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. Lack of Grocery Stores Leads to Premature Death and Greater Rates of Diabetes, Cancer and Heart Disease, Study Finds
2. Elimination of Extra Consumer Costs Imposed on Poor Could Help Them Get Ahead
3. Round-Up of Press Coverage of FRAC Summer Food Report
4. Senate Agriculture Committee Begins Hearings on 2007 Farm Bill
5. First Edition of World Hunger Series Discusses Destructive Impact of Hunger on Learning
6. WIC Program Raises Income Eligibility Level
7. USDA Makes Annual Adjustment in Value of Donated Food for National School Lunch Program and Child and Adult Care Food Program
8. Commentary: Wall Street Worries About Growing Income Gaps
9. Ups and Downs of Welfare Reform: Many Problems Remain
10. New Jersey: Food Pantries in Paterson Witnesses “Crawling Disaster” of Mounting Hidden Hunger
11. California: More Than Half of Public School Students Certified for Free or Reduced-Price Meals
12. Oregon Summer Food Program Pushes Forward, Propelled by National Pilot Program
13. Virginia: Henrico County High Schools Seek A La Carte Income, Do Not Follow Federal Rules
14. Georgia: Principal Gets Results With Free Breakfast and Afterschool Program
15. South Carolina: Greenville School District Failed to Tell Families About Free Summer Meals
16. New York: Norwich Schools Start Serving Free Summer Breakfast to High School Students, Targeting Those From Rural Areas
17. Some Massachusetts School Districts Struggling Toward Wellness Policies
18. Texas: Wichita County Replaces WIC Vouchers with Electronic Benefit Cards
19. Maine: Corporate Funding Will Help Healthy Weight Initiative in Greater Portland
20. Rhode Island: Budget Cuts to Welfare Program Will Victimize Children
21. South Dakota: School Counselors See Depression and Hopelessness Among Students Touched by Poverty

1. Lack of Grocery Stores Leads to Premature Death and Greater Rates of Diabetes, Cancer and Heart Disease, Study Finds

(“Early Death Tied to Lack of Grocery Stores,” suntimes.com, July 18, 2006)

This new study examines the health implications of living in so-called food deserts and is believed to be the first scientific inquiry on this subject. Chicagoans who live in areas where grocery stores are scarce and there are many fast-food restaurants are more likely to die prematurely and at greater rates from diabetes, cancer or heart disease, the study found. Residents of such areas also are more likely to be obese or suffer from hypertension. Researcher Mari Gallagher measured the distance to the nearest grocery and the nearest fast-food outlet for every city block to calculate a “food balance” score for each community. The more a community is imbalanced in terms of food choices, the higher the occurrence of chronic health issues and diet-related deaths. “As grocery store access decreases, obesity increases.” Gallagher said the addition of even a single grocery store in an area where there are few to none could lower obesity rates. The most disadvantaged group is African Americans, who travel the farthest to any type of food store. The areas with the highest concentrations of single mothers and children almost always turn out to be food deserts. The study is “building the case that this is a public policy and public health issue,” LaDonna Redmond, president of the Institute for Community Resource Development, said. “There has to be a comprehensive plan to restore access to underserved communities and it’s not just a matter of getting more supermarkets.”

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-food18.html

Also see http://www.lasallebank.com/about/july182006_chicagoil.html (more information about the report, “Examining the Impact of Food Deserts on Public Health in Chicago”)

2. Elimination of Extra Consumer Costs Imposed on Poor Could Help Them Get Ahead

(“Study Documents ‘Ghetto Tax’ Being Paid by the Urban Poor,” nytimes.com, July 19, 2006)

Poor urban residents pay hundreds if not thousands of dollars a year in extra costs for everyday necessities, according to a new study by the Brookings Institution. These costs, often called a “ghetto tax,” are common at “rent to own” stores with high interest payments, in predatory check-cashing outlets and overpriced corner stores, which low-income people frequent since banks and supermarkets are absent in poor neighborhoods. “There’s a large and for the most part overlooked opportunity here to help low-income families get ahead,” said Matt Fellowes, who wrote the report. “That is to reduce their costs.” Sheldon H. Danziger, a poverty expert at the University of Michigan, agreed that “these measures could be an important source of income,” but also noted that he does not see them “as competing with things like raising the minimum wage, raising child subsidies and providing health insurance.” Among strategies described to respond to these costs is a Pennsylvania program using state and private financing for construction of supermarkets in areas where residents had previously had to rely on expensive small stores or drive long distances for groceries.

