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. Policymakers Should Reward Work, Improve Structure of Benefits and Raise Minimum Wage, Report Says
2. Federal Minimum Wage at Its Lowest in 50 Years
3. Fewer Middle-Class Neighborhoods as Poor and Rich Neighborhoods Grow
4. Inflation Evaporates Americans’ Wage Gains, Leaving Little Confidence in Economy
5. Inflation Squeezes Food Spending of Low-Income Americans
6. New Source for Parents and Educators on Healthy Food and Lifestyle at Home and in School
7. School Nutrition Standards Report Calls Kentucky Best; 23 States Get Failing Grade
8. Walkable Developments, More Funding for Parks and Bike Paths Will Help Fight Obesity Epidemic
9. Maryland Provides Funding for 57 More Schools to Serve Free Breakfast
10. Kansas: New Bill Will Give Food Stamps, Job Training and Housing Assistance to Drug Offenders
11. Virginia: New Summer Food Sites Open in Hard to Reach Rural Areas
12. New York: Long Island Harbors Hunger and Poverty Amid Apparent Prosperity
13. Buffalo, New York: Needy People Pay Higher Price for Food and Financial Services
14. Vermont: Novel Partnership Will Grow Vegetables for Food Bank Clients
15. California: Portraits of Minimum Wage Workers
16. Colorado Legislature Estimates It Would Cost More Not to Provide Services to Illegal Immigrants
17. New York Mayor Argues for Public Health Legal Steps to Fight Diabetes and Encourage Physical Activity
18. Mississippi Governor to Start Anti-Obesity and Healthy Lifestyle Program
19. Arizona: Melding Medical and Legal Services Under One Roof Helps Vulnerable Families

1. Policymakers Should Reward Work, Improve Structure of Benefits and Raise Minimum Wage, Report Says

(“Data Shows That Full-Time Work Fails to Lift Many Families out of Poverty,” newswire.ascribe.org, June 20, 2006)

A full-time job at low wages often does not provide nearly enough to support a family, says a National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) report, “When Work Doesn’t Pay: What Every Policymaker Should Know.” The report shows that the structure of government benefits, intended to help low-wage workers, can result in families being worse off when they earn more. It happens when extra income causes a family to lose a benefit of greater value than additional earnings. In the Food Stamp Program the benefit amount is reduced as earnings increase, but the family eventually faces a cliff when the benefits stop. When a single mother in Philadelphia earns an additional $1,000 that boosts her yearly income from $19,000 to $20,000, it would cause her family to lose $2,125 a year in food stamps. NCCP recommends phasing out benefits gradually to avoid steep “cliffs”; raising eligibility limits; serving a greater share of eligible families; and being mindful of how different programs might affect one another. “It’s time for Congress to acknowledge that the minimum wage is fundamental to the survival of many families. It is a lifeline to help hard-working parents provide for the basic needs of their children,” said report author Dr. Nancy K. Cauthen, who urged lawmakers to increase the minimum wage.

http://tinyurl.com/fvyek

Also see http://nccp.org/media/wdp06_text.pdf (report, “When Work Doesn’t Pay: What Every Policymaker Should Know”)

2. Federal Minimum Wage at Its Lowest in 50 Years

(“The Rise and Fall of the Minimum Wage (1946-2006),” cepr.net, June 19, 2006)

The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) has tracked graphically the rise and fall of the minimum wage from 1946 to 2006. “The federal minimum wage is at its lowest point in 50 years. Congress has not raised the minimum wage in a decade. As of December 2006, this will be the longest time Congress has ever gone without raising the minimum wage. Raising the minimum wage is only the first step in helping families to make ends meet,” writes CEPR. In the early 2000s, fewer than one in five minimum wage workers was under the age of 20 and half were between ages 25 and 54.

http://www.cepr.net/pressreleases/2006_06_19_graph.htm

http://www.cepr.net/pressreleases/2006_06_19.htm (CEPR press release)

