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.

National Anti-Hunger Policy Conference Announcement

The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) and America’s Second Harvest – The Nation’s Food Bank Network, in cooperation with the National CACFP Forum, will be holding their annual anti-hunger policy conference February 26-28, in Washington, D.C. The conference, “Ending Hunger in a Land of Plenty: Experience Gained and an Agenda for the Future”, brings together a diverse group of more than 350 advocates from anti-hunger and anti-poverty, food bank, child care, human needs, religious, children's, immigrant, sustainable agriculture, education, and other communities for three days of training, organizing, and networking.

The conference includes in-depth training and workshops on a range of topics and programs including: child nutrition, emergency food assistance, food stamps, child care food, economic security, tax policy and a variety of issues related to anti-hunger and anti-poverty efforts. The conference concludes with “Tuesday on Capitol Hill”, which gives participants the opportunity to meet Members of Congress and staff. For more information please visit the FRAC conference agenda and workshops webpages. To register, use the online registration form or contact Iris Chavez (202/986-2200 x3017 or ichavez@frac.org).

Issue 8, February 21, 2006

1. House and Senate Agriculture Committees Push Back Against President’s FY 2007 Budget Cuts
2. Lawyer Sues to Challenge Reconciliation Bill
3. “Go Places with School Breakfast”: National School Breakfast Week Starts March 6
4. Editorial – Maine: President’s 2007 Budget Does Not “Provide a Fiscal Road-Map to the Future”
5. Editorial – Maryland: Administration Can Do Better than Taking Away Food from Needy
6. Kansas: Seniors Fear Losing Food Aid that President Proposed for Elimination
7. Editorial – Wisconsin: Proposal to Eliminate Commodity Program is “Very Bad Mistake”
8. Low-Income Children Are at Health, Developmental, and Educational Disadvantage, U.S. Chartbook Says
9. Op-Ed: Conservative Agenda Leads Country the Wrong Way
10. President Clinton’s Foundation Starts Healthy School Program to Fight Childhood Obesity
11. Column: President Should Stand for Workers, Savers and Investors and Not Corporate Looters
12. Competition from New Food Vendors Holds Prices Down
13. Washington: Struggling Working Poor Hide Behind Seattle's Glitter and Luxury
14. Twenty-Three Percent of North Carolina Jobs Do Not Pay Enough to Lift Family of Four Out of Poverty
15. New York: Faith-Based and Nonprofit Organizations Stress Need for Advocacy and Social Change to Get Rid of Hunger and Poverty
16. New Jersey: More Parents Have Hard Time Paying for School Lunch for Children
17. Oregon: Seasoned Family Service Worker Sees More People in Need
18. Pennsylvania Schools Look Forward to Adopting School Wellness Policies
19. Rhode Island: Providence Junior High School Runs Healthy Breakfast and Morning Exercise Program
20. Anti-Poverty Groups in New Jersey Ask State Governor to Increase Funding for Social Assistance
21. Kentucky: Largest Food Bank Opens New Pantry Responding to “Unprecedented” Demand for Food
22. Michigan Food Policy Council Hears from Local Residents about Food Supply

1. House and Senate Agriculture Committees Push Back Against President’s FY 2007 Budget Cuts

(“Committee Adopts Budget Letter,” agriculture.house.gov, February 16, 2006 and “US House Farm Panel Asks No FY07 USDA Budget Cuts,” today.reuters.com, February 16, 2006)

On February 16th, under the bipartisan leadership of Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and Collin Peterson, D-Minn, the House Agriculture Committee adopted its “budget views and estimates letter” for FY 2007, recommending “that any substantive budget changes be considered only when the farm bill is up for reauthorization in 2007.” “We want to ensure that our programs deliver appropriate benefits and do so as effectively and efficiently as possible. We understand current budget concerns …. However, we must have the time do it right without rushing to make premature changes just before a new farm bill,” Congressmen Goodlatte and Peterson said in the letter. The President’s FY 2007 budget (to be considered in 2006) proposes cuts to farm programs and elimination of food stamp benefits for 300,000 people in low-income working families. The same food stamp “categorical eligibility” or “Cat El” cut was proposed and rejected last year. Opposition to cutting agriculture committee programs this year also is strong on the Senate side. The Senate Agriculture Committee will meet later this month to vote on its “budget” letter. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman, Georgia Republican Saxby Chambliss, said he believes Congress would reject the Bush cuts.

