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. Children's Access to Free School Meals Expanded in Senate Bill
2. Summer Food Service Program Week, May 30 - June 5
3. Minimum Wage Increase Supported by 94% of Voters
4. Federal Policies Harming State Budgets
5. Many Working Families with Children Rely on Food Pantries
6. School Vending Machines Sell Mostly Junk Food, Study Finds
7. Blood Pressure Climbing Among U.S. Children & Teenagers
8. Children's Soda Consumption Up 500% Over 50 Years
9. Wisconsin: Rising Milk Prices May Affect School Lunch Prices
10. Iowa: Food Stamp Participation Rises with Better Outreach
11. California: Proposal to Lift Ban on Food Stamp Benefits for Drug Offenders
12. California: Assembly Proposes Ending Fingerprinting to Get Food Stamps
13. Vermont: A Hungry Stomach Hurts A Hungry Mind
14. New York: Pregnant Women Get Easier Access to State Nutrition Program

1. Children's Access to Free School Meals Expanded in Senate Bill

(Food Research & Action Center, May 21, 2004)

On May 19, the Senate Agriculture Committee passed a child nutrition reauthorization bill that is similar to the House version, but contains some additional program improvements. The Senate bill expands the "Lugar" summer food pilot from 14 and 20 states, and adds nonprofit as well as public summer food sponsors. The pilot eases red tape in the summer food program. Additionally, the bill phases in direct certification, so that a child whose family participates in the Food Stamp program will be directly certified eligible for free school meals. Other provisions include the establishment of a 3-year summer food rural transportation pilot and expansion of the fresh fruit and vegetable pilot. In a joint letter, FRAC and more than 20 national groups expressed their support for the Senate Committee bill: "We believe that this legislation strikes the right balance between needed program improvements while maintaining the integrity of the programs."

http://www.frac.org/html/federal_food_programs/cnreauthor/04MemDayRecess.htm
http://www.frac.org/html/federal_food_programs/cnreauthor/052104reauth.htm

2. Summer Food Service Program Week, May 30 - June 5

(U.S. Department of Agriculture, May 2004)

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman declared Summer Food Service Program Week May 30 to June 5. The week is designed to increase awareness and the number of children served, participating sponsors, and communities in the program. The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) provides a nutritious meal to children in the summer months, a time when the school meal program is not in service. The declaration of SFSP week is available in English and Spanish at the link below.

http://www.summerfood.usda.gov/states/index.html#proclamation

3. Minimum Wage Increase Supported by 94% of Voters

("Election-year shuffle on the minimum wage," New York Times, May 16, 2004)

A Pew Research Center poll in January found 94 percent of the respondents support a minimum wage increase. Opponents argue employers will hire fewer workers if the minimum wage is increased and believe market forces should determine the minimum wage. This column by New York Times economic columnist Lewis Uchitelle points out that various studies disprove the first claim, and market forces do not cause wages to rise with inflation for the bottom 5 percent of workers. Even if Congress passed Senator Kennedy's bill to increase the minimum wage to $7 an hour, a full-time worker at that salary with two children would still be living below the poverty line.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/16/business/yourmoney/16view.html

4. Federal Policies Harming State Budgets

("Federal policies harming state budgets," Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, May 12, 2004)

Federal policies have worsened states' budget crises by imposing new costs on states and restricting their revenue. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) has compiled state-by-state data which total the cost and loss in revenue to states at $175 billion from FY 2002-2005. This is an average of 8.4 percent of state general fund budgets. To balance their budgets, states have cut programs and increased taxes that affect mainly low- and middle-income families. "At the same time the federal government has been passing $175 billion in costs on to states, it has enacted tax cuts that provide huge benefits to high-income families," said Iris Lav of CBPP.

http://www.cbpp.org/5-12-04sfp-pr.htm

5. Many Working Families with Children Rely on Food Pantries

("Many working families with children rely on food pantries," Urban Institute, April 28, 2004)

