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. FRAC Releases Summer Food Standards of Excellence for Effective Summer Meals Planning
2. Agriculture Secretary Acknowledges National School Breakfast Week
3. Advocates for Hungry Children Promote Classroom Breakfast
4. Food Service Provider Starts “AMP Up with Breakfast” Program in Schools Nationwide
5. Eating Wholegrain Cereal for Breakfast Linked to Better Cardiovascular Health
6. Op-Ed: President’s Budget Priorities “Generously Misguided” in Improving Lives of Working Families
7. Childhood Obesity Can Trigger Early Puberty in Girls
8. Colorado – Editorial: New ID Requirements for Food Stamps and Other Benefits Might Cut Off Assistance to Most Vulnerable
9. New Jersey: Concern to Expand School Breakfast Program Growing
10. Wisconsin: Milwaukee Public Schools Encouraged by Results of Universal Breakfast
11. California: San Joaquin County Schools Search for Academic Success in Bowl of Breakfast Cereal
12. New York: Schools in Broome and Tioga Counties Plan School Lunch Improvements
13. Missouri: WIC Clients in Springfield-Greene County Will Get New Lactation Center and Doula Services
14. Maine: Survey Reveals “Under-Recognized” Realities of Hunger in Cumberland County

1. FRAC Releases Summer Food Standards of Excellence for Effective Summer Meals Planning

(“FRAC Releases Summer Food Standards of Excellence,” frac.org, March 1, 2007)

The Food Research and Action Center released Summer Food Standards of Excellence to help organizations serving children’s meals through the Summer Food Service Program with effective food planning. When summer meal sites serve quality, child-friendly, healthy food, it attracts children to the program and makes them more likely to consistently participate throughout the summer. FRAC created Summer Food Standards of Excellence to identify and promote quality summer food sites. The primary goal of evaluating summer food sites and encouraging them to meet high standards is to improve the food quality and the site environment.

http://www.frac.org/Out_Of_School_Time/Summer/foodservice.html

2. Agriculture Secretary Acknowledges National School Breakfast Week

(“USDA Celebrates National School Breakfast Week,” usda.gov, March 5, 2007)

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns acknowledged National School Breakfast Week by highlighting the importance of breakfast and the role USDA’s School Breakfast Program plays in the national nutrition assistance safety net, reports the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “Research shows a connection between starting the day with a good, nutritious breakfast and improved academic performance,” said Johanns. “A healthy start is key and USDA strives to ensure that every child gets a healthy breakfast,” he said. The School Breakfast Program provides breakfasts to more than 9.8 million school children each school day in more than 84,000 public and private schools. The secretary pointed to the 2007 Farm Bill proposals that would increase the department’s purchases of fruits and vegetables for use in the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs and other nutrition assistance programs. USDA also proposes funding to study how increasing nutrition in school meals can impact obesity rates in children.

http://tinyurl.com/2w4855

3. Advocates for Hungry Children Promote Classroom Breakfast

(“‘got breakfast? (TM)’ Foundation Announces New Grants for School Districts to Implement Classroom Breakfast,” digital50.com, March 5, 2007)

The “got breakfast?(TM)” Foundation marked National School Breakfast Week by announcing two initiatives to connect more low-income children who do not eat breakfast with nutritious morning meals at school. In partnership with Share Our Strength, the foundation will provide grants to four school districts to help them implement a classroom breakfast program. The grants will be the first of a series available to schools nationwide that are interested in implementing classroom breakfast. “Millions of underserved children around the country are not eating breakfast before the school day, and studies show that serving breakfast in the classroom breaks down many of the traditional barriers to getting students the most important meal of the day”, said Pat Nicklin of Share Our Strength. The foundation also announced the release of the Classroom Breakfast Playbook, a booklet that summarizes studies and the opinions of food service directors across the country about benefits of serving breakfast in the classroom.

http://tinyurl.com/yp2eht

Also see http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/07/AR2007030700872.html?sub=new ( “SE School Receives Breakfast Grant,” washingtonpost.com, March 8, 2007)