3. Fewer Middle-Class Neighborhoods as Poor and Rich Neighborhoods Grow

(“U.S. Losing Its Middle-Class Neighborhoods,” washingtonpost.com, June 21, 2006)

Middle-class neighborhoods are shrinking at more than twice the rate of the middle class itself, giving in to poor and rich neighborhoods, both of which are on the rise, according to a new Brookings Institution study. Cities and suburbs have become increasingly segregated by income, and the share of middle-income neighborhoods among all urban and suburban neighborhoods in the 100 largest metro areas has declined from 58 percent in 1970 to 41 percent in 2000. Neighborhoods with families earning 80 to 120 percent of the local median income have dwindled by more than 20 percent in Baltimore, Chicago, Indianapolis, Los Angeles and Philadelphia and are down 10 percent in the Washington area. “If you are not living in one of the well-off areas, you are not going to have access to the same amenities – good schools and safe environment – that you could find 30 years ago,” said Alan Berube, an urban demographer at Brookings. “We are increasingly being bifurcated on an economic basis,” said University of California professor Paul Ong. “It has taken a big chunk out of the middle.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/21/AR2006062101735.html

4. Inflation Evaporates Americans’ Wage Gains, Leaving Little Confidence in Economy

(“Inflation Ravages U.S. Wages, Fueling Angst at Bush’s Economy,” quote.bloomberg.com, June 20, 2006)

The U.S. Department of Labor reports that weekly wages adjusted for inflation fell 0.7 percent last month and are down 0.2 percent over the past year. Pay has been flat or declined in more than half of the 65 months since January 2001. “People at the high end of the income scale are doing a lot better than people in the middle or low end, but there are a lot more people in the middle and low end,” commented Douglas Lee of the Economics From Washington consulting firm. Adjusted for inflation, the median income for the top 10 percent of U.S. households rose 2.3 percent between 2001 and 2004, according to the February 2006 Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances. For the remaining 90 percent of households, which earned less than $184,800 in 2004, the median fell 0.5 percent over the same period. The Fed survey indicates that it was the increase in income among the top 10 percent that pulled the median income for all families up by 1.6 percent, masking the decline among other households. Despite job growth, the income disparity is raising the public’s distrust in the economy’s performance. “The most important economic indicator is what is going into our pocket and how much and how fast it’s going right back out,” said Ken Goldstein of the Conference Board. “In terms of incomes, consumers feel like they’ve been in a slump and haven’t come out.”

http://tinyurl.com/ejep9

5. Inflation Squeezes Food Spending of Low-Income Americans

(“Inflation Hits Home for Lower Income Groups,” mercurynews.com, June 13, 2006)

Americans are increasingly feeling the pressure of higher prices that comes not only from the soaring price of gas, but from the cost of groceries, travel and other necessities. Amy and Jacob Lopez of Eureka, Calif., are spending $70 to fill up their mini-van, rent is accounting for more than half their monthly income of $1,200, and they recently had to get food from a local food bank. “If food and stuff are constantly going up, I think people should be paid more,” said Amy. Sharon Connlley of Duluth, Minn., who makes $9 an hour as a receptionist, is now buying more noodles, lower-quality meats and more canned vegetables instead of fresh ones. “In the last couple of years, it’s gotten worse. You go to the grocery store now and spend 50 bucks and walk out with a bag, where it used to be enough for two weeks,” Connlley complained. “To eat healthy is way more expensive than to eat mac and cheese.”