http://agriculture.house.gov/press/109/pr060216.html (House)

http://tinyurl.com/obpme (Senate)

2. Lawyer Sues to Challenge Reconciliation Bill

(“House Democratic Leader Wants Budget Probe,” chron.com, February 16, 2006)

Last week House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi demanded an ethics investigation into the passage of the reconciliation bill that President Bush recently signed. She said the legislation was defective because it had cleared the House and Senate in two different forms. A clerk had changed part of the bill concerning Medicare reimbursement for rented medical equipment before it went to the House. After the vote, a clerk changed the bill to match the other version before the bill was sent to the President. An elder care lawyer in Mobile, Ala., has filed a lawsuit challenging the bill’s constitutionality. “The version that was signed into law by the president never passed the U.S. House,” he said. Now he does not know whether to advise clients to heed the Medicaid nursing home regulations that had been in effect, or the ones contained in the law the President has just signed. The bill included substantial cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, student loans and other federal assistance programs primarily benefiting low-income citizens.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printstory.mpl/ap/politics/3665927

3. “Go Places with School Breakfast”: National School Breakfast Week Starts March 6

(“Going Places with a Healthy School Breakfast,” marketwire.com, February 16, 2006)

The School Nutrition Association (SNA) invites schools around the nation to celebrate school breakfast during National School Breakfast Week, March 6 through March 10. This year’s theme, “Go Places with School Breakfast,” focuses on “how ‘fueling up’ with a good breakfast sets you up for a day (and life) of going places and is aimed at students’ interest in travel and transportation.” Participation in the national School Breakfast Program rose to 9.2 million children during the 2004-2005 school year, the largest increase since the 1994-1995 school year, according to the School Breakfast Scorecard from the Food Research and Action Center. The SNA 2005 Trend Survey found that 55 percent of school districts surveyed made significant efforts to offer healthy school breakfasts in the past two years, with a further 25 percent at least attempting to offer healthy breakfast choices. SNA launched the National School Breakfast Week event in 1989 to raise awareness about the availability of breakfast for students at school and the link between eating a good breakfast and cognitive growth. Resources to help plan special breakfast events in schools are available at http://www.schoolnutrition.org/nsbw.

http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=110198

4. Editorial – Maine: President’s 2007 Budget Does Not “Provide a Fiscal Road-Map to the Future”

(“Bush Budget Is Even Worse than It Appears,” kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com, February 14, 2006)

“At first glance, President George W. Bush's $2.77 trillion budget is bad, promising to increase the deficit while cutting needed federal programs. At second glance it is even worse,” writes this editorial in the Kennebec ( Maine) Journal. The budget would eliminate or cut dramatically 141 programs that largely benefit the elderly and poor. At the same time, tax cuts that primarily benefit the rich would become permanent. In Maine, the President’s proposals on Medicaid and Medicare would “dramatically affect people’s access to care,” particularly in rural areas, said Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine. Also, a program that delivers boxes of nutritious foods, including fruit, vegetables and pasta, to seniors would be eliminated. Instead the seniors would be offered food stamps. “But the budget also fails an even more important test,” which is “to provide a fiscal road-map to the future,” writes the journal. “There are real, long-term problems facing our country, but unfortunately, President Bush fails to address them in any meaningful way.”

http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/view/columns/2430401.shtml

5. Editorial – Maryland: Administration Can Do Better than Taking Away Food from Needy

(“Scant Helpings,” baltimoresun.com, February 13, 2006)

President Bush's 2007 budget proposal to eliminate the Commodity Supplemental Food Program for low-income seniors and poor pregnant women and children is “unnecessarily callous,” writes this editorial in The Baltimore Sun. While the proposal primarily affects seniors, nearly 49,000 pregnant and postpartum women, infants, and children also will be affected. USDA administrators say that the recipients can sign up for food stamps or enroll in WIC instead. However, children aged 5 and older and women who are six to 12 months postpartum are not eligible for WIC. “The administration can find better ways to save money,” argues the newspaper.

http://tinyurl.com/l9zmq

6. Kansas: Seniors Fear Losing Food Aid that President Proposed for Elimination

(“Stamping Out Food Aid,” kansas.com, February 13, 2006)