4. Food Service Provider Starts “AMP Up with Breakfast” Program in Schools Nationwide

(“ARAMARK Helps Students Wake up with AMP Up,” home.businesswire.com, March 5, 2007)

“AMP Up with Breakfast,” a new breakfast program for kindergarten through 12th grade students, was launched in ARAMARK-managed schools during National School Breakfast Week. ARAMARK provides food services to many school districts across the country. It designed the program to provide an option for students who arrive at school without the benefit of eating a nutritious breakfast. The program focuses on convenient and easy-to-implement breakfast options for classrooms, cafeterias and portable stations. It features over 400 ‘grab and go’ products for a new or updated breakfast menu, including fruits, wholesome hot foods, cereals, breakfast snacks, yogurt and juices. While research consistently proves the benefits of eating breakfast, only two percent of children ages 2-19 receive a balanced diet that meets USDA nutritional guidelines. Statistics also show that about 12 percent of students skip breakfast and only 11 percent of students eat a breakfast that contains foods from three food groups.

http://tinyurl.com/2pmgrs

5. Eating Wholegrain Cereal for Breakfast Linked to Better Cardiovascular Health

(“Wholegrain Breakfasts Linked to Lower Heart Failure Risk,” foodnavigator-usa.com, March 5, 2007)

Eating a bowl of wholegrain cereal every day could reduce the risk of heart failure by 27 percent, reported researchers from Harvard University at the American Heart Association’s 47th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention. In the Physicians’ Health Study of 10,469 cereal-eating physicians, those who ate two to six servings of wholegrain breakfast cereals reduced their risk of heart failure by 22 percent. Those who ate seven or more servings per week reduced their risk of heart failure by 28 percent. By contrast, people eating only one serving per week reduced the risk of heart failure by 14 percent, the study found. These findings add to the evidence showing that the consumption of wholegrain products improves cardiovascular health. “The significant health benefits of wholegrain cereal are not just for kids, but also for adults,” said lead author Luc Djoussé of Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. “A wholegrain, high-fibre breakfast may lower blood pressure and bad cholesterol and prevent heart attacks,” he said.

http://tinyurl.com/38547t

6. Op-Ed: President’s Budget Priorities “Generously Misguided” in Improving Lives of Working Families

(“Undoing Bush's Budget Priorities,” tompaine.com, March 6, 2007)

The budget submitted by President Bush last month expresses priorities that are “utterly and generously misguided,” writes Deborah Weinstein, the executive director of the Coalition On Human Needs. These priorities include reversing the progress made in insuring children through the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), and eliminating food stamps for 300,000 people in low-income working families. The president’s cuts of vital services “follow upon six years of beneficence to the wealthy and erosion of services for most everyone else,” Weinstein writes. Fewer children receive child care subsidies than did in 2000, and the amount of food stamp benefits has not been adjusted for inflation. “Establishing the right priorities means more than just preventing nasty cuts,” writes Weinstein. “SCHIP should be expanded to cover all uninsured children. Food stamps should reach more needy people with more adequate benefits …. Congress’ budget resolution will be a bitter disappointment if it does not make life better for more people than are now being served.”

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2007/03/06/undoing_bushs_budget_priorities.php

7. Childhood Obesity Can Trigger Early Puberty in Girls

(“Childhood Obesity Can Trigger Early Puberty,” msnbc.msn.com, March 5, 2007)

Childhood obesity in the United States appears to cause girls to reach puberty at an earlier age, according to a study by the University of Michigan’s Mott Children’s Hospital. Researchers followed a group of 354 girls and found that those who were heavier at age 3 and who gained weight during the next three years reached puberty by age 9. The study defined puberty by breast development. “Our finding that increased body fatness is associated with the earlier onset of puberty provides additional evidence that growing rates of obesity among children in this country may be contributing to the trend of early maturation in girls,” said Dr. Joyce Lee, the lead author. Earlier studies have found that U.S. girls are reaching puberty earlier than was the case 30 years ago. This change has occurred over a time span during which rates of childhood obesity also increased, the study indicated.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17465229/from/ET/