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/14809045.htm

6. New Source for Parents and Educators on Healthy Food and Lifestyle at Home and in School

(“Food & Fitness Matter: Raising Healthy, Active Kids,” parentsactionstore.org, June 2006)

Parents Action for Children has released a video, “ Food & Fitness Matter: Raising Healthy, Active Kids,” in DVD format that provides parents with information and support to help them make healthy lifestyle changes at home and in their local schools. Health and nutrition experts, including former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher, explain the causes for the dramatic increase in overweight kids, the health problems posed by the childhood obesity epidemic, and the impact of unhealthy food at school on students’ discipline and ability to learn. The video also presents practical tips for parents to improve diet and fitness at home, profiles of schools and districts that successfully switched to healthier foods, and inspiration for parents to join together and press for changes in their schools. Parents Action has published a companion guide for parent leaders, educators and health professionals that includes a summary of the video, sample discussion questions and handouts, such as fact sheets on childhood obesity, and tips for healthier eating and creating school wellness policies.

http://store.parentsactionstore.org/Detail.bok?no=647

Also see http://www.stiritupamerica.com/FoodAndFitnessGuide.pdf (DVD companion guide)

7. School Nutrition Standards Report Calls Kentucky Best; 23 States Get Failing Grade

(“23 States Get Failing Grade on CSPI's School Foods Report Card,” cspinet.org, June 20, 2006)

Kentucky has the strongest school nutrition standards policy in the nation, according to a year-end School Foods Report Card published by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). CSPI evaluated the policies for foods and beverages sold through school vending machines, school stores, fundraisers and a la carte menus for the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Kentucky’s policies got an A-. The state only allows vending machines and school stores to sell food on campus in the afternoon, a half-hour after the last lunch period, and has strong standards for portion sizes, saturated fat, sugars, and sodium for foods and drinks, including those sold during the rest of the school day. Nevada, Arkansas, New Mexico, Alabama, and California all received B+s; 15 states received Cs or Ds; and 23 states received Fs. “Although some local school districts have school foods policies that are far better than the state standards, far too many states allow way too much junk food in schools,” said Margo G. Wootan of CSPI. “States should continue to enact stronger nutrition policies, but since the school lunch program is, after all, a federal program, Congress should take action to ensure that all school foods are healthy.”

http://cspinet.org/new/200606201.html

Also see http://cspinet.org/new/pdf/school_foods_report_card.pdf (School Foods Report Card)

8. Walkable Developments, More Funding for Parks and Bike Paths Will Help Fight Obesity Epidemic

(“New Urban Designs Sought in Obesity Fight,” washingtonpost.com, June 16, 2006)

Fitness experts say public service campaigns alone cannot solve the nation’s obesity problem, and neighborhoods must be designed so people can get around without their cars. James Sallis, a San Diego State University professor, and other participants of the American College of Sports Medicine’s annual meeting believe that everything American society has done for the past 100 years has made it easier for people to be fatter. “We’ve built an unhealthy world in a lot of different ways” and “everything is engineered against us,” said Sallis. Until the public demands walkable developments, more funding for parks and bike paths and a tax on industries that promote sedentary lifestyles, the healthier lifestyle will not come. The success of the Denver ( Colo.) Stapleton neighborhood with its walkable environment provides evidence that people will accept a more active lifestyle. Without a coordinated effort among federal, state and local governments, however, communities can’t compete, Sallis stated.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/16/AR2006061600193.html

9. Maryland Provides Funding for 57 More Schools to Serve Free Breakfast

(“57 More Schools Get Free Breakfast,” washingtonpost.com, June 22, 2006)

Maryland Gov. Ehrlich Jr. has increased funding for the Department of Education’s Meals for Achievement Classroom Breakfast Program by $1.2 million, allowing 57 more schools in Montgomery, Prince George’s and Baltimore counties to offer free breakfast to all students, raising the total number of schools to 189. At least 40 percent of students in a school must qualify for free or reduced-price meals for the school to be eligible for the program, and Maryland has 600 eligible schools. Students at all 189 participating schools, selected from 211 schools that applied for the program, receive a free breakfast, regardless of their parents’ income. “Having the program available to everyone gets rid of the stigma piece. It’s really a relaxed and welcoming way to start the day,” said Carol Fettweis, chief of the School and Community Nutrition Programs Branch of the State Department of Education. “For a variety of reasons, many children do not eat breakfast before going to school, which can lead to loss of concentration, misbehavior, and ultimately poor grades,” explained State Schools Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick. The meals are served in the classrooms, so students do not have to rush to the cafeteria to pick them up in the morning time crunch. Officials have some evidence that free breakfasts are boosting academic achievement and reducing behavioral problems.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/21/AR2006062101091.html

