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. House Budget Committee Hears Testimonies About Hunger, Malnutrition
2. Income Inequality Growing Wider
3. Op-Ed: President’s Budget Misplaced Priorities
4. President’s Budget Cuts Funding for Low-Income Energy Assistance
5. Editorial: Legislation That Raises Minimum Wage Should Not Contain Large Tax Cuts for Those Already Well Off
6. Department of Health and Human Services Offers Grants for Healthy Lifestyles Community Projects
7. New York City New Welfare Chief Promises to Make Access to Public Services Number One Priority
8. Alaska: More Needy Alaskans Can Receive Food Assistance with Untapped Federal Funds, Study Says
9. Ohio: Wage Stagnation in Central Regions Leads to Dramatic Increases in Food Stamp Participation
10. Michigan: Food Stamp Use Mushrooms in Economically Struggling State
11. New Jersey – Letter to Editor: Food Stamp Program Strengthens Communities, Stimulates Economy
12. Massachusetts: School Breakfast, Anti-Poverty Efforts and Food Stamps Help Combat Hunger in Communities
13. Rhode Island: School Officials in East Providence Reverse Their Decision to Discontinue Free Breakfast for All Program
14. Texas: Austin School District Planning Summer Lunch Program
15. Montana – Editorial: Schools Should Be More Consistent in Promoting Healthier Eating to Students
16. New York – Letter to Editor: One Woman’s Lesson of Slipping into Poverty
17. California: Lawmakers and State Officials Speed Help to Workers Suffered from Crop Freeze
18. Illinois: Poverty Is Growing, Especially in Suburbs, Study Says

1. House Budget Committee Hears Testimonies About Hunger, Malnutrition

(Testimonies of Dr. Deborah A. Frank and Denise Holland Before the House Budget Committee Hearing on the Federal Fiscal Year 2008 Budget, budget.house.gov, February 15, 2007)

The House Budget Committee received testimony on U.S. hunger for the first time in ten years during a hearing on the USDA FY2008 budget. Dr. Deborah A. Frank, Director of the Grow Clinic for Children at Boston Medical Center, shared data collected from the Children’s Sentinel Nutrition Assessment Program (C-SNAP) that demonstrated a connection between malnutrition and impaired health among young children. During the testimony, Frank related the story of ‘Sam,’ a thirteen-month old child who had the weight of a seven-month old child. “ Sam never ‘went to bed hungry’ since his worried mother made very sure he was really full of cornstarch [mixed with water], but he was clearly seriously malnourished. Once we were able to assist his mother in enrolling this youngster in WIC and food stamps, his weight rapidly improved. … It is on behalf of the many food insecure young children like Sam all over the country, who are invisible to all but their parents and their doctors, that I appear before you today,” said Frank to the committee panel. Denise Holland, Executive Director of the Harvest Hope Food Bank in Columbia, S.C., shared her concern about how the President’s budget proposal will affect working poor families. “Today, we see too many kids in soup kitchen lines, too many working parents at congregational food pantries, and too many elderly people having to choose between paying utility bills and eating, “ said Holland in her testimony. “The food stamp benefit is extremely helpful but … only lasts 2.3 weeks a month,” Holland stressed. “It is especially devastating for children to have to worry about what they are going to eat. Food stamps are a lifeline for working families and any reductions in this program will affect tens of thousands of families and significantly impact our donated food system,” she said.

http://budget.house.gov/hearings/2007/08frank_testimony.pdf (testimony by Deborah A. Frank)

http://budget.house.gov/hearings/2007/08holland_testimony.pdf (testimony by Denise Holland)

2. Income Inequality Growing Wider

(“Haves and Have-Nots: Income Inequality in America,” npr.org, February 5, 2007)

The National Public Radio is exploring income inequality in America in a series of articles about haves and have-nots. Over the past generation, the income gap has increased, with the share of total income going to the top-earning 1 percent of Americans growing from 8 percent in 1980 to 16 percent in 2004. CEO compensation grew from 30 times the worker’s average salary in the 1970s to nearly 300 times as much as the average worker’s earnings. While middle-class families are increasingly financially squeezed, low-income Americans are “squeezed as well, only more so.” Democrats in Congress are working on legislation designed to help lower- and middle-income people, including raising the federal minimum wage and cutting interest rates on student loans. They also want to change labor laws to make it easier for unions to organize and defend workers’ interests. Democrats are opposed to an extension of the tax cuts that have benefited wealthy Americans, proposed by the Bush administration.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7180618 (series overview with links to stories)