Monthly allotments of oatmeal, fruit juice, peanut butter and other products that Mary Ross, 76, of Wichita, Kan., receives from the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) help her to get by on $722 a month from Social Security. But she might lose her food boxes soon, since the program is slated to be cut by President Bush’s FY 2007 budget. “This is simply terrifying,” said Ross. Kansas is one of 32 states participating in the program and served 6,400 people last year. Already, because of reductions in the program, Kansas was putting some seniors on waiting lists. The typical food package costs the government less than $20 per month, and the typical recipient is a low-income senior who cannot afford to buy enough food. Opponents of the program’s elimination say it is unfair to target food aid for cuts. The government should look at the tax laws and large programs that contribute most to the federal budget crunch, not a small program that provides macaroni to seniors.

http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/13857532.htm

7. Editorial – Wisconsin: Proposal to Eliminate Commodity Program is “Very Bad Mistake”

(“Don’t Cut Food Aid for Poor, Elderly,” lacrossetribune.com, February 13, 2006)

The Bush administration’s proposal to eliminate a commodity food program that has helped poor elderly people get by is “a very bad mistake,” writes the Lacrosse (Wis.) Tribune. Wisconsin just recently got into the commodity “food-in-a-box” program in a few pilot counties, including Milwaukee. The commodities do not duplicate WIC or other programs, but help fill in the gaps for people who might not qualify for other assistance. “In Milwaukee, the trend is to encourage families who are no longer eligible for WIC to use this program,” Lee said. High energy prices will only exacerbate cutting the food aid. “There is no need to make poor elderly people choose between heating their homes and eating healthy meals. Congress should oppose this and other cuts that take assistance away from those who need it most,” the newspaper writes.

http://www.lacrossetribune.com/articles/2006/02/13/opinion/ourview13.txt

8. Low-Income Children Are at Health, Developmental, and Educational Disadvantage, U.S. Chartbook Says

(“The Health and Well-Being of Children: A Portrait of States and the Nation 2005,” mchb.hrsa.gov, February 2006)

This chartbook highlighting the major findings of the 2003 first National Survey of Children’s Health was released by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. The book includes many positive findings about American children, but it also reports on conditions of children who are particularly vulnerable to health risks, such as children in low-income families. Compared to children in higher-income families, children in low-income families are less likely to be in excellent or very good health; they miss more days of school due to illness; they are more likely to have moderate or severe emotional or behavioral problems; and they are more likely to live in neighborhoods that do not feel safe or supportive. Since mothers in low-income families are one-third as likely as higher-income mothers to be in excellent or very good physical and mental health, their ability to care for their children is adversely affected. The book’s data show that children in low-income families are put at a health, developmental, and educational disadvantage compared to higher-income children.

http://www.mchb.hrsa.gov/thechild/index.htm

9. Op-Ed: Conservative Agenda Leads Country the Wrong Way

(“Ed Garvey: Bushies Seek to Revolutionize the Country the Wrong Way,” madison.com, February 14, 2006)

According to conservatives, there are easy ways to solve the nation’s economic problems, writes Ed Garvey, a lawyer and political activist, in The Capital Times in Madison, Wis. First, eliminate taxes for everyone earning over $100,000 per year and for all corporations, and they will create more jobs. Next, “no more agencies of government dealing with health, drugs, welfare and agriculture. The private sector knows best.” Also, pay lower wages and close public schools: “It is time to get government out of education.” Finally, do not coddle people and get rid of food stamps, subsidized housing and free health care for the poor. “OK, I am not serious,” Garvey writes. “But the Bush administration and the neocons are serious. They are trying to repeal Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security through the back door by running up deficits so large we will have no choice but to eliminate programs, but not tax cuts for the rich. … We need to renew the war on poverty,” Garvey warns. “Republican Abraham Lincoln suggested that ‘government should do for the people what they cannot do for themselves.’”

http://www.madison.com/tct/opinion/column/index.php?ntid=72575&ntpid=0

10. President Clinton’s Foundation Starts Healthy School Program to Fight Childhood Obesity

(“Clinton Steps Into Fray Over Fat,” nysun.com, February 14, 2006)

Former President Bill Clinton announced that the William J. Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association have received an $8 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for a four-year program to combat childhood obesity. Clinton called the problem of obesity a “national emergency” and said that the new Healthy Schools Program is “looking to halt the growth of childhood obesity by 2010.” “Many children could have a shorter life expectancy than their parents. … We will implement curricula for a healthy lifestyle. …We are in negotiations with snack and beverage vendors to improve the choices of vending options. We want to change the economics of kids getting healthier items,” he commented. The John B. Russwurm Elementary School in Harlem will be one of 285 schools in 13 states selected to participate in the first phase of the pilot program. One of the selection criteria, the socioeconomic status of school neighborhoods, was based on the number of students participating in free or reduced-price school lunches compared to the state's average for each school. “This is one of those moments when we can make history with this program in helping young kids make healthier choices,” the president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, said. “We have found that healthier kids perform better on tests and have healthier behaviors,” said Dr. Robert Eckel, the president of the American Heart Association, and described plans to build wellness centers in schools that currently do not have one, along with setting up websites and telephone centers for nutrition education.

