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. Bill Clinton’s New Crackdown on Junk Foods in Schools
2. Department of Agriculture Warns About New Food Stamp Scam
3. Op-Ed: Growing Income Inequality Leads to More Poverty and Hunger in America
4. Discount Store Chain to Start Selling More Groceries and Accepting Food Stamps
5. Op-Ed: Policies Needed to Narrow Gap Between Rich and Poor
6. Connecticut Social Service Groups Launch Food Stamp Outreach Campaign
7. Texas: Corpus Christi Food Bank Spreads Word About Food Stamps and Other Assistance Programs
8. Hawaii Getting Rid of Red Tape, Streamlining Food Stamp Application Process
9. Oregon Increases Food Stamp Benefits up to $12 per Month
10. Kansas Reporter Steps Into Shoes of Food Stamp Recipient
11. Pennsylvania: Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger Supports Advocacy for Food Stamps
12. Washington Eliminates Reduced-Price Category for School Breakfast, Expanding Free Breakfast to Needy Children
13. Oregon School Districts Work to Attract Low-Income High School Students to School Lunch
14. Mississippi: Pascagoula School District Implements School Wellness Policy Providing Healthier Meals and Nutrition Education
15. Michigan: Foundering Economy Produces More Workers Seeking Help With Food, Rent and Other Living Expenses
16. Maryland: New Welfare Rules Will Negate Success With Welfare Program
17. New Massachusetts Health Insurance Law Does Not Require Coverage of Children

1. Bill Clinton’s New Crackdown on Junk Foods in Schools

(“Clinton Deal Cuts School Snack Foods,” abcnews.go.com, October 6, 2006)

The Alliance for a Healthier Generation – a partnership between the William J. Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association – announced an agreement with several major food companies, including Kraft Foods and PepsiCo, to set guidelines for fat, sugar, sodium and calories for snack foods sold in school vending machines and stores. “By working with schools and industry to implement these guidelines, we are helping to give parents peace of mind that their kids will be able to make healthier choices at school,” said Dr. Raymond Gibbons, president of the heart association. School snacks will be required to derive no more than 35 percent of their calories from fat, no more than 10 percent from saturated fat and a limit of 35 percent for sugar content by weight. A Snickers bar, which does not meet these requirements, provides an example of a snack that will be banned from schools. Earlier the alliance reached an agreement with the beverage industry to sell only water, unsweetened juice and low-fat and nonfat milk in elementary and middle schools, which covered 87 percent of the soft drink market in schools. Bob Harrison of the alliance said the reach of the new agreement will not be as wide, because the snack-food industry is less concentrated, but the influence on competitive foods in schools will be felt.

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory?id=2534976

2. Department of Agriculture Warns About New Food Stamp Scam

(“New Food Stamp Scam Emerges,” richmond.com, October 5, 2006)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture urges food stamp recipients to avoid becoming victims of a new scam targeting people who access their benefits using an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card. The scammer calls a food stamp recipient, claims that there is a problem with her account and then pretends to access the account only to announce that the account cannot be located on their system. To locate the account, the scammer asks for “additional information” that includes date of birth, Social Security Number and other personal information. This scam is reportedly being used by collection agencies to obtain information they otherwise wouldn’t have. The agency advises EBT users to never give out personal information over the telephone if the phone call is not scheduled and the caller is unknown.