The majority of families that rely on food pantries to supplement their income are working or have children, based on a 2002 survey by the Urban Institute. Seven in ten non-elderly families that visited food pantries had earned income in the last year. Forty-six percent using food pantries were working families with children. Less than 25 percent of the survey's nonelderly respondents were unemployed with no children.

http://www.urban.org/urlprint.cfm?ID=8842

6. School Vending Machines Sell Mostly Junk Food, Study Finds

("Dispensing junk: How school vending undermines efforts to feed children well," Center for Science in the Public Interest, May 2004)

Seventy-five percent of beverages and 85 percent of snacks sold in vending machines in middle and high schools are "foods of poor nutritional quality," according to a study by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). CSPI volunteers surveyed the contents of 1,420 vending machines in 25 schools in 24 states. The report calls for federal, state, and local governments to regulate foods available to students outside the school meal program. CSPI also urges that strong nutrition standards be established for these foods. The study recognizes the importance of food sales for school budgets, but notes that schools that have replaced soda vending machines with healthier choices have not lost money.

Report (PDF): http://www.cspinet.org/new/pdf/dispensing_junk.pdf

7. Blood Pressure Climbing Among U.S. Children & Teenagers

("Average blood pressure levels on rise among American children/teenagers," National Institutes of Health News, May 4, 2004)

Blood pressure in children and teenagers has increased significantly since 1988, researchers from Tulane University reported in a recent study. The results were published in the May issue of The Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA). Blood pressure rose for all age and race/ethnic groups, and both genders. The rise in blood pressure is linked to a growing rate of overweight and obesity. Dr. Jeffery Cutler, a co-author of the study, said that while the increases in average blood pressures "may seem small," previous research shows that for every 1- to 2-millimeter mercury rise in a child's systolic blood pressure, s/he has a 10 percent greater chance of developing hypertension as an adult.

http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/may2004/nhlbi-04.htm
Study abstract: http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/291/17/2107

8. Children's Soda Consumption Up 500% Over 50 Years

("Beverage Choices Contribute to "Disordered" Diets Among U.S. Children," Packaged Facts Press Release, May 4, 2004)

Soda consumption among U.S. children has jumped almost 500 percent over the last 50 years. After age 10 soda is the most commonly consumed beverage among children. The finding is from "Children's Eating Habits In the U.S.: Trends and Implications for Food Marketers," a report by market research publisher Packaged Facts. The high levels of caffeine and phosphoric acid in soda may hinder the body's absorption and metabolism of calcium, which is particularly problematic because most children do not consume enough calcium, according to the report.

http://www.packagedfacts.com/corporate/press/press_view.asp?Article=403

9. Wisconsin: Rising Milk Prices May Affect School Lunch Prices

("Milking the budget," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, May 14, 2004)

If milk prices remain high through next year, as predicted, the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) may raise paid student lunch and a la carte prices for the '04-'05 school year. Federal reimbursement for the school lunch program is not keeping pace with the increased cost in milk. Just the four cents per half pint milk increase in the last month costs MPS $2800 per day. The federal reimbursement rate for the school lunch program will rise just 2.25% in July for the '04-'05 school year, while the cost of milk has climbed 25 percent. Other school districts in Wisconsin are considering charging more in their cafeterias next fall as well.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/state/may04/229584.asp

10. Iowa: Lowering Barriers Has Increased Food Stamp Participation

("Iowa spreads the word about Food Assistance program," Quad City Times, May 13, 2004)

In 2003, only 54 percent of Iowans living below the poverty level were receiving food stamp benefits, spurring state officials to institute new efforts to lower barriers to enrolling and staying in the food stamp program. Food stamp participants in Iowa now only need to report their income every 6 months instead of monthly, an online application is being developed, a family's first car no longer counts towards an applicant's asset limit (the old rule only exempted $3,000 of a vehicle's value), and electronic debit cards have helped reduce stigma. Governor Tom Vilsack sees the greatest beneficiary as children: "..a hungry child is not going to learn well. The reality is that a hungry child is likely to get ill more frequently." The Governor also pointed out the importance of helping the working poor and residents who have lost their jobs: "These are good, hard-working people, and the Food Assistance program is really designed to give them a leg up to recovery."