http://www.nysun.com/article/27531

11. Column: President Should Stand for Workers, Savers and Investors and Not Corporate Looters

(“New Front: Protecting America's Investors,” nytimes.com, February 11, 2006)

Most corporate managements are “honest and hard-working,” but recently too many are “looting” companies, employees, shareholders, and the society, writes Ben Stein in this New York Times business section column. The conservative economist, writer, and actor says: “C.E.O.’s routinely take home hundreds of times what the average worker is paid, whether or not the company is doing well. The graph for the pay of C.E.O.s is a vertical line in the last five years. The graph for workers’ pay is a flat line – in every sense.” While more than 100,000 Americans are fighting and dying far from home, “the looters are running wild, taking the meaning out of that vision of America … as a land of justice and fairness,” Stein writes. “There is something desperately wrong here, and if President Bush is searching for an issue, I might suggest this: common decency for the workers and the savers and investors of this country, and an end to the hideous breaches of trust that build great mansions in the Hamptons and wreck a free society.”

http://tinyurl.com/p579z (subscription or purchase required)

12. Competition from New Food Vendors Holds Prices Down

(“New Grocers Help Keep Lid on Prices, Study Says,” latimes.com, February 17, 2006)

A new wave of competition among food vendors is holding down prices and saving the typical American family about $500 annually, said Ephraim Leibtag, an economist and food-price expert of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He forecast food inflation of 2-3 percent this year, nearly the same as last year. Leibtag said a survey of prices suggested the new competitors often undercut the old grocery chains’ prices. Nontraditional food retailers now hold nearly 40 percent of the grocery market.

13. Washington: Struggling Working Poor Hide Behind Seattle's Glitter and Luxury

(“Surprising Face of Working Poor,” seattlepi.nwsource.com, February 16, 2006)

In glittering, luxurious Seattle, “the face behind the curtain … is of the men and women who help support the Seattle economy but can barely afford to live here. This is the face of Seattle's working poor.” Nearly a half-million people – one person in every five – in King and Snohomish counties live at less than twice the federal poverty level. Of them, about 300,000 people (61 percent) live in families with at least one adult working full-time. Contrary to stereotype, they are primarily U.S. citizens, mostly white and often college educated. These people are not used to speaking out: “shame, resignation, denial – all perpetuate the silence of the working poor,” and some residents are surprised to learn about their existence. The “relative ‘haves’ don’t tend to interact with the relative ‘have-lesses’,” said Steve Williamson of the King County Labor Council. “People don’t realize they could be one paycheck away.” It often takes just a lost job, an illness, divorce, or a few missed payments to lose economic ground. Personal bankruptcies in Western Washington jumped 81 percent compared with a decade ago. “Despite Seattle’s healthy economy, the forces that help keep workers in poverty – stagnant wages, growth of low-wage service-sector jobs, erosion of benefits, outsourcing and the steady decline of organized labor – remain firmly in place.” Lines at local food banks have grown longer, and many have added evening hours to their schedule. The Seattle area was one of only a few large regions in the country where the poverty rate jumped and the median income dropped, according to a 2004 Census Bureau survey.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/259649_pooroverview16.html

Also see www.seattlepi.com/specials/workingpoor (more stories in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s ongoing series “Hard work, hard times: The plight of Puget Sound’s working poor”)

14. Twenty-Three Percent of North Carolina Jobs Do Not Pay Enough to Lift Family of Four Out of Poverty

(“Report Details Struggles of Poor in N.C.,” news-record.com, February 17, 2006)

One-third of working families in North Carolina bring home low wages, according to an economic study released by the North Carolina Justice Center. Nearly 313,600 families fall into the category of “low-income,” which means they earn less than $37,620 a year for a family of four. The study found that many of the fastest-growing jobs in North Carolina – cashiers, retail sales clerks and food-service workers – pay the lowest wages, and about 23 percent of all jobs in the state do not pay enough to lift a family of four out of poverty. Between 2000 and 2003, the number of low-income working families grew by nearly 9 percent. Thirty-seven percent of the state’s children live in low-income working families. “Given the wages and benefits associated with such [low-wage] jobs, it is unlikely that employees will be able to lift themselves and their families into the middle class simply on the basis of hard work,” the center wrote in its report.