3. Op-Ed: Growing Income Inequality Leads to More Poverty and Hunger in America

(“Are We Rich If We Don’t Feed the Poor?” csmonitor.com, October 2, 2006) 

As some of the nation’s richest corporate executives and financiers ride to their offices through the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, or upper Manhattan, volunteers offer some 250,000 free meals per day to New York’s hungry, writes David R. Francis in The Christian Science Monitor. They feed 1.2 million people a year, including nearly 350,000 children. The amount of food distributed by New York soup kitchens and pantries has increased 50 percent in five years, but the Food Bank for New York City has been nearly “flat funded” by city, state and federal programs for almost 10 years. As a result, food banks “are not always able to serve all those standing in line,” said Aine Duggan of the bank. Meanwhile, the average CEO got 411 times the average U.S. worker’s pay last year, up from 107 times in 1990. “If the economic growth of the last 40 years had been shared more equitably, we could now have a country where very few persons are poor,” said Travis Hale of the University of Texas. The poorest one-fifth of households saw its average wealth fall from minus $8,700 in 2001 to minus $11,400 in 2004, which means their debts rose substantially, according to a report by the Economic Policy Institute. In late October or early November, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is due to release hunger numbers for 2005. “Given the impact of hurricane Katrina, that number may be up - and its release delayed for political reasons until after the fall election,” notes Francis. He refers to César Chelala, an international public health consultant, who believes that a rich nation that doesn’t fill the needs of its children is actually a “poor country.” To decrease the gap between the rich and the poor Chelala urged better education, wider use of food stamps, tax policies that favor the rich less, raising the minimum wage and other income-redistributive policies.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1002/p15s01-cogn.html

4. Discount Store Chain to Start Selling More Groceries and Accepting Food Stamps

(“Stretching a Dollar: Chain Eyes Food Aisles,” charlotte.com, September 29, 2006)

Family Dollar Stores are planning to become a “neighborhood convenience store without the convenience store prices.” The store chain, represented by more than 6,100 discount stores in 44 states, will offer more groceries and install machines for processing food stamps in its stores. Accepting food stamps will increase food sales even more because many of the company’s customers can afford to buy groceries only by using the food cards, said spokesman Kiley Rawlins. The company wants to set itself apart from chains like Wal-Mart that are capturing a growing share of spending by low-income people. “We want to create a shopping environment that allows our customers easy access” and offers competitive prices, said Howard Levine, the company’s chief executive.

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/business/15635687.htm

5. Op-Ed: Policies Needed to Narrow Gap Between Rich and Poor

(“In Today’s America, Wealth Flows to the Rich,” mercurynews.com, September 28, 2006)

“The economy is booming for billionaires. It’s a bust for many other Americans,” writes Holly Sklar, co-author of “A Just Minimum Wage: Good for Workers, Business and Our Future,” in The Mercury News of the Bay Area, Calif. The number of billionaires is at its highest yet, but the share of national income going to wages and salaries is at a record low, she states, commenting on the new Forbes list of the richest Americans that lists 400 billionaires only. “The Forbes 400 minimum is up $100 million since 2005, but the federal minimum wage has been stuck at $5.15 an hour – just $10,712 a year – since 1997,” points out Sklar. “Wealth isn’t trickling down. It’s flooding up – from workers to bosses, small investors to big, poorer to richer.” Worker productivity is rising, but they see smaller wages and benefits, while the pay gap between average workers and CEOs has grown nine times wider since the 1970s. “The problem is much bigger than the rich getting richer, while the poor get poorer. The really rich are getting richer at the expense of most everyone else,” contends Sklar. Growing inequality should be addressed by restoring the link between rising worker productivity and pay, raising the minimum wage, narrowing the pay gap between workers and CEOs and rolling back tax cuts for the wealthy.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/opinion/15627879.htm

6. Connecticut Social Service Groups Launch Food Stamp Outreach Campaign

(“Local Groups Look to Clear Hurdles for Those Who Need Food Stamps,” norwichbulletin.com, October 5, 2006)

Connecticut social service organizations are launching an aggressive outreach campaign to increase participation in the Food Stamp Program. Only six in 10 eligible people in Connecticut receive food stamps. “In a time when we’re coming into people struggling to pay high heating costs and the medical costs that many people on a fixed income always have a hard time with, it’s important to let them know that there’s food available to them through the Food Stamp program,” said Sally Mancini of End Hunger Connecticut! Local agencies believe that underparticipation in the program is caused by a lack of information about eligibility; difficulty in completing the required paperwork; and the stigma that some people feel is still associated with using food stamps. Food stamps are a “nutrition program. It is not a welfare handout program,” said Bev Goulet of Norwich Human Services. “The stigma attached to it must be changed.” The U.S. Department of Agriculture is considering changing the name of the program – possibly to “Eat Better Today,” which draws from the acronym of the existing food stamp cards.