http://www.qctimes.com/internal.php?story_id=1028153&l=1&t=Iowa+%2F+Illinois&c=24,1028153

11. California: Proposal to Lift Ban on Food Stamp Benefits for Drug Offenders

("Editorial: Starving felons," The Sacramento Bee, May 14, 2004)

The 1996 federal welfare law created a lifetime ban on food stamp benefits for drug felons, subject to state legislation lifting the ban. A bill in California's legislature would do so. In 1996 proponents of the ban argued that in drug-infested neighborhoods, food stamps are sold for money to buy drugs. However, replacing food stamp coupons with electronic benefits transfers (EBT) has made that argument moot, with participants receiving and using benefits on a card similar to an ATM card. This has dramatically reduced fraud and abuse. The editorial notes that many drug offenders are single mothers, and rehabilitation programs stress good nutrition. The California Narcotics Officers Association, which has endorsed the bill, says the ban "is not only silly but increases the possibility that the individual will return to the same illegal drug behavior that got them in trouble in the first place."

http://www.sacbee.com/content/opinion/story/9288426p-10213309c.html

12. California: Assembly Proposes Ending Fingerprinting to Get Food Stamps

("Assembly Proposes Ending Fingerprinting to Get Food Stamps," The Mercury News, May 20, 2004)

The California Assembly voted to end the practice of fingerprinting applicants for food stamp and welfare benefits. The move would save California $8 million a year. The practice started 18 years ago to ensure people did not falsely collect benefits under assumed names. A state auditor general report released last year raised doubts about the effectiveness of fingerprinting applicants. The bill awaits vote in the Senate.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/the_valley/8717046.htm?1c

13. Vermont: A Hungry Stomach Hurts A Hungry Mind

("A hungry stomach hurts a hungry mind," Bennington Banner, May 17, 2004)

A new Vermont law requires schools to offer a federal meal program or let voters decide the issue. School budgets are not burdened by offering federal meal programs because of the federal reimbursement, says Dorigen Keeney, a specialist with the Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger. "A healthy child is one who is ready to learn," states the piece, while an underfed child's "brain power" decreases along with his/her health. Furthermore, a "best case scenario" would mean that children would not arrive at school hungry, or leave school knowing there would be no dinner that night, but "in the absence of perfection, the community has a responsibility" to protect its children.

http://www.benningtonbanner.com/Stories/0,1413,104~8670~2153261,00.html

14. New York: Pregnant Women Get Easier Access to State Nutrition Program

("State improving nutrition program for pregnant women," The Ithaca Journal, May 17, 2004)

In 1999, forty-six percent of a sample of women enrolled in the New York State Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program sometimes did not pick up benefits because of long lines, insufficient amount of food such as baby formula, and unhelpful nutrition counseling. The finding appears in the May issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. The state has made improvements by streamlining and automating the process to cut wait times. Changes have also been made to nutrition education, and the list of eligible foods that participants can purchase with their coupons has been expanded. The wait time for mother Keisha Higgins has been reduced from over an hour to fewer than 30 minutes to receive her benefits.

http://www.theithacajournal.com/news/stories/20040517/localnews/437745.html
Study abstract: http://www.adajournal.org/scripts/om.dll/serve?action=searchDB&searchDBfor=
art&artType=abs&id=as0002822304002342&nav=abs

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Helen Yuen
Food Research and Action Center
1875 Connecticut Avenue, NW Suite 540
Washington, DC 20009
(202) 986-2200 x3019 phone
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Email: hyuen@frac.org