http://tinyurl.com/rymew

http://www.ncjustice.org/media/library/656_wpfp2006.pdf (report, “North Carolina’s Unfinished Transformation: Connecting Working Families to the State's Newfound Prosperity”)

15. New York: Faith-Based and Nonprofit Organizations Stress Need for Advocacy and Social Change to Get Rid of Hunger and Poverty

(“Education Key to Wiping Out Hunger,” troyrecord.com, February 13, 2006)

A coalition of faith-based and nonprofit organizations gathered at the Sixth Annual Capital District Faith and Hunger Network Conference in Albany, N.Y., to address poverty, health care, foreign aid to impoverished countries and hunger. Participants spoke about charity as a necessary component in fighting hunger, but expressed their preference for changing the underlying system that they said is responsible for social injustice. Mark Dunlea of the Hunger Action Network of New York State said faith groups should learn how to motivate their congregations to get directly involved in advocacy. Derrick Boykin and Alex C.J. Neroth from the anti-hunger group Bread for the World coached the audience on how to approach federal legislators. Kitt Jackson of the Capital Area Council of Churches agreed that the ultimate goal is to eliminate the need for charities. The interfaith aspect of the conference, which area Christians, Muslims and Jews attended, further drives home the point, Jackson said. “It's good to hear that we all have a common concern. It's not just a religious concern. It's a human concern.”

http://tinyurl.com/qp3gq

16. New Jersey: More Parents Have Hard Time Paying for School Lunch for Children

(“More Parents Letting Student Lunch Debt Pile Up,” pressofatlanticcity.com, February 13, 2006)

Heidi Hibbs, food service director for the Northfield, Linwood, Somers Point and Mainland Regional school districts in New Jersey , keeps a list of students whose parents have fallen behind on school lunch payments so that their children are no longer allowed to buy school lunch or snacks, but are limited to a sandwich, fruit and milk. Hibbs and other area school food directors have noticed that their debt lists are getting longer. With rising gasoline and heating costs, more families are struggling. School food service is supposed to support itself with lunch money, but “no food service director wants to deny a meal to a hungry child standing in a cafeteria surrounded by food.” When students develop a pattern of overdue lunch charges, most school districts automatically send their homes the application for the federal free and reduced-price lunch program. Although local enrollment in the program has increased each year, some parents do not qualify or do not apply because of perceived stigma. “I told one mother, that's what the program is for,” food service director Terry Zane said. “It's completely confidential. With our debit system, even the child won't know.” Some districts are saving money by replacing full-time cafeteria workers with part-time employees without benefits.

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/story/5907121p-5921418c.html

17. Oregon: Seasoned Family Service Worker Sees More People in Need

(“Needs Tug at State's Safety Net,” oregonlive.com, February 13, 2006)

Since Cathy Windal, a family services worker for the Oregon Department of Human Services, started in 1974, she has seen a lot of changes, but the increase in the number of people seeking help is the most dramatic. “It used to be that the summer was slow because more people had jobs. Or there was a slow week in the month,” Windal says. “Not anymore.” More than one in 10 Oregonians receives medical care, food stamps or cash assistance from the government. Windal’s clients are all women, which is typical, state officials say. Waiting a week to see a family service worker is also typical. Few clients are late for their appointments, and even fewer skip them. “Do you have a car or a bank account?” Windal asks a woman seeking food stamps and help with her child care. “I wish,” the woman answers. There are some clients, however, whom Windal cannot help much. State and federal budget cuts and policy changes eliminated programs for healthy single adults. Windal sends away a homeless woman who is not pregnant and does not have children (and therefore, does not qualify for cash assistance) with only $73 in food stamps and some bus tickets. “You just know they're in trouble,” Windal says. “But there's only so much you can do.”

http://tinyurl.com/ovck9

18. Pennsylvania Schools Look Forward to Adopting School Wellness Policies

(“Wellness Initiative Is Newest Subject in Schools,” zwire.com, February 15, 2006)