3. Op-Ed: President’s Budget Misplaced Priorities

(“Budget Games That Hurt Children,” washingtonpost.com, February 9, 2007)

“The cutbacks in health coverage for lower-income working families are among the most egregious of the president’s fiscal choices,” writes E. J. Dionne Jr. in The Washington Post. “The president is far more committed to cutting taxes for [Treasury Secretary Henry] Paulson’s old Wall Street pals than to getting health coverage to kids with low-wage working parents,” Dionne writes. While the President acknowledged that income inequality exists in America, his budget is destined to make it worse, Dionne argues. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, in 2012 the president’s budget would lead to $73 billion in tax cuts for households with annual incomes of over $1 million and $34 billion in cuts to social programs, many of which benefit Americans of low and middle incomes.

http://tinyurl.com/2xktun

4. President’s Budget Cuts Funding for Low-Income Energy Assistance

(“Energy Efficiency, Aid to Poor Suffer in Priority Shuffle,” latimes.com, February 6, 2007)

In his budget for the next fiscal year, President Bush proposes to cut the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and the weatherization program, which helps low-income people insulate their homes. The President’s budget plan would cut LIHEAP to about $1.8 billion. Funding for the weatherization program would drop from the proposed $242 million for the current fiscal year to $144 million. Sen. Olympia J. Snowe, R-Maine, called the proposed cut in LIHEAP funding “simply unacceptable.” Nick Papas, a spokesman for the House Democratic Caucus, said Bush was sending a “Stock up on blankets” message to families who receive energy assistance.

http://tinyurl.com/23ps68

5. Editorial: Legislation That Raises Minimum Wage Should Not Contain Large Tax Cuts for Those Already Well Off

(“Minimum Wage, Minimum Tax Cuts,” nytimes.com, February 15, 2007)

The House bill to raise the federal minimum wage contains only modest tax cuts for small businesses that are most likely to be harmed by a higher minimum wage, like mom-and-pop restaurants, writes this editorial in The New York Times. The Senate has demanded large tax cuts that primarily benefit the large businesses in exchange for raising the minimum wage. “We would have preferred a straightforward minimum wage increase. But the House bill is a reasonable response to the Senate’s refusal to move forward without tax cuts,” the newspaper states. “Many of the Senate’s proposed tax cuts would do more for big business, which is largely unaffected by a rise in the minimum wage, than for the typical small business. Big chain stores and big landlords would be the hands-down winners from proposed tax breaks,” writes the newspaper.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/15/opinion/15thur2.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

6. Department of Health and Human Services Offers Grants for Healthy Lifestyles Community Projects

(“Take Action: Healthy People, Places, and Practices in Communities Project,” osophs.dhhs.gov, February 2007)

The Department of Health and Human Services is requesting proposals from small, community-based groups to evaluate healthy lifestyles activities in support of the President’s HealthierUS initiative. Faith-based groups, afterschool programs, coalitions and similar nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply. The agency offers grants ranging from $2,000 to $5,000 in support of health-oriented community projects, including those that focus on nutrition and healthy eating as well as school lunch programs that include locally grown and seasonal fruits and vegetables. The deadline for receipt of proposals is March 30, 2007.

http://www.osophs.dhhs.gov/ophs/HealthyPeople/

7. New York City New Welfare Chief Promises to Make Access to Public Services Number One Priority

(“What’s in Store with Doar: Welfare Chief Speaks Out,” citylimits.org, February 12, 2007)

Robert Doar became the head of the Human Resources Administration and Department of Social Services in New York City and will oversee public services to approximately three million city residents. “I’m a big believer in supports for the working people,” said Doar in an interview to the New York Daily News. “Whether it’s food assistance, or food stamps, or the Earned Income Tax Credit, or child support collection, or health care coverage or HEAP, I want to make sure that we’re making our ability for folks to access those programs better. That’s my number one priority.” Doar said he wants to make sure that an automated access to food stamps, a project of the city government and FoodChange, works. “I believe in food assistance as a support for working people, and I think we can make the way in which people come into and get assistance better,” the new commissioner said.