http://tinyurl.com/ohq5d

Also see http://www.brookings.edu/metro/pubs/20060718_PovOp.htm (report, “From Poverty, Opportunity: Putting the Market to Work for Lower Income Families”)

3. Round-Up of Press Coverage of FRAC Summer Food Report

(FRAC Summer Food Report, frac.org, July 13-19, 2006)

See the index of recent newspaper articles on FRAC’s report, “Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation.”

http://www.frac.org/Press_Release/07.13.06.html#media

4. Senate Agriculture Committee Begins Hearings on 2007 Farm Bill

(“Senate Ag Committee to Take Its Time Writing Next Farm Bill,” brownfieldnetwork.com, July 19, 2006)

The U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee is beginning hearings on the 2007 farm bill, but Senators won’t begin writing the next farm bill until summer of next year, according to Keith Williams, communications director for the committee. Williams said farm bill field hearings in the countryside will be followed up with hearings in Washington, D.C., featuring testimony from panels of ag and commodity group leaders. “We’ll go through this … through all of next year,” said Williams, “which is where we really come in with a harvest of ideas.”

http://www.brownfieldnetwork.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=88768380-09CC-1F13-63866297AA5DBF29

5. First Edition of World Hunger Series Discusses Destructive Impact of Hunger on Learning

(“WFP and Stanford University Press Publish New Series on Hunger,” medicalnewstoday.com, July 17, 2006)

The United Nations World Food Programme released the first edition of its new World Hunger Series, inaugurating an annual publication focusing on hunger and ways of ending it. This first report explores the relationship between hunger and learning and, according to Nobel Laureate in Economics Professor Kenneth J. Arrow, provides “overwhelming evidence for the extent to which hunger … damages the child’s ability to learn. Individual and national economic and personal growth are correspondingly damaged.” The report documents practical interventions. One study in Jamaica showed that undernourished children scored dramatically higher on a verbal fluency test after they were given breakfast. More than 300 million children worldwide regularly go to bed hungry. About 100 million of them are school-aged children whose parents’ poverty prevents them from going to school. Undernourished children, even when they go to school, are unable to concentrate on their lessons. The report also analyzes options for policymakers, including basic steps to implement effective strategies to fight hunger and improve children’s learning, and urges long-term commitments on the part of national governments and the international community.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=47391

6. WIC Program Raises Income Eligibility Level

(“Federal WIC Program Valuable for Families,” morningsentinel.mainetoday.com, July 10, 2006)

On July 1, the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) increased the income eligibility level for pregnant women and families with children less than 5 years old. The new level is up to $591 per week for a family of three and $712 weekly for a family of four. WIC is valuable to its recipients in providing assistance with food, nutrition counseling and access to health services. Among many healthy and nutritious products WIC vouchers can buy is infant formula. The formula alone could cost up to $100 per month and this assistance allows families to use their limited earnings for other necessities such as home heating.

http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/view/letters/2889002.shtml

Also see http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/howtoapply/IEG2006FRnotice.txt (Federal Register notice, “Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC): Income Eligibility Guidelines,” March 16, 2006)

7. USDA Makes Annual Adjustment in Value of Donated Food for National School Lunch Program and Child and Adult Care Food Program

(“Food Distribution Program: Value of Donated Foods from July 1, 2006 Through June 30, 2007,” akamaitech.net, July 17, 2006)

The Food and Nutrition Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture published the new national average value of donated food – agricultural products made available to schools as commodities or “cash in lieu” – effective July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2007 for the National School Lunch Program, and for each lunch and supper served by institutions participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program. The new rate of 16.75 cents per meal is a decrease of 0.75 cents from the rate in school year 2005-06. The value of food assistance is adjusted each July 1 by the annual percentage change in a three-month average value of the Price Index for certain foods for March, April and May each year. The three-month average of the Price Index decreased by 3.5 percent during that period, which caused the rate to decrease.