10. Kansas: New Bill Will Give Food Stamps, Job Training and Housing Assistance to Drug Offenders

(“Fewer Parolees Returning to Prison,” ljworld.com, June 18, 2006)

Starting next month, a new Kansas law will give access to food stamps, job training and housing assistance to drug offenders returning to the community from prisons. This legislation is expected to reduce recidivism. “It all goes back to the big welfare reform bill Congress passed in 1996. It said [felony] drug offenders weren’t eligible, but it gave states the option to opt out,” said Sister Therese Bangert of the Kansas Catholic Conference, who worked on the bill. Kansas now has joined 38 states that have dropped or altered the provision. The new law requires drug offenders to be in or have completed a rehabilitation program. “For people coming out of prison, re-entering society is difficult. We should help them,” Bangert said. Wichita resident Paul Goseland, 54, who served 13 years in prison for cocaine possession, has experienced this first hand: “I walked the streets for months, looking for employment. Once they find out you’ve been in prison, nobody’ll hire you.” Access to services, Goseland said, would have eased his transition into society and lessened the strain on his family.

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2006/jun/18/fewer_parolees_returning_prison/

11. Virginia: New Summer Food Sites Open in Hard to Reach Rural Areas

(“Food Bank to Help Feed Kids This Summer,” roanoke.com, June 13, 2006)

The Southwest Virginia Second Harvest Food Bank and community leaders want to make sure that children who receive free and reduced-price meals during the school year will continue to be fed in the summer. More than 44 percent of students in Southwest Virginia are eligible for discounted school meals. Fifteen summer food sites throughout the region, sponsored by churches, schools, and clubs, will be added to the estimated 1,055 sites in Virginia. Many of the new sites will open in rural localities and will reach areas that have not been previously included in the USDA Summer Food Service Program during its 31 years. “Rural areas in particular are hard for us to get to,” said Alan Crane, state coordinator for the program.

http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/wb/xp-69282

12. New York: Long Island Harbors Hunger and Poverty Amid Apparent Prosperity

(“Report Finds Hardship Amid Plenty on L.I.,” nytimes.com, June 16, 2006)

Many among Long Island’s seemingly prosperous 2.8 million residents face “difficult decisions between paying for food” and necessities like rent and medicine, according to the “Vital Signs” report by Adelphi University. About 37,000 families rely on food stamps, and almost half of local food pantries and a third of soup kitchens report they sometimes turned away the hungry because of the lack of food. Long Island Cares and Island Harvest alone help feed 259,000 residents a year. Skyrocketing housing costs have put a heavier burden on families’ budgets. For 16 percent of homeowners and 32 percent of renters, those costs account for more than half their household income. The average starting wage has plunged to $24,000 in this decade from $41,000 in the last half of the 1990’s. “It’s a baseline, almost an E.K.G. for the health and welfare of Long Island," said Jack O'Connell, executive director of the Long Island Health and Welfare Council, about the findings in the study. “It’s also a wakeup call for business and government leaders to make Long Island a better place for people who live under the radar.”

http://tinyurl.com/efnm7 (subscription or purchase required)

Also see http://www.adelphi.edu/vitalsigns/ (report, “Vital Signs”)

13. Buffalo, New York: Needy People Pay Higher Price for Food and Financial Services

(“The High Cost of Being Poor,” buffalonews.com, June 18, 2006)