http://tinyurl.com/ywheau

Also see http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/496870p-418659c.html (“Feed Hungry, Help Dads Find Jobs Top Bold Agenda,” nydailynews.com, February 12 2007)

8. Alaska: More Needy Alaskans Can Receive Food Assistance with Untapped Federal Funds, Study Says

(“Alaska Leaves Millions in Federal Food Assistance Unclaimed,” foodbankofalaska.org, February 2007)

While one in eight Alaskan families struggle to put enough food on the table, Alaska is leaving millions of dollars in federal nutrition assistance unclaimed, according to a report from Food Bank of Alaska (FBA). The report, prepared by Shawn Powers, FBA Advocacy Program Manager, shows that only 59 percent of eligible Alaskans are receiving food stamp benefits. Alaska’s two largest cities, Anchorage and Fairbanks, have the lowest participation. The state is missing out on $29.5 million per year due to underutilization of the Food Stamp Program, the study found. It also points to the underutilization of the School Breakfast Program and the Summer Food Service Program in Alaska. During the last school year, 146 schools with 10,154 low-income students did not offer breakfast programs. Alaska could claim an additional $1.9 million from the government by raising breakfast participation to the level of high-participation states. The study recommends ways to increase food stamp outreach to eligible but non-participating households, and help more schools provide breakfast and afterschool nutrition programs to children.

http://www.foodbankofalaska.org/viewPage.php?ID=102

Also see http://www.foodbankofalaska.org/_uploads/page/102/2007_empty_plates_report.pdf

(report, “Empty Plates in the Great Land: Alaska Leaves Millions in Federal Food Assistance Unclaimed”)

http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=6077963 (“Study Says Alaskans Are Going Hungry,” ktuu.com, February 12, 2007)

9. Ohio: Wage Stagnation in Central Regions Leads to Dramatic Increases in Food Stamp Participation

(“Hungry in Ohio,” columbusdispatch.com, February 10, 2007)

Residents from central Ohio are applying for food stamps in record numbers. In Franklin and the six surrounding counties, food stamp participation rates grew more than 100 percent between 2000 and 2006. In a Lancaster-area community, the number of food stamp recipients was up 190 percent. Statewide, food stamp use jumped 71 percent over the same six-year period. Officials attribute it to better promotion of the program, population increases and reduced stigma of using food stamps once they were replaced with a debit-like benefits card. The job and wage stagnation in the northeastern and southeastern regions of the state seem to be reaching central Ohio, said Laura Holton of the Fairfield County Department of Job and Family Services. “A majority of these families [receiving food stamps] are working families …. the wages just aren’t enough,” she said. Yet, not all Ohioans who are eligible for food benefits are receiving them. “There are 500,000 Ohioans who appear to be eligible but are not signed up,” said Lisa Hamler-Fugitt of the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks. Second Harvest partnered with the state and Ohio egg producers four years ago to use egg cartons for messages that encourage people to apply for food stamps. Egg cartons sport the message, “Groceries got you down? Could you use some food stamps? Apply!”

http://tinyurl.com/yqppk7

10. Michigan: Food Stamp Use Mushrooms in Economically Struggling State

(“Record Numbers Getting State Food Stamps,” mlive.com, February 12, 2007)

About 1.9 million residents in Michigan are receiving food stamps, according to Michigan officials. “We’ve seen a pretty steady climb since December 2000 and it’s gone up by a few thousand cases each and every month,” said Maureen Sorbet of the Michigan Department of Human Services. Massive downsizing in the state’s auto industry and the disappearance of well-paid manufacturing jobs are factors that drive participation growth. A 2000 eligibility rule that increased the income threshold for food assistance also has increased participation. Food banks, pantries and shelters are noticing the growing need. “Our agencies say there is more demand, more working-poor families and more people who are coming in for the first time ever,” said Jane Marshall of the Food Bank Council of Michigan. The government estimates that more than 300,000 Michigan residents who are not receiving assistance are eligible for it.