http://tinyurl.com/qj8r5

8. Commentary: Wall Street Worries About Growing Income Gaps

(“Minimum Wage, Maximum Politics,” csmonitor.com, July 17, 2006)

This commentary by David R. Francis in The Christian Science Monitor discusses the stagnant minimum wage in an environment where “the rich grow super-rich” while “most people in the US are running on an economic treadmill.” Francis cites Jared Bernstein of the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) who says the biggest problem is not economic growth, but distribution of that growth. EPI has been “harping on America’s growing income gap” in study after study. “In 2005, an average Chief Executive Officer was paid 821 times as much as a minimum wage earner, who earns just $5.15 an hour. An average CEO earns more before lunchtime on the very first day of work in the year than a minimum-wage worker earns all year,” reads one of the institute’s recent reports. Corporate profits are having the largest share of national income in 39 years. Economists from Goldman Sachs, a major Wall Street investment firm, have analyzed the growing “polarization” of incomes and “speculated that it may be a ‘drag on consumer sentiment’ and ‘create a broader constituency for redistributive or protectionist policies that would be seen as benefiting those at lower-income strata’,” Francis writes.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0717/p16s03-cogn.html

9. Ups and Downs of Welfare Reform: Many Problems Remain

(“How Welfare Reform Changed America,” usatoday.com, July 18, 2006)

Welfare caseloads peaked at 5.1 million families in 1994, and now are 1.9 million families. Millions of people moved off welfare, but most of the women in this group are in low-paying, unskilled jobs, and many families have become “working poor” and are struggling to make ends meet. Those with mental illness, substance abuse or criminal records seldom easily make the transition from welfare to work. Statistics also indicate some improvements. Before declining slightly since 2001, employment rates for single women rose 25 percent. Poverty rates for children decreased 25 percent before rising 10 percent since 2000, and child support collections are up. Major employers, including UPS (52,000) and CVS/pharmacy (45,000), hired thousands of welfare recipients. Yet, more than half of people eligible for welfare do not get their benefits, because they are discouraged by the new system. “We now simply have a system that provides less help in times when people are without work,” says Mark Greenberg of the Center for American Progress. While welfare rolls were getting smaller, the number of people receiving Medicaid and food stamps has soared by 50 percent since 2000. Medicaid serves 53 million recipients and is now the nation’s largest entitlement program; the Food Stamp Program serves 25 million. Moreover, it is common that even the little gains the working poor make in their jobs are offset by cuts in food stamps, health care, child care and energy assistance, which are based on income. “We’re punishing the people who won’t work, and we’re punishing the people who will work,” says Berta Sailer of a low-income service center in Kansas City.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-07-17-welfare-reform-cover_x.htm?POE=NEWISVA

10. New Jersey: Food Pantries in Paterson Witnesses “Crawling Disaster” of Mounting Hidden Hunger

(“Feeding the Multitudes,” bergen.com, July 16, 2006)

A parade of men and women, some with children, are streaming in the doors of the Father English Community Center and its emergency food pantry in Paterson, N.J., when it opens at 8 a.m. on a rainy day. While their appearance does not tell their stories, nearly all of them are hungry, or “hidden hungry,” as anti-hunger advocates call them, victims of the “growing gap between the wealthy on one hand and the middle class and poor on the other.” The largest group seeking food assistance is women with children. Many others are ill or disabled and trying to live on a fixed income while costs are going up. “It’s easy for people to picture a disaster like Katrina and respond to it,” Bill Hudson of Father English says. “This is like a crawling disaster. You don’t hear about it. You can pass someone on the street and never know how much trouble they’re in.” “We don’t see the kind of hunger they have in Africa,” says Adele LaTourette, director of the Statewide Emergency Food and Anti-Hunger Network. “It’s much, much more hidden. It’s people cutting back on food because they can’t cut back on rent. It’s mothers skipping meals themselves so they can feed their children.” Nearly a million of New Jersey residents are facing food insecurity, having limited access to food and experiencing malnutrition or outright hunger, according to the Center on Hunger and Poverty. Food contributions and grant money are down – despite government, corporate and faith-based efforts to stem hunger, the pantry at Father English is serving an increasing number of clients and finding it more difficult to stock up its shelves, especially with healthier items. Some pantries are running out of food, says LaTourette.