“It takes a community effort to promote health and nutrition,” said Lisa Becker of the Health Promotion Council of Southeastern Pennsylvania. State public schools are in the process of developing wellness policies according to a new requirement from the federal government. While some good practices already exist in many schools, Ashley Alderfer, a high school senior, has seen her fellow members of the swim team getting ready for practice with candy bars from the vending machines. Christine Nenstiel, a health and phys-ed teacher at Ashley’s school, had the same concern: “The stuff that’s currently in there now – it’s candy!” But soon, Nenstiel says, the candy fare will change and instead of soda, there will be 100-percent fruit juice, milk and water. Nenstiel, a member of the district’s wellness committee, also is promoting a healthy lifestyle among teachers and administrators, who are role models for the students. Another healthy eating concern is the amount of time students have for lunch. “A lot of kids are only offered 20 minutes to eat lunch,” said Becker. “You want to make sure they have adequate time to eat a meal for digestion.” Becker believes that the implementation of wellness policies will not happen overnight. But it is hoped that they will encourage good nutrition and physical habits that will last a lifetime.

http://tinyurl.com/ouuzq

19. Rhode Island: Providence Junior High School Runs Healthy Breakfast and Morning Exercise Program

(“School Program Gets Kids Excited About Eating Healthy,” zwire.com, February 13, 2006)

Joseph Jenks Junior High School in Providence, R.I., conducted a healthy eating survey and a raffle for those who participated. Among the prizes were healthy cooking sessions at a local restaurant. Educating children is the most important thing to do to help them make wise food choices, said the executive director of Kids First in Providence, Dorothy Brayley. In partnership with Kids First, Jenks has started a pilot program, “Eat Healthy, Get Active and Score High,” that promotes healthy eating and exercising to students. Three years ago Brayley created a committee to review the school lunch menu. The committee has replaced soda with water and stocked vending machines with granola bars, rice snacks and other healthier options instead of fatty, sugary items. Kids First helped the school to create a free healthy breakfast program, where students could come to school half an hour early to exercise and afterwards eat a fruit, yogurt, and granola breakfast.

http://tinyurl.com/o777j

20. Anti-Poverty Groups in New Jersey Ask State Governor to Increase Funding for Social Assistance

(“Anti-Poverty Groups Urge NJ to Spend More on Vulnerable Residents,” newsday.com, February 14, 2006)

The Anti-Poverty Network of New Jersey, a coalition of 300 organizations including neighborhood groups, churches and labor unions, urged New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine and state legislators to consider increased funding to assist the state’s most vulnerable residents. The need is growing, said Terry Kiely of the Mercer Street Friends Food Cooperative in Mercer County. The food bank is now getting calls from people in Trenton suburbs. “These are not people who are used to asking for help,” Kiely said. The Anti-Poverty Network has proposed five priorities for the upcoming budget: increase welfare payments, which have not changed since 1987; double the funding for the state rental assistance program; provide $10 million for food banks; raise the state’s earned income tax credit eligibility; and increase income levels for NJ FamilyCare, so more children can get health care.

http://tinyurl.com/ocmpd

21. Kentucky: Largest Food Bank Opens New Pantry Responding to “Unprecedented” Demand for Food

(“More Seek Out Food Banks,” kentucky.com, February 13, 2006)

God's Pantry Food Bank in Kentucky recently opened a sixth food pantry to meet, as food bank officials say, an unprecedented demand for food. Since last summer, demand for food across Fayette County has increased by 25 percent. “This new pantry will allow us to meet the growing demand for service in the evening, as many clients work during the day or depend on rides to the pantry from family members or friends who are unavailable in the afternoon,” said Marian Blanchard, executive director of God's Pantry. The pantry also would need to support more than 5,600 senior citizens in its 49-county service area if the Commodity Supplemental Food Program for low-income seniors and women and children were eliminated as President Bush is now proposing.

http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/local/13858605.htm

22. Michigan Food Policy Council Hears from Local Residents about Food Supply

(“Food Policy Council to Seek Input from Area Residents,” mlive.com, February 15, 2006)

The Michigan Food Policy Council will hold a public meeting in Kalamazoo on Feb. 21 to hear area residents’ complaints and suggestions regarding the state's food supply. The council was created in June 2005 by Gov. Jennifer Granholm. Its 21 members include state government officials, farmers, and representatives from labor unions, advocacy groups and the business community. The council’s mission is ”to cultivate a safe, healthy and available food supply for all of Michigan's residents while building on the state's agricultural diversity to enhance economic growth.” Public sessions like the one in Kalamazoo are being held around the state. The council will make recommendations to the governor by October.

http://tinyurl.com/rn3zp