8. Colorado – Editorial: New ID Requirements for Food Stamps and Other Benefits Might Cut Off Assistance to Most Vulnerable

(“ID Rules Must Be Reasonable,” denverpost.com, March 6, 2007)

A 57-year-old developmentally disabled Coloradan, Bobby Hartwell, might lose his government benefits soon because he doesn’t have a birth certificate or other acceptable ID required by a new state law. He already lost his eligibility for food stamps and now stands to lose the subsidy for his apartment. “To allow that to happen would be abominable,” writes this editorial in The Denver Post. “Hartwell is not alone. Potentially hundreds of homeless, elderly and mentally ill Coloradans could be in the same predicament - legal citizens who don’t have the documents to prove it,” contends the newspaper. Last summer, state lawmakers made the ID requirements even stricter than federal rules and provided a grace period to March 1 to get people’s papers in order. The new law creates a vicious cycle, where for obtaining one of the required IDs a person needs another one he or she does not have. “State officials need to correct the problem in a hurry,” insists the newspaper, “so people like Hartwell don’t have to worry about their eligibility for state housing assistance or federal food stamps.”

http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_5368474

9. New Jersey: Concern to Expand School Breakfast Program Growing

(“N.J. Schools Struggle to Get Kids to the Breakfast Table,” northjersey.com, March 9, 2007)

More students sign up for free and reduced-price lunch, but few of them apply for breakfast even though they are eligible for both school meals programs, according to the Statewide Emergency Food and Anti-Hunger Network in Englewood, N.J. Despite a 2003 New Jersey law that requires districts with substantial numbers of eligible students to offer breakfast, state schools are among the worst in the nation for attracting children to the program. Anti-hunger advocates want the level of students eating federally funded breakfast to be at least 60 percent of those who take advantage of the lunch program, said Madeleine Levin of the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC). In New Jersey, only 36 percent of students taking lunch have breakfast, according to FRAC’s School Breakfast Scorecard 2006. “We can do better,” said Adele LaTourette of the network. “It’s not just about having the program. It’s about making the program accessible.” Emma Davis-Kovacs of the Division of Food and Nutrition for the state Department of Agriculture said it could be time for New Jersey to run another marketing campaign to boost participation. “The expansion of this program will happen,” she stated.

http://tinyurl.com/29yyud

Also see http://www.frac.org/pdf/2006_SBP.pdf (FRAC’s 2006 School Breakfast Scorecard)

10. Wisconsin: Milwaukee Public Schools Encouraged by Results of Universal Breakfast

(“Many More Fed Breakfast at MPS,” jsonline.com, March 7, 2007)

This year, 61 Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) in Wisconsin are providing free breakfast to all students, compared with none two years ago and six last year. Third-grade teacher Tom Campbell of Brown Street Academy says universal breakfasts have increased the number of students who show up on time. “You could really tell the kids who weren’t having breakfast at home” in the past, he said, because they were complaining about stomachaches or were just drooping. In the first four months of the school year, more than 1.5 million breakfasts were served throughout MPS, up 66 percent from the previous school year. Although every MPS school offers breakfasts, participation has been low until this year. Students who ride buses had to get to school early to take part, which was problematic. This year, the schools switched from serving breakfast in school cafeterias to serving boxed breakfasts in classrooms after the buses arrive. “We are encouraged by the results of this year’s program,” said Michelle Nate of MPS. Wisconsin has been the last on the breakfast participation list among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The Milwaukee-based Hunger Task Force believes that Wisconsin could be ranked in the mid-40s when figures from this year are included.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=574858

Also see http://tinyurl.com/2yhyel (“It’s National School Breakfast Week,” myfoxmilwaukee.com, March 8, 2007)

11. California: San Joaquin County Schools Search for Academic Success in Bowl of Breakfast Cereal

(“Breakfast for Your Brain: S.J. Educators Are Betting on the Power of Pancakes, Eggs and Ham,” recordnet.com, March 5, 2007)

