FRAC News Digest - April 22, 2005

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.

Issue 16, April 22, 2005

FRAC Analyzes WIC Gains, State-by-State Participation Increases
New Icon Replaces Food Pyramid
FRAC Suggests Next Food Pyramid Steps
Military Families Use Food Stamps to Get By
HHS Launches African American Anti-Obesity Effort
RFP Posted for Community Food and Nutrition Program Grants
Astronaut Background Includes Food Stamps
Limit on Benefits Leave Refugees Struggling
Diet and Activity Patterns Can Start in Toddlerhood
Utah: Bishops Say U.S. Budget Helps Rich, Hurts Poor
New Mexico: Food Stamps Cut and Food Lines Grow
Massachusetts: Food Stamps Not Reaching All in Need
California: Food Stamps Help Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness
Colorado: Lawmakers Question Benefits Web Site
Oregon: Cuts Would Transfer Duty to States
Alabama: State's Poor Pay Heaviest Tax Rate in Nation
Montana: Lawmakers Increase Health Care Budget
California: Fresh Produce Out of Reach for Poor

1. FRAC Analyzes WIC Gains, State-by-State Participation Increases

("WIC in the States," Food Research and Action Center, April 20, 2005)

Half of all U.S. infants—and one in four young children in the U.S. (aged one to five)—get crucial health and nutrition benefits from the WIC Program, according to the new Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) report, “WIC In The States: Thirty-One Years of Building A Healthier America.” WIC is serving record numbers of participants—an average 8 million pregnant women, infants and young children each month in the first quarter of FY 2005. FRAC’s new report provides extensive state-by-state and year-by-year data for each of the covered categories: women, infants and children. In charts and graphs it allows participation trends to be tracked over time for the nation, states and Indian Tribal Organizations, for the period FY 1974 through FY 2004. The report also summarizes studies showing that WIC helps reduce low birth weights, decreases the incidence of iron deficiency anemia in children, prevents overweight in children, and improves the growth of at-risk infants and children.

http://www.frac.org/Press_Release/04.20.05.html

See the report "WIC In The States: Thirty-One Years of Building A Healthier America":
http://www.frac.org/WIC/2004_Report/

2. New Icon Replaces Food Pyramid

("Johanns Reveals USDA's Steps to a Healthier You," U.S. Department of Agriculture, April 19, 2005)

A new symbol and interactive food guidance system called MyPyramid was unveiled by Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns. MyPyramid incorporates recommendations from the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which was released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in January. MyPyramid replaces the Food Guide Pyramid introduced in 1992 and adds an emphasis on daily physical activity. The central message of MyPyramid is "Steps to a Healthier You." Recognizing that no one food guidance system fits all, USDA created an interactive feature on MyPyramid.gov. Individuals may find a personalized recommendation of the kinds and amounts of food to eat each day by entering their age, gender, and activity level on the Web site. MyPyramid focuses on the importance of making smart food choices in every food group, every day.

Press release from the U.S. Department of Agriculture:
http://tinyurl.com/9y5nq

For tips, resources, dietary guidelines, an individualized food guidance plan, and more information about MyPyramid:
http://www.MyPyramid.gov

3. FRAC Suggests Next Food Pyramid Steps

("FRAC Outlines Steps to Make New Food Guidance Pyramid Meaningful for Low-Income Americans," Food Research and Action Center, April 19, 2005)

As the U.S. Department of Agriculture released the new pyramid icon, FRAC called for steps to connect the new food guidance system more directly to tens of millions of lower-income people. FRAC urged: special efforts to publicize to low-income communities and constituents the food guidance system; efforts to reach more eligible people with the benefits of programs (e.g., food stamps, school breakfast and lunch, WIC) that have been shown to contribute to combating obesity (and rejection of cuts to benefits in the 2006 budget process); and an intensified commitment to nutrition education for all of the nation’s children and for lower-income adult consumers. Research has shown that the federal food and nutrition programs help combat obesity.

http://www.frac.org/Press_Release/04.19.05.html

4. Military Families Use Food Stamps to Get By

("Military kin air woes at hearing," Newsday, April 18, 2005)