http://tinyurl.com/gp6ks

7. Texas: Corpus Christi Food Bank Spreads Word About Food Stamps and Other Assistance Programs

(“New Program Lets Needy Know About Aid,” caller.com, October 4, 2006)

The Texas Food Bank Network is partnering with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to educate low-income families about benefits available through assistance programs, such as food stamps, Medicare, Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. “Many people are falling through the cracks of these government programs,” said Bea Hanson of the Food Bank of Corpus Christi, one of eight food banks chosen to participate in the new initiative. “We need to get them into the programs and help them pay their bills and buy their food.” In Corpus Christi, 19,000 residents seek emergency food in any given week. Only 40 percent of households that receive assistance from the food bank also receive food stamps. Hanson believes that more people are eligible. Food stamps provide families access to foods that food banks are lacking, such as vegetables and meat, Hanson said. “There are a lot of people who … don’t know how to sign up,” said Barbara Anderson of the Texas Food Bank Network.

http://www.caller.com/ccct/local_news/article/0,1641,CCCT_811_5041538,00.html (registration required)

8. Hawaii Getting Rid of Red Tape, Streamlining Food Stamp Application Process

(“State Food Stamp Use Plummets by 19%,” honoluluadvertiser.com, October 2, 2006)

Over the past five years, 49 states saw more people using the Food Stamp Program, but Hawaii’s food stamp use plummeted by 19 percent. A survey of Hawaii’s Foodbank clients shows only about 37 percent are getting food stamps. Red tape is one of the factors at play in the participation drop, according to state officials and advocates for the poor. The state is streamlining the application process and urging agencies to intensify their efforts in food stamp enrollment. “We want to make sure we are serving whoever is eligible,” said Linda Tsark of the Department of Human Services (DHS). Currently, people applying for food stamps must have an in-person interview with a social worker. Since application offices aren’t always nearby, it can be a hardship for residents without a car and others. Tsark said she wants to allow telephone interviews for applicants and online application forms. DHS plans to ask for outreach funding in the coming legislature session.

http://tinyurl.com/epz5y

9. Oregon Increases Food Stamp Benefits up to $12 per Month

(“Food Stamp Recipients See Small Increases,” ktvz.com, October 2, 2006)

About 431,000 food stamp recipients in Oregon will receive small increases this month in the amount of their benefit and in how much they can earn to qualify. For individuals receiving the maximum benefit, the monthly food stamp benefit will increase by $3, from $152 to $155. They also will be allowed to earn up to $1,062 in monthly gross income, compared with $1,037 before Oct. 1. The maximum benefit for a family of four will increase by $12, from $506 a month to $518. Gross monthly family income to qualify for food stamps now rises from $2,097 or less to $2,167.

http://www.ktvz.com/story.cfm?nav=oregon&storyID=16813

10. Kansas Reporter Steps Into Shoes of Food Stamp Recipient

(“Challenge Shines Light on Hunger,” kansas.com, October 4, 2006)

“Hello, tuna fish sandwiches; goodbye, P.F. Chang’s for lunch. More trips to the drinking fountain, none to the vending machine for bottled water. Hamburger and pasta instead of steak and seafood,” writes Joe Stumpe, a Wichita ( Kan.) Eagle reporter who tried to get by on the maximum food stamp budget allowed for an individual – $38.75 per week or $5.53 a day. Participants of the “Tough Choices Challenge” were seeking to raise awareness of hunger and the food stamp program in Sedgwick County. Kansas ranked seventh in the nation in the number of hungry households, according to a 2004