http://tinyurl.com/z3pl2

11. California: More Than Half of Public School Students Certified for Free or Reduced-Price Meals

(“Meal Aid Hits New High: Half of State Public School Students Join Program,” centredaily.com, July 18, 2006)

For the first time, more than half of California’s K-12 public education students enrolled in free or reduced-price meal programs last year. California was one of a dozen states where the majority of students were certified for such programs, said Jean Daniel, a U.S. Department of Agriculture spokeswoman. Officials, advocates and scholars said they believe many more students are eligible but do not apply for meal assistance. They attribute this to lower participation among older students because they have more food choices and believe there is a stigma associated with free or reduced-price meals. Schools are combating the impact of poverty, said Tom Tesler, program director for Antioch schools. “The socio-economic condition makes it difficult … [for students] to do well in school.” Barrie Thorne, a professor at UC Berkeley, said: “The larger message is the growing gap of rich and poor and the hourglass shape of the class structure in California. It really is a tragedy.” Officials, advocates and scholars point to higher costs of living and stagnant wages, improved efforts to enroll students and more positive attitudes that school meals are an important tool for families as reasons for the growth in program enrollment. The larger trend of growing need may be difficult to address, but the federal government’s capacity to change nutrition is huge, said Matt Sharp of California Food Policy Advocates. “It positively influences the long-term eating habits of half of public-school children in the state.” Not all certified children actually eat the meals: program participation in California was about 1 million students fewer than enrollment in 2004-05, said Madeleine Levin of the Food Research and Action Center.

http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/nation/15063383.htm

12. Oregon Summer Food Program Pushes Forward, Propelled by National Pilot Program

(“Feeding Oregon Kids,” oregonlive.com, July 16, 2006)

Beth Faulhaber’s business of serving summer lunch at the Police Athletic League (PAL) youth center in Portland, Ore., is booming. By contrast, national participation in the federal Summer Food Service Program, under which Faulhaber’s site operates, has declined every year for the last seven years, according to “Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation” by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC). The national decline is due to complicated accounting rules and costs. Congress has simplified rules and covered more overhead for some states, including Oregon. Unburdened from red tape, Oregon’s program “shot forward,” more than doubling the number of its program sites, sponsors and children receiving meals from summer 2004 to summer 2005. And some programs are operating for virtually the whole summer. Faulhaber says there is “more of a hardship” at summer’s end when the program closes down before school starts. There used to be a gap of two or three weeks, but now PAL has cut it down to just one. Holly Wikalis of the Oregon Hunger Relief Task Force says the 2006 numbers look even better, especially in Multnomah County, which made a strong effort to find partners. “Food pantries and soup kitchens see increased demand in the summer in part because kids are out of school,” notes Ellen Vollinger of FRAC, explaining the importance of the program. “If they’re needy during the year, what makes us think they’re not during the summer?”

http://tinyurl.com/lu5k9

13. Virginia: Henrico County High Schools Seek A La Carte Income, Do Not Follow Federal Rules

(“Henrico School Will Try Meals Plan,” timesdispatch.com, July 17, 2006)

Henrico County high schools in Virginia do not participate in the federal program that provides free and reduced-price meals to low-income students. They fund their own program to make more profit by offering a la carte food items rather than a single, complete meal required by the government. The program’s eligibility rules are different than the federal rules, so some students who qualify for subsidized meals in middle and elementary schools are not eligible in high school. A pilot program at Highland Springs High School will try to accommodate more of these students by adding complete meals, required by the federal program, to existing a la carte menus. The pilot will use federal eligibility rules, but will allow only a $1.30 or $1.70 meal credit to qualifying students (the prior program allowed a $3 credit). The new program does not meet all federal rules. Serving more students doesn’t help when the credit isn’t enough, argues Roxie Grossman, a Mills Godwin High School PTA board member who has been seeking a regular school lunch program. “It’s unconscionable under any circumstances for a school system to deny meals assistance to children in need and to differentiate type and amount of assistance for those who do get aid,” Grossman said. “It’s especially egregious when, in a system that is not poor, the denials and inequality result from the system’s own food policy and funding choices.”