Alma Medina, a mother of three who has performed workfare and janitorial jobs in Buffalo, N.Y., recalls paying $15 or $20 at a liquor store to cash $200 checks. Although such check-cashing fees are illegal in New York, for the working poor and people on food stamps and workfare such fees are a largely unavoidable “tax” on being poor. “It’s a fairly universal truth that low-income families are going to be paying higher prices for goods and services,” said researcher Matt Fellowes of the Brookings Institution. The absence of major businesses such as banks and supermarkets in poor neighborhoods leaves their residents to alternative providers of payday lending, check cashing and overpriced corner stores. In these stores, food prices can be 10, 20 or 60 percent higher for name brand items, food is not as fresh, and the choice of products is practically nonexistent. The county’s item-pricing law exempts small stores, and shoppers often do not know how much they need to pay until the product is rung up. But even these stores are a blessing for those who do not have cars to shop someplace else. Most shoppers realize that they pay more at the corner store, but are powerless without cars. Medina, “who can recite prices with the accuracy of someone who counts every penny,” takes her $435 in food stamps to an Aldi chain store whenever she can get a ride. But when she is not lucky, she pays $1.79 at her corner store for a loaf of bread, which is three times the 59 cents it would cost her at the big grocery.

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20060618/1046303.asp

14. Vermont: Novel Partnership Will Grow Vegetables for Food Bank Clients

(“Growing an Answer,” timesargus.com, May 22, 2006)

Twenty acres of farmland in Montpelier, Vt., make up part of a new partnership called the Foodbank Farm at Two Rivers Center for Sustainability. The project pioneers a novel concept in addressing farm sustainability, hunger and diet and health issues. Foodworks, an organization fighting childhood hunger and the owner of the land, will grow approximately 40,000 pounds of food that the Vermont Foodbank will then distribute to some of its 270 agencies across the state, said Deborah Flateman of the Vermont Foodbank. The food bank will pay no more than 40-60 cents per pound for the fresh produce, which is much lower than the actual cost of growing and distributing the food. The primary goal of the program is to make fresh, locally grown and organic food available to people who generally do not have the financial access to it, said Stacy Burnstein, the farm manager.

http://tinyurl.com/hmg3n

15. California: Portraits of Minimum Wage Workers

(“Life on $6.75 an Hour: When Ends Don’t Meet,” sacbee.com, June 18, 2006)

California’s lowest-paid workers are cheering Gov. Schwarzenegger’s proposal to raise the state minimum wage by a dollar, to $7.75 an hour, and a plan by state legislators to index it for inflation. A single mother of two young children, Monique Garcia has been earning minimum wage for almost a decade washing dishes, sweeping floors, collecting parking tickets, working cash registers and flipping burgers. Her earnings, even with food stamp help, did not save her from becoming homeless. Garcia moved to a family shelter in Sacramento where she now shares a room with another minimum-wage worker and her two children. The two mothers trade off: one works while the other watches the children. “Minimum-wage earners patch together strategies to make ends meet: some cram into one-bedroom apartments shared by multiple families. Many work two or three jobs. They run up debt to pay medical bills, buy clothing at rummage sales and visit food banks when there’s nothing left to eat.” Marina Aguilar, an uninsured Der Wienerschnitzel worker, has a history of breast cancer in her family, and the doctor recently told her that she needed a biopsy, which would cost $5,000. Aguilar has never been on vacation, and her dream is to take the youngest children to Chuck E. Cheese, or maybe even on a vacation. Epitacio Leon has spent 43 years watering and picking California crops. He is nearing 60 and has spent his life getting up at 4 every morning, working 12 hours in the fields, and drinking a few beers before going to bed. His recent raise, from $6.75 to $7 an hour, represents the highest pay he has ever received.

http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/14269140p-15080280c.html (registration required)

16. Colorado Legislature Estimates It Would Cost More Not to Provide Services to Illegal Immigrants

(“Denying State Services Will Cost Millions,” longmontfyi.com, June 20, 2006)