Carolyn Ceglia's husband is deployed with a National Guard unit in Iraq. His military salary does not cover their monthly mortgage payment, so she and her three children use food stamps to eat. Ceglia told her story at a joint hearing held on Long Island recently for military families. Jean Kelley, executive director of the Interfaith NutritionNetwork, also testified at the hearing that a recent surge in clients in 19 Long Island soup kitchens might be due to the financial hardship military families face. Participants also criticized proposed Bush Administration cuts in medical care for veterans.

http://tinyurl.com/9d73w

5. HHS Launches African American Anti-Obesity Effort

("HHS Launches African American Anti-Obesity Initiative," U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, April 7, 2005)

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced a new $1.2 million initiative aimed at reducing obesity among African Americans. The agency will partner with the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education, the National Urban League, and the National Council of Negro Women on activities including prevention, education, public awareness, and outreach activities intended to bring about a greater understanding of the impact of obesity on other conditions.

http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2005pres/20050407.html

6. RFP Posted for Community Food and Nutrition Program Grants

(Federal Register, April 18, 2005)

Request for proposals for the Community Food and Nutrition Program (CFNP) competitive grants for FY2005 are being accepted. CFNP is the only federal funding that is specifically targeted to state and local anti-hunger groups, often providing critical seed money for a range of community efforts to combat hunger, malnutrition and obesity. This year's RFP specifically "encourages eligible applicants with programs addressing obesity to submit applications." Applicants with programs benefiting Native Americans and migrant or seasonal farm workers are also encouraged to apply. The deadline for applications is June 17, 2005.

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html and search "CFNP" to find a summary of the program and the application process.

7. Astronaut Background Includes Food Stamps

("Mom Will Be Away For A While," Time Online Edition, April 11, 2005)

Eileen Collins became the first woman ever to command a space shuttle mission when she headed the Columbia in 1999. She spent part of her childhood on food stamps. In the near future, Collins, will command the shuttle Discovery in the first U.S. manned space flight since the Columbia disaster halted such missions.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1047482,00.html

8. Limit on Benefits Leaves Refugees Struggling

("Welfare law challenges war refugees," St. Petersburg Times, April 17, 2005)

Safija Alijagic has faced grave personal losses she does not like to discuss, having immigrated to the U.S. from war-torn Bosnia. But the loss of $554 in monthly benefits leaves her wondering how she will survive. The 1996 welfare reform law requires immigrants to become U.S. citizens within seven years of their resettlement in America, or lose their Supplemental Security Income, a payment for elderly and disabled poor persons. The provision could affect 45,000 refugees nationwide. To become a citizen, immigrants must pass a test of American history and government in English. Doing this can be especially difficult for refugees who have suffered severe psychological damage after facing starvation, torture, rape, and witnessed executions of family members says James Lavelle, director of international programs at Harvard University's program in refugee trauma. A pending Senate bill (part of TANF) would provide benefits for nine years instead of seven.

http://www.sptimes.com/2005/04/17/State/Welfare_law_challenge.shtml

9. Diet and Activity Patterns Can Start in Toddlerhood

("Doctors warn against obesity in toddlers," ABC News, April 18, 2005)

Toddlers ages 3 to 4 should get an hour of active play every day along with five fruits and vegetables, pediatric experts say. Dr. Stephen Daniels, professor of pediatrics and environmental health at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, calls the time period a "vulnerable period to start excess weight gain." In toddlerhood, dietary patterns can become more like those of adults, and physical activity patterns begin developing for many. Daniels was lead author of a statement published recently in the American Heart Association journal Circulation, which devoted the issue to the topic of obesity. Childhood obesity has become such a threat to public health that it could reverse the last half-century's gains in reducing cardiovascular disease and death.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory?id=681809

10. Utah: Bishops Say U.S. Budget Helps Rich, Hurts Poor

("Three Utah bishops urge Congress to reject U.S. budget," The Salt Lake City Tribune, April 20, 2005)

Three Utah religious leaders urged Congress not to pass a budget which "has much for the rich man and little for Lazarus." Bishop George H. Neiderauer, leader of Utah's 200,000 Catholics said, "Hunger, health care, a living wage . . . these are areas where we feel there has been a failure." Episcopal Bishop Carolyn Tanner and Methodist Bishop Warner Brown Jr. joined Bishop Neiderauer. The current House budget proposal calls for between $30 billion and $35 billion in cuts over the next five years to Medicaid, food stamps and other low-income programs. The Senate budget contains a $2.8 billion cut to farm, conservation and nutrition programs. Food stamps are expected to take a hit, which could harm some of the nearly 350,000 Utah residents either hungry or at risk of hunger, the bishops said. "This is not the kind of community any of us consciously want," said Brown. "This touches peoples' lives in profound ways."

