according to Jennifer McTiernan of CitySeed. Organizers hope that residents from different neighborhoods and economic backgrounds will become market patrons. In June 2005, the market became the first farmers’ market in Connecticut to implement a system that allows buyers to use food stamps. “One of the goals of CitySeed is to educate people,” explained CitySeed coordinator Daniel Fromson. “The food stamp program makes locally grown food available to the poorest people,” he said.

http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/19499

14. Massachusetts – Op-Ed: Asset-Building Programs Are Crucial in Eliminating Poverty

(“Help in Achieving Economic Security,” boston.com, January 22, 2007)

“Millions of individuals and working families in the United States are asset-poor, which limits their own economic security and our collective prosperity as a nation,” write Joseph P. Diamond, executive director of the Massachusetts Association for Community Action, and Sandra Venner, program director for the Institute on Assets and Social Policy at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University, in The Boston Globe. Many community action agencies have been effective in stabilizing lives of vulnerable people by providing food, shelter, job training and education. But to eliminate poverty and provide opportunity for everyone, programs are needed that build on people’s wage-earning capacity and lead to long-term economic security, argue Diamond and Venner. The Earned Income Tax Credit is one of the programs that build assets for low-income families. The state’s individual development account program started by the Legislature and Gov. Mitt Romney last year is another example. Authors “urge policy makers to expand the state’s individual development account program, and increase the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit from its current level of 15 percent of the federal tax credit.”

http://tinyurl.com/2hp8o4

15. Florida: High Springs’ Sinkhole Will Become Community Garden

(“Area Around High Springs’ Downtown Sinkhole May Become Home to City’s First Community Gardens,” highspringsherald.com, January 25, 2007)

Residents of High Springs, Fla., soon will be able to apply for plots of land within a new community garden and grow their own fruits and vegetables. A downtown sinkhole will be divided into 24 feet by 100 feet plots that also will be available for use by clubs and schools. A $35,500 grant to the High Springs Farmer’s Market will help Market Manager Sharon Yeago and several other supporters to fund the garden initiative. The grant also will be used to start a program for food stamps that will be redeemable at the market. Yeago said she plans on starting educational programs that will help add interest to the garden and create new growers by teaching residents how to plant and grow gardens.

http://www.highspringsherald.com/articles/2007/01/25/news/news08.txt

16. California: Scarce Supermarkets Limit Residents’ Access to Healthy Food

(“Fast-Food Pickle,” modbee.com, January 20, 2007)

A study by the Center for Public Health Advocacy looked at the concentration of fast-food outlets in counties and cities in California that have more than 250,000 residents. The study developeda retail food environment index (RFEI) for each area by dividing the number of fast-food and convenience outlets by the number of supermarkets and grocery stores selling healthy food. Bakersfield, with RFEI of 6.63, and Fresno, with RFEI of 6.23, had the highest scores that indicate a greater presence of fast food places and less access to healthy food for residents. The study suggests that state and local officials enact policies to encourage grocery stores in neighborhoods where they are scarce. It also calls for using federal assistance programs like food stamps or WIC to make healthy food more affordable.

http://www.modbee.com/local/story/13215656p-13853654c.html

17. North Carolina: Study Examines How Public Benefits Help Working Families Get Ahead

(“Study Weighs Benefits’ Success,” citizen-times.com, January 25, 2007)

The N.C. Justice Center is collaborating with the Center for Economic Policy Research (SEPR) in Washington on a study to determine how many people in North Carolina are eligible for public benefits and how many of them actually receive the benefits.The study, “Bridging the Gaps: Do N.C.’s Social Policies Help Working Families Get Ahead?”, looks at child care subsidies, housing assistance, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, Medicaid, food stamps and the earned-income tax credit. Only about half the people who are eligible for food stamps actually receive them, said Heather Boushey of SEPR. To receive housing assistance and child care subsidies, eligible families are often placed on long waiting lists and don’t receive the benefits for months or years. Meanwhile, many families earn less than the amount necessary to meet basic needs. “We’re creating so many low-wage jobs in this state, and we have a fairly low benefits level,” said John Quinterno of the N.C. Justice Center. “We need to work on balancing wages and benefits so families don’t have to struggle so hard,” he said.

http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200770124117

18. Illinois: Chicago Learns About Mismatch in Geography of Public Services and Communities That Need Them

(“As Poor Families Migrate, Can Aid Keep Up?” csmonitor.com, January 25, 2007)

The Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago released a report that highlights the mismatches in the geography of available public services and need. Many low-income families have moved from Chicago’s downtown and lakefront to the city's outskirts and suburbs, but service providers remain in the old inner city neighborhoods. The study provides important insights to the city’s government agencies and nonprofits about where their services are most needed. “It’s not really an issue whether services work or not if you can’t get them to the families,” says Robert Goerge, the lead researcher. “Traditionally, Chicago’s poor kids have lived in very specific communities ... They seem now to be spread out across the city more and more,” he explained. The new data “is one piece of many indicators to help us really look at where services need to be in the upcoming years,” said Mary Ellen Caron of the Chicago Department of Children and Youth Services, which commissioned the study from Chapin Hall. Experts say a mismatch between locations offering services and people who need it the most is common, especially in large, sprawling urban areas.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0125/p02s01-ussc.html

19. Virginia Lawmakers Prepare to Fight Predatory Lending

(“State Weighs Curbs on Payday Loans,” washingtonpost.com, January 21, 2007)

A bipartisan group of lawmakers in Virginia wants to reverse a 2002 state law that eased restrictions on the payday loan industry. Lawmakers believe that the industry takes advantage of people stretching their budgets and having more debt than they can handle. The group denounced the industry’s advertising as “predatory” and pointed out that the Virginia fees, $15 per $100 borrowed, create annualized interest rates of about 391 percent or more. Eleven states prohibit such lending, but the practice has proliferated in the commonwealth. After Virginia uncapped the regulations on the industry, the number of lending centers has grown from 419 in 2002 to nearly 800. According to state figures, the average customer takes out about seven loans a year, and loans can be as high as $500 at a time. “It’s a remarkably deceptive business,” said Jay Speer of the Virginia Poverty Law Center. Speer said he was particularly concerned about state statistics showing that almost 91,000 Virginians in 2005 took out at least 13 loans from the same lender.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/20/AR2007012001384.html

For news tips, suggestions, comments, contact Olga Doty at odoty@frac.org