http://tinyurl.com/op2t5

14. Georgia: Principal Gets Results With Free Breakfast and Afterschool Program

(“High Performance Principal Clark: Takes Being in Front of Students,” zwire.com, July 19, 2006)

The Post-Searchlight in Bainbridge, Ga., is profiling seven Decatur County’s “high performance” principals, chosen by the governor and state school superintendent as part of a statewide High Performance Principals program. Among the criteria for the distinction are higher than expected scores on state tests and high school graduation tests. Dr. Larry Clark of Jones-Wheat Elementary School said: “We put together a school improvement team and looked at all objectives and goals.” One of the resources to boost test scores has been an afterschool program, initiated through a 21st Century grant. The school also is offering free breakfast at 7:30 a.m. to all students, with instruction beginning at 8 a.m. Posed with the question whether schools were being asked to assume more and more responsibility for meeting children’s non-educational needs, Clark said: “Yes. The basic needs of the child have to be met before they can learn.” The principal added that “obesity in children is becoming an issue that the schools will have to address. We will have to implement a wellness program, incorporating more exercise into the school day.”

15. South Carolina: Greenville School District Failed to Tell Families About Free Summer Meals

(“Eligible Students Not Getting Free Lunches,” thestate.com, July 16, 2006)

The Greenville, S.C., school board admitted the district’s failure to spread the word about a free summer lunch program. The program is reaching only 4 percent of the 28,000 low-income, eligible children. “It was really shocking,” said school board member Grady Butler. Eileen Staples, director of the district’s food and nutrition services, pointed out that the district – in its first year of operating the program after taking over the county recreation department – failed to send information about summer meals to families with eligible children. Butler said he wasn’t even aware the district was operating a lunch program this summer. South Carolina participation in the summer lunch program has been declining for years, according to a report by the Food Research and Action Center. “In the future the school district should make a really supreme effort to see that the parents know about it,” said board member Ann Sutherland. “When it’s a question as serious as hunger, no effort should be spared to make sure that those who are eligible are at least aware that they are eligible.”

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/local/15047641.htm

16. New York: Norwich Schools Start Serving Free Summer Breakfast to High School Students, Targeting Those From Rural Areas

(“Norwich Schools Expanding Summer Food Program,” pressconnects.com, July 18, 2006)

The Norwich City School District in New York is expanding its more than 10-year-old free Summer Food Service Program to serve breakfast to high school students this summer. “Teenagers don’t eat breakfast and are coming to school on an empty stomach,” said cafeteria director Jackie Jenks. “The people we’d really like to get are those living in rural communities. Transportation can be an issue for them. We would have to get a site off campus.” Students enrolled in the summer school classes are taking advantage of free meal programs, but the programs also are open to any child under 18 years old who can visit the school for a free breakfast or lunch.

http://www.pressconnects.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060718/NEWS01/607180302/1006

17. Some Massachusetts School Districts Struggling Toward Wellness Policies

(“Schools Laboring to Meet Federal Nutrition Mandate,” boston.com, July 20, 2006)

Of the 37 cities and towns in the Globe West area, 13 have yet to pass a wellness policy for their schools, which the law requires them to have by the start of the new school year. The 13 say they have draft rules. The Maynard wellness policy includes a provision about providing fresh fruits and vegetables to students year-round. It also regulates how often birthday cakes and other treats can be served and how often students are required to exercise. The policy recommends giving students at least 20 minutes to eat lunch at the table, and removing high-sugar snacks from a la carte menus. Maynard School Committee chairman William Kohlman pointed out that a wellness policy should not be viewed as just another piece of mandated paperwork to leave on a shelf. Superintendent Mark Masterson noted that a policy alone would not make children healthier. “Congress intended for this process to elevate the public dialogue about what should and should not be served in schools,” said James D. Weill, president of the Food Research and Action Center. “If schools don’t take these policies seriously, then they are doing a huge disservice to the kids.” Weill noted that wellness policies across the country vary from the likes of 11-line efforts to 20-page documents.

http://tinyurl.com/ozn8c

18. Texas: Wichita County Replaces WIC Vouchers with Electronic Benefit Cards

(“Makeover Planned for WIC Office,” timesrecordnews.com, July 17, 2006)

