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. More funding needed for Food Stamp Program
(USA Today, July 15, 2007)
Lawmakers are working on a proposal to reauthorize the 2002 Farm Bill. The Food Stamp Program serves 26 million Americans and is the nation’s largest federal nutrition program. The latest draft of the Farm Bill would provide $187 billion for food stamps through 2012, but James Weill, president of FRAC, said more funding is needed to provide food aid to several million people who are currently eligible for the program but not receiving help. "We think it's essential that there be an increased investment in nutrition programs," said Weill. "Hunger [in the United States] has been getting worse over the last six years." If additional funding can be found, the bill proposes to boost the minimum benefit levels and tie future increases to inflation.
2. Millions of children lose access to nutritious meals during summer
(PR Newswire, July 9, 2007)
About 81 percent of the 16 million children who utilize the free or reduced-price lunch program during the school year lose access to nutritious meals when schools ends in summer, according to the Sodexho Foundation. Feeding Our Future, a summer meals program implemented by Sodexho, is providing free lunches to more than 7,000 children in 18 cities across the United States. Stephen J. Brady, president of the Sodexho Foundation, said "Feeding Our Future works to break the cycle of poverty and hunger by helping these children keep up with their peers throughout the year."
3. Poor nutrition hurts teen lungs, study finds
(Reuters, July 9, 2007)
Teenagers who do not get enough of the nutrients commonly found in fruits and fish are more prone to asthma and underperforming lungs, according to researchers from Harvard School of Public Health. In a study of 2,112 12th-graders from the United States and Canada, researchers found that teens with the lowest intake of vitamin C had weaker lungs than others, and teens with low amounts of vitamin E were more likely to have asthma. The researches also found that many teens consumed less than the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables.
4. Study finds lack of vitamin D in many participants
(Newsday, July 10, 2007)
Researchers studied 382 participants between the ages of 6 and 21 and found that 55 percent of the participants had low blood levels of vitamin D. This number rose to 68 percent during winter months. Vitamin D is needed by the immune system, and a deficiency in childhood could become problematic later in life, said Babette Zemel, director of the Nutrition and Growth Laboratory at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Vitamin D is produced naturally by the human body through a chemical reaction from the sun’s rays. On average, 15 minutes of sun exposure, without sunscreen, three times a week will provide sufficient levels of vitamin D, said Zemel.
5. Monthly food stamp benefit not enough for some families
(The Courier, July 8, 2007)
The Food Stamp Program helps 27 million Americans across the country, but many still struggle to provide food for their families. Sasha Fulks, a single mother of three boys is one of 98,000 Iowa residents who receive food stamps. Fulks said the high price of groceries means her monthly food stamp allocation is not enough. "Feeding three kids, it doesn't last like they say it should," she said. "I really don't eat with the kids. I feed them before I will feed myself. Right now, in my situation, I can't shell out anymore."
6. More New York City farmers' markets accepting food stamps
(1010 WINS, July 10, 2007)
Nine farmers' markets in New York City offer electronic food stamp terminals in New York City, due to increased funding by city officials. The terminals allow farmers' markets to accept payments from food stamp cards, which are swiped electronically like debit cards. The Poe Park Green Market in the Bronx processed no food stamp transactions prior to the electronic system being implemented, but now accepts $500 each day in food stamp charges.
7. More consumers turning to local produce
(The Eagle-Tribune, July 9, 2007)
Farmers' markets have seen a substantial growth in popularity over the last few years, said Richard Uncles, director of regulatory services for the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture. "Sixty years ago, everything people bought came from a 100-mile radius," said Ronni Cummins, the national director of organic consumers associations. "That's probably going to happen again."
8. New York City offers free summer meals
(The New York Times, June 10, 2007)
The New York City school system is expanding the reach of their summer food program by offering free breakfast and lunch for the first time in housing projects, libraries, day camps and church groups. Education department officials in the city expect the amount of meals provided to significantly surpass last summer’s totals of 2 million breakfasts and 4.4 million lunches served. Most of the program’s costs are covered by the Summer Food Service Program, and the city contributes $5 million, according to Margie Feinberg, a spokeswoman for the city’s education department. According to FRAC’s 2007 State of the States report, only one in five children who receive free school lunches receive free meals during the summer. “Summer is a really difficult time for low-income families,” said Crystal FitzSimons, FRAC’s senior policy analyst for afterschool and summer programs.
9. Kansas offers food assistance to residents impacted by floods
(Parsons Sun, July 10, 2007)
Disaster food assistance is being offered in five Kansas counties affected by devastating flooding that destroyed many families’ food supplies. Those eligible for assistance must have lived in Neosho, Montgomery, Miami, Elk or Wilson counties or worked in one of the counties and lost wages as result of the devastation. The amount of assistance is determined by a formula that includes questions such as income prior to the flood, number of family members and amount of loss a family suffered as a result of the flood. The application period goes through July 17, and the benefit period, which is 30 days after the date of the disaster, will end July 25.
10. Many children face hunger in Rhode Island
(East Bay Newspapers, July 10, 2007)
"Fifty thousand people out of about a million in [Rhode Island] — a third of those are children — go to bed hungry every night." said Richard Leavitt, a former teacher who cited figures from the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. Farms across the state plan to distribute 1.5 million pounds of produce to needy residents throughout the fiscal year, which has led to an increased public awareness about hunger by getting more people involved to help, said Leavitt.
11. Only 30 percent of eligible students in California utilize summer meals program
(San Francisco Chronicle, July 8, 2007)
Most low-income children in California depend on the free-lunch program in the state’s schools, but only about 30 percent of eligible students in the state take advantage of the free summer meals program, according to advocates. The lack of participation is attributed to people not knowing about the summer meals program or they have difficulty locating a place where the program is offered.
12. Two Detroit grocery stores find buyers, 21 others close across metro area
(Detroit Free Press, July 6, 2007)
Two Detroit grocery stores that planned to close have found buyers, which alleviates concerns that Detroit would become the only major American city without a national supermarket chain. Across the city's metropolitan area, 21 grocery stores closed recently and 45 have changed ownership.
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