http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_2669775

11. New Mexico: Food Stamps Cut and Food Lines Grow

("New Mexicans using food banks rising," The New Mexican, April 17, 2005)

New Mexico currently ranks fourth worst in food insecurity in the U.S. About 105,000 families -- 197,000 adults and 150,000 children -- don't know where their next meal is coming from. A December 2001 report for the Department of Agriculture found that only 25 percent of families that suffered food insecurity had received food stamps the month before the study. More than 600 New Mexico agencies including food pantries, soup kitchens, senior centers and shelters feed some 200,000 people annually. According to Sherry Hooper of the Food Depot food bank, the state Legislature decreased its funding for the state's food bank association by 33 percent in the last session. Funding cuts and the increase in the cost of fuel mean "we won't be able to provide as much food," says Hooper.

http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/12699.html

12. Massachusetts: Food Stamps Not Reaching All in Need

("Food stamp failure," Boston Globe, April 18, 2005)

This Boston Globe editorial points out that Massachusetts ranks last in the U.S. for food stamp participation, according to a new Agriculture Department report. In 2002, only 39 percent of those eligible to receive food stamps in Massachusetts actually got benefits. Food stamp access received attention under John Wagner, who became the state's new welfare commissioner in 2002: the application process was streamlined; applications can be submitted online or by mail, helping people who might be ashamed to go to a welfare office; and churches, community groups, and state agencies have been recruited to publicize the program. Participation is up 42 percent in two and half years. Project Bread, an anti-hunger organization, urges greater steps to combat hunger. It calls for universal breakfast in elementary schools in low-income areas; more summer and after-school meal programs; more outreach and prevention; and a state food stamp participation rate of 75 percent. The Globe notes that food stamps put food on people's tables and bring federal dollars to the state. They protect against the crippling side effects of poverty, shielding children against conditions such as failure to thrive. Having enough food can ward off the depression that afflicts mothers of ''food insecure" households where there isn't enough food for all family members to eat well at every meal.

http://tinyurl.com/denfv

View state-by-state food stamp participation rates:
http://www.frac.org/html/federal_food_programs/programs/fspparticipation.html

13. California: Food Stamps Help Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness

("Hunger -- Obstacle to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness," San Francisco Chronicle, April 18, 2005)

Hunger, lack of health care, housing, educational opportunities and good jobs are barriers to upholding America's founding principles of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" write Paul Ash, executive director of the San Francisco Food Bank, and Rev. John Hardin, executive director of St. Anthony Foundation. "How feasible is it to live a healthy, productive life when you are constantly struggling to find your next meal," say Ash and Hardin. The Food Stamp Program is the nation's largest anti-hunger program, yet only half of the people in San Francisco who are eligible receive benefits. Nearly 1 in 5 San Franciscans, including 1 in 4 children, faces the threat of hunger. Ash and Hardin urge adopting innovative strategies such as "Food Stamps in a Day," which brought eligibility workers to St. Anthony Foundation. Individuals could enroll for food stamps at the foundation, and qualified applicants received their benefits the next day. "The President and Congress are proposing millions of dollars in cuts to the Food Stamp Program over the next five years. These cuts will be devastating to the health of low-income people in out country," write Ash and Hardin.

http://tinyurl.com/co9zy

14. Colorado: Lawmakers Question Benefits Web Site

("Lawmakers aren't buying benefits Web site," Rocky Mountain News, April 16, 2005)

The Department of Human Services Web site should give information for those seeking emergency help for food stamps. Instead of finding a toll-free number on the Web site for the Colorado Benefits Management System (CBMS) emergency hotline, Rep. Paul Weissmann, D-Louisville found a link to a site selling t-shirts and other merchandise with the CBMS logo. Thousands of disabled and low-income people in Colorado are not getting their benefits due to problems with CBMS, a computerized benefits system. The state was placed under court order in December to set up the emergency number and handle emergency cases in five business days. But attorneys for the Colorado Center on Law and Policy, which filed suit on behalf of the state's welfare recipients, say they continue to receive 100 calls a week from people who are still not getting their benefits, many of whom say they can't get help through the emergency line.