http://tinyurl.com/2flut7

11. New Jersey – Letter to Editor: Food Stamp Program Strengthens Communities, Stimulates Economy

(“Federal Food-Stamp Program Aids Communities,” pressofatlanticcity.com, February 9, 2007)

“In the Jan. 28 article, ‘Illegal immigrants cost millions in N.J. tax dollars,’ your paper inaccurately suggested that food stamps are a great cost to the state of New Jersey,” writes Nicole Christensen of New York-based FoodChange to the editor of The Press of Atlantic City (N.J.). “Food stamps actually strengthen our communities by fighting hunger and increasing federal dollars in your state,” Christensen writes. “Only documented or legal household members and children are eligible to receive this benefit. The food-stamp program is a nutrition-assistance program that is the first line of defense against hunger — it is not welfare,” she explains. Federal dollars that pay for food stamp benefits increase economic activity in cities, creating more jobs. “It is unfortunate that hunger exists in our prosperous society. The least we can do is support a government assistance program that positively benefits the local economy,” points out Christensen.

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/opinion/letters/story/7189352p-7044117c.html

12. Massachusetts: School Breakfast, Anti-Poverty Efforts and Food Stamps Help Combat Hunger in Communities

(“Nutrition a Priority in Ending Hunger Locally,” dailynewstribune.com, February 16, 2007)

The first battleground in ending hunger is schools, according to Ellen Parker, executive director of Project Bread, the largest anti-hunger group in Massachusetts. “When you are talking about children who aren’t getting enough to eat, every calorie counts,” Parker said at a community meeting in Newton, Mass. It is not only important to feed children breakfast in school every day, but also ensure the quality of food provided. Low-income families cannot afford healthier foods like fruits and vegetables and buy filling, but less nutritious and cheaper items such as pasta and processed foods, Parker explained. Another way of addressing hunger is to build community coalitions in areas with high concentrations of poverty. “People aren’t going hungry in this country and in Massachusetts because there isn’t enough food, they are going hungry because they don’t have enough money,” Parker stressed. Communities should enlist supermarkets in promoting food stamps, enabling needy families to afford a healthier diet.

http://www.dailynewstribune.com/homepage/8998929995594203135

13. Rhode Island: School Officials in East Providence Reverse Their Decision to Discontinue Free Breakfast for All Program

(“5 Schools Reinstate No-Cost Breakfasts,” projo.com, February 15, 2007)

Five elementary schools – Whiteknact, Orlo, Oldham, Kent Heights and Hennessey – in East Providence, R.I., will reinstate the Universal Free Breakfast Program on March 1. The schools have a large percent of students who qualify for free or reduced-price school meals. The universal breakfast program started as a pilot in 2005, but was discontinued last month by the School Committee. Even though the program increased the number of students having breakfast at four schools, including by more than 50 percent at three of them, revenue generated by students who previously paid for breakfast went down. One of the program supporters, an Oldham school nurse, said, “At my school, many of our families are the working poor. They make too much for welfare assistance, but not enough to [make ends meet]. They fall through the cracks, and this program helps those people.” Antipoverty advocates who came with protest signs and paper hearts to urge school officials to offer free breakfasts celebrated a victory. George Riley Center and its Rhode Island Campaign to Eliminate Childhood Poverty have been the biggest backers of implementing the universal breakfast program.

http://tinyurl.com/yt5p57

14. Texas: Austin School District Planning Summer Lunch Program

(“Summer Lunch Program Gets the Green Light,” austindailyherald.com, February 10, 2007)

The Austin (Texas) Independent School District qualifies for a summer lunch program, according to the superintendent, Dr. Candace Raskin. The district is planning to serve lunch to all Austin children 18 years and younger at Ellis Middle School beginning June 7 and ending in August. “The program will start with bag lunches and progress to some hot lunches once we have a better understanding of numbers of students per day eating lunch,” Raskin said. “We are working with several other community agencies to see what additional programming we can add to the lunch time to support Austin youth,” she added. A “grab and go” style breakfast will be served to all students attending summer school. The number of Austin students eligible for free or reduced-price lunches has increased from 36 percent in 2001-02 to 41.1 percent in 2004-05.

http://www.austindailyherald.com/articles/2007/02/10/news/news3.txt

Correction: The original story refers to Austin in Minnesota, not Austin in Texas.