School officials are increasingly pushing the importance of breakfast in schools across San Joaquin County. Even tardy students report to the cafeteria for breakfast before they go to class, said Ramona Soto, Principal of Delta Island School in Stockton, Calif. A new school program makes breakfast a top priority, she said, calling school breakfast “absolutely a good thing.” Tracy Unified School District has started a pilot at Delta Island to measure how much difference universal free breakfast can make for students. Before the program began in January, 50 percent of Delta Island students reported eating breakfast, either at home or at school. In January, 90 percent of the students ate breakfast at school, according to the district. As the program progresses, the district is going to look at test scores and attendance and survey teachers about discipline and other classroom issues, said Paula Weeks, district food service director. She compiled data from breakfast studies in Missouri and Maryland that showed a positive impact of eating breakfast on students’ attendance, discipline and test scores.

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070305/A_NEWS/703050308

12. New York: Schools in Broome and Tioga Counties Plan School Lunch Improvements

(“Broome, Tioga Schools to Serve the Same Lunch Menu,” pressconnects.com, March 2, 2007)

Starting in September, 15 elementary schools in Broome and Tioga counties, N.Y., will offer all kindergarten-through-fifth-grade students the same school lunch menu on the same day under a plan being developed by food service directors. The schools hope to save money through coordination of their efforts, but also want to improve the quality of school lunches that will be approved by both, nutritionists and school children. Some new items are being added and refinements are being made for nutritional content, said Molly Morgan, a certified dietitian-nutritionist based in Vestal. The changes include wider use of fruits and grains. Pizza crust will be whole wheat, hamburgers and meatballs will be low-fat, and chicken nuggets will be breaded with whole grains. “Even if the cost is the same, we’ll be delivering a better product,” said Ray Denniston of the Johnson City Central School District.

http://www.pressconnects.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007703020332

13. Missouri: WIC Clients in Springfield-Greene County Will Get New Lactation Center and Doula Services

(“WIC Expands Breastfeeding Services,” news-leader.com, March 2, 2007)

The Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) of the Springfield-Greene County Health Department’s will open a lactation center to support pregnant and breastfeeding mothers in Greene County, Mo., this month. The center’s mission is to increase the number of breastfeeding mothers and lengthen the number of months they breastfeed their infants. The new service will also match WIC clients with trained doulas, who provide advice, information and physical comfort to mothers before, during and after childbirth. A $36,000 Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services’ Client Services Enhancement Grant will fund the center, which will be operated by the WIC staff, in partnership with the Doula Foundation of Mid-America.

http://tinyurl.com/39ftze

14. Maine: Survey Reveals “Under-Recognized” Realities of Hunger in Cumberland County

(“Survey Suggests Hunger Is ‘Under-Recognized’ in County,” theforecaster.net, March 8, 2007)

Out of 11.8 percent of food-insecure households across Cumberland County, Maine, six percent experience hunger, found a survey by the Alliance for Ending Hunger. A group of 25 local organizations said one of every 10 households in the county is food insecure. For Portland, the numbers are higher. The survey revealed that20.7 percent of the city’s households – nearly double the national average – have trouble putting food on the table. Of those food insecure households, nearly three times the national average, or 10.7 percent, suffer from hunger. Nationally, 11.4 percent of households are food insecure, including 3.8 percent of those experiencing hunger. “Food insecurity and hunger are difficult to see,” said Charlie Frair, retired founding director of Partners in Ending Hunger, pointing out that the problem of hunger is “definitely under-recognized.” Frair compared hunger to rust on a bridge that slowly erodes over time. Dianne Holcomb of Partners in Ending Hunger urged support for universal school lunch and breakfast programs and summer food programs for children as ways to reduce hunger. She also advocated the Food Stamp Program, currently under federal Farm Bill reauthorization, and an increase in the state earned income tax credit to low-income families.

http://www.theforecaster.net/story.php?storyid=9821

Also see http://www.wcsh6.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=54282 (“New Survey Reveals Extent of Hunger in Cumberland County,” wcsh6.com, March 6, 2007; text and video link)

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