http://tinyurl.com/cwm2s

15. Oregon: Cuts Would Transfer Duty to States

("Setting the table, and yanking it away," Oregonian, April 17, 2005)

Governor Ted Kulongoski has been traveling in Eastern Oregon in connection with Hunger Awareness Week. While Oregon no longer has the worst rate of hunger among the states, "moving to eight or 10 isn't the answer," said the governor. The governor discussed advances in the state infrastructure, including expansion of food stamp and summer food utilization. But hunger persists. Recently, an Oregon company's employee group asked Cocaan, an agency in Bend, to set up a food pantry at the company offices. Proposed federal cuts to food and nutrition programs may threaten the progress Oregon has made against hunger. Kulongoski calls the federal cuts a "transfer of the safety net to states." The President wants to take 300,000 Americans off food stamps, which could include 7,500 Oregonians. The families that lose food stamps would also lose automatic qualification for free school meals for their children. The governor has been in contact with the state's congressional delegation, which has been supportive. "Senator Smith will do all that he can to make sure the [budget reconciliation] savings don't fall in the nutrition programs," said Chris Matthews, spokesman for Sen. Gordon Smith.

http://tinyurl.com/bv9wd

16. Alabama: State's Poor Pay Heaviest Tax Rate in Nation

("State alone in way it taxes poor," Birmingham News, April 13, 2005)

Alabama will become the only state in the country this year that taxes families whose income falls below half the federal poverty level, according to a report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Alabama has the heaviest or nearly the heaviest tax burden nationwide for poor and near-poor families. Two-parent families of four in 2004 making at least $4,600 were taxed, making it the lowest threshold in the country. The threshold has stayed the same for several years, but the actual tax burden has increased faster than the rate of inflation, according to the report. For example, a family of four at the poverty line paid $348 in state income tax in 1994 and $513 a decade later. Even after those figures are adjusted for inflation, the tax burden grew by an additional 16 percent.

http://tinyurl.com/bs6qp

17. Montana: Lawmakers Increase Health Care Budget

("Low-income Montanans may get boost," Billings Gazette, April 13, 2005)

Lawmakers have made budget increases to the Department of Public Health and Human Services that are enough to increase monthly cash assistance for low-income families by $50, give salary increases to all direct-care workers in nursing homes and mental health facilities, and expand health insurance to the uninsured. The 19 percent increase to the health care budget may yet be stripped as lawmakers rehash the budget before the session ends. The Joint Appropriations Subcommittee raised by $1.30 an hour the salary for nursing home employees and workers in children's mental health. "People can work full time and still be dirt poor," said Rep. Christine Kaufmann. A bill by Rep. Mary Caferro would eliminate the asset test for children applying for Medicaid, which would expand health care to thousands more children. One 13-year-old girl who read about the bill wondered if she could get health insurance if the measure passed: "I've never been to the dentist and my teeth hurt," the girl told the legislator.

http://tinyurl.com/cyegl

18. California: Fresh Produce Out of Reach for Poor

("Second Harvest survey finds healthy foods hard to come by," Santa Cruz Sentinel, April 19, 2005)

Santa Cruz County may be an area of agricultural fields, but not all its residents have access to fresh fruits and vegetables, according to a recent survey by Second Harvest Food Bank. The sometimes higher price and resulting low consumption of nutritious food is one of the main contributors to unusually high rates of obesity in Santa Cruz County, particularly among low-income Latinos. "When you’re only making $6.65 an hour, and you’ve got a family of four to support, it can be difficult," said Isaac Jimenez, a manager of a convenience store on East Beach Street in Watsonville. "You’ll have a hard time finding fruits or vegetables or milk" in supermarkets in some poor neighborhoods, said Gonzalo Coronado, director of the Diabetes Health Center in Watsonville.

http://tinyurl.com/98qc9

**Editor's note: For the last year, Helen Yuen has been the writer/editor of this weekly Digest. She has done a great job, and unfortunately for FRAC this is her last issue. Her predecessor, Ben Winter, will be filing in for a number of weeks as FRAC searches for a new full-time Digest editor/webmaster.