A system that seeks to identify and prevent illegal immigrants from getting government services in Colorado could cost millions, concluded the state Legislature’s staff last year. The first year implementation could have cost the state $4.3 million, versus only about $460,600 in possible savings, chiefly through reduced spending on state child welfare services to abused or neglected illegal immigrant children. Rich Jones of the Bell Policy Center pointed out that state and federal laws already prohibit illegal immigrants from getting welfare benefits, food stamps or non-emergency Medicaid services. Another initiative proposed by Defend Colorado Now might become the subject of a summer legislative session. According to Jones, if taken to an extreme, this proposal could go beyond welfare and could be interpreted as requiring local governments to get proof of legal residency before providing trash pickup, water and sewer and electric service, or services of public buses and libraries.

http://www.longmontfyi.com/Local-Story.asp?id=8335

17. New York Mayor Argues for Public Health Legal Steps to Fight Diabetes and Encourage Physical Activity

(“Laws Can Be Good for You, Mayor Tells Health Officials,” select.nytimes.com, June 15, 2006)

The government should use laws to influence behavior to fight chronic diseases like diabetes, said New York Mayor Bloomberg to a group of top officials at a public health law conference organized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “New threats result from, and are aggravated by, our forbearance, and even social and economic encouragement, of such behavior as tobacco addiction, unhealthy nutrition and excessively sedentary lifestyles,” said the mayor. Bloomberg has mandated nutrition and exercise programs for children in day care centers and created a registry for people with diabetes. In his speech, he underscored the strengthening of nutritional standards for school lunches as one of the achievements of his administration and shared his intention to take legal steps to encourage physical activity among New Yorkers. “We rely on the forceful application of law democratically debated and approved as the principal instrument of our public policy,” said Bloomberg. “Clearly there are many matters of personal behavior and personal taste that we have no business regulating. But … there are also areas in which we have an obligation to act on what we know.”

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

18. Mississippi Governor to Start Anti-Obesity and Healthy Lifestyle Program

(“Miss. Governor Aims for Healthier State,” mercurynews.com, June 11, 2006)

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, concerned about his state’s growing reputation as one of the fattest and unhealthiest states in America, is hosting a Healthy Mississippi Summit and seeking advice from state and national experts about ways to promote nutrition and an active lifestyle. “The chronic disease burden in our state dramatically increases the cost of Medicaid and Medicare. Businesses lose money because employees miss work,” Barbour warned. Yale obesity expert Dr. David Katz said obesity is prevalent in Mississippi because it has more poverty to contend with than other states. “Combine educational and economic hardships with the obesigenic factors that abound and you have a perfect storm of irresistible, adverse influences,” Katz explained. Katz said that about half of African-Americans born in the United States in 2000 or after are projected to develop diabetes. The governor’s goal is a statewide program aimed at school children, state employees, church members and other groups similar to programs already operating in Arkansas, Michigan and other states.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/14795260.htm

19. Arizona: Melding Medical and Legal Services Under One Roof Helps Vulnerable Families

(“Program Revives Hope, Puts Food on the Table,” tucsoncitizen.com, June 19, 2006)

Emma McKenzie lost her ability to work because of a car accident and was “getting nowhere” trying to get food stamps for herself and her daughter. But the Tucson Family Advocacy Program literally put food on her table and got McKenzie emergency assistance by helping her maneuver through the maze of bureaucracy. The program’s goal is to improve the health and long-term well-being of low-income families, said program director and attorney Anne Ryan. People in need get help with their legal problems that prevent them from living a healthy life. Mostly, University of Arizona law students do the legal research and check clients’ eligibility for state and federal benefits. The program also helps to appeal decisions, such as rejected applications for Social Security Disability Insurance. This Arizona program is modeled after one in Boston conceived in 1993 by pediatrician Barry Zuckerman, “who was frustrated by his attempts to berate landlords to provide heat for low-income families and rid their apartments of roaches, which aggravate asthma in children.”

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/16317.php