An office of the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program of the Wichita Falls-Wichita County Public Health District will be renovated in an effort to better serve clients. New enrolling methods require more computer work, which spurred the changes. Instead of a voucher created by WIC staff while clients attend their first counseling session, clients now receive an electronic benefit card (EBT). As the program joins the WIC EBT system that has become widespread in the state, clients have to go to computer terminals in the office. The new WIC cards will be set up for three months of food benefits with more flexible access to WIC benefits. “With the voucher system, when you were in a store, you had to spend the entire amount,” Franklin explained. “With the debit [EBT] card, if all they need is a dozen eggs or a half-gallon of milk, they can get that.”

http://www.timesrecordnews.com/trn/local_news/article/0,1891,TRN_5784_4848908,00.html

19. Maine: Corporate Funding Will Help Healthy Weight Initiative in Greater Portland

(“Companies Strive for Healthy Children,” pressherald.mainetoday.com, June 6, 2006)

Seven major corporations have committed $1.8 million to reduce the obesity rate among children in Cumberland County, Maine, over the next five years. In the target area, Portland and 10 other communities, one third of all kindergartners are overweight or at risk of becoming overweight. The Greater Portland Healthy Weight Initiative will help coordinate activities such as a pedometer program at schools and family nutrition classes in workplaces and will start a marketing campaign promoting healthy eating and physical activity in schools, doctors’ offices, at businesses and in the media. Schools and grass-roots groups such as the Healthy Maine Partnership have been trying many efforts to battle childhood obesity, but the new initiative strives to put all the messages under one banner. Coordinators say they would like to model the initiative after the Partnership for a Tobacco-Free Maine, which also used private funds. Maine Medical, MaineHealth, United Way, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, TD Banknorth, UnumProvident and Hannaford Bros. are funding the initiative.

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/local/060606youth.shtml

20. Rhode Island: Budget Cuts to Welfare Program Will Victimize Children

(“Advocates for Poor Fear the Worst,” zwire.com, July 18, 2006)

Advocates for the poor and mentally ill in Rhode Island called for the state’s Department of Human Services to soften the detrimental impact from recent state budget cuts when it writes the rules and regulations that will put the cuts in effect. “We’re speeding down the slippery slope in Rhode Island, pushing children further into poverty,” said Henry Shelton of Pawtucket’s George Wiley Center. The governor and policymakers are tightening the work and other requirements for people to remain on welfare, noted Shelton, who called this situation “unbelievable,” given that Rhode Island children enrolled in the Family Independence Program (FIP) are living at 38 to 40 percent of the federal poverty level. Katheryn Tavares of the R.I. Coalition Against Domestic Violence said 50 percent of FIP recipients are victims of domestic violence. According to Shelton, Rhode Island is “No. 1 in New England on childhood poverty. Among Hispanics we are No. 1 in the nation. Among blacks and other minorities we are No. 1 in New England.” Only 53 percent of Rhode Island residents who are eligible for food stamps actually receive them. If the other 47 percent received food stamp help, it would add $30 million to the state’s economy.

http://tinyurl.com/r84we

21. South Dakota: School Counselors See Depression and Hopelessness Among Students Touched by Poverty

(“Poverty: The Next Generation,” zwire.com, July 14, 2006)

Low-income students at Lead-Deadwood Elementary in Northern Hills, S.D., are frequent visitors to school counselors who help them with issues caused by living in poverty. Some talk about signs of depression. Counselor Marcia Price, who works with high school students, mostly receives complaints about peer pressure. Students are “being made fun of because they are poor,” Price said. “There is a common feeling of hopelessness with these kids. I hear comments like ‘What is the point? And how can I ever get out of this?’.” Some seldom see parents who are working two jobs to support the family. The summer is the most difficult time for many students – they stay at home and are more exposed to family problems. Also, during the school year they get a venue of escape and also two meals a day that sometimes are “the most solid meals they will have,” said Calabro. “The tough thing is explaining it to a young person who doesn’t have food and shelter that they can be the best that they can be,” Price said. “How can you even get there if you don’t have the basics?”

http://tinyurl.com/rs6vp