15. Montana – Editorial: Schools Should Be More Consistent in Promoting Healthier Eating to Students

(“Upgrade Student Fitness, Nutrition,” billingsgazette.net, February 11, 2007)

“If you haven’t been to lunch this year at a Billings public school, you probably would be surprised by what’s on the menu and what’s not,” writes this editorial in the Billings Gazette, Mont. Recognition of the problem of childhood obesity has driven healthful changes in school lunch and breakfast programs, in snack bar menus at middle and high schools, in vending machine menus and even in recess schedules. Healthier nutrition and physical activity also got a boost after the Billings School Board adopted a school wellness policy to meet a new mandate of the U.S. Department of Agriculture this school year. “Our schools have made progress, but they have a long way to go to meet the policy goal of creating ‘a school environment that conveys consistent wellness messages and is conducive to healthy eating and physical activity,’” notes the newspaper. Although the number of vending machines has been reduced in the district, there are inconsistent policies at various middle and high schools. Items in vending machines don’t meet nutritional standards of similar products offered in school cafeterias. High school students are allowed to go off campus for lunch and end up eating offerings from fast food outlets nearby.

http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/02/11/opinion/gazette/50-gazetteopinion.txt

16. New York – Letter to Editor: One Woman’s Lesson of Slipping into Poverty

(“Blessed to Know What It Is to Be Poor,” democratandchronicle.com, February 14, 2007)

“When people see me, they likely assume that I’m a professional, middle-class woman,” writes NeSmith of Rochester, N.Y., in a letter to the editor of The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. “What they don’t see is how I have struggled.” After starting a career as a college professor, NeSmith spent five years unable to work, lost her home and had to rely on food banks and other assistance to get by. She was “someone who has stood in line applying for food stamps and Medicaid, who had to argue with workers about whether she was deserving enough.” Depressed and “overwhelmed by fatigue and debilitating pain,” NeSmith “felt powerless to change her condition.” Now she feels blessed to know what it means to be poor and wants to help others. “For those of you who will never need to beg, please remember your good fortune,” she writes.

http://tinyurl.com/23vao2

17. California: Lawmakers and State Officials Speed Help to Workers Suffered from Crop Freeze

(“Bills Would Provide $1.2 Billion to Freeze Victims in California,” bakersfieldonline.us, February 9, 2007)

California Sen. Barbara Boxer introduced a bill to speed help to communities that suffered from a recent crop freeze. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called the Boxer bill a “giant step” toward helping the agricultural industry and those left hungry and jobless by the disaster. California Reps. Jim Costa and Devin Nunes are planning to introduce a similar legislation. “We have communities that are now experiencing, as a result of the freeze, in excess of 50, 60, 70 percent unemployment,” Costa said. State officials have asked President Bush to declare a disaster in several counties and provide additional help to California workers with unemployment assistance and food stamps.

http://www.bakersfieldonline.us/news/read/3/108395

18. Illinois: Poverty Is Growing, Especially in Suburbs, Study Says

(“Report Shows Poverty Is Up,” suburbanchicagonews.com, February 15, 2007)

High-priced housing, transportation costs and low wages contribute to rising poverty rates in suburban areas surrounding Chicago, according to the 2007 Report on Illinois Poverty. Cook County has the highest poverty rate at 15 percent. In the Chicago region, two out of five people in poverty live in the suburbs. “We’ve seen family wages stagnate, and … median income decline,” said Amy Rynell of the Illinois Poverty Summit, which released the report. The median household income in Will County has decreased from $72,960 in 1999 to $68,414 in 2005. Statewide, the median income has declined from $54,616 to $50,260 over the same period of time. The loss of manufacturing jobs – down 22 percent in the Chicago region – led to lower income, the study says. While factories have shut down or shed workers, there has been an “explosion of service sector jobs,” Rynell said. “These jobs are a rapidly growing part of the suburban economy, but they certainly don’t pay families wages to meet their basic needs,” she noted.

http://tinyurl.com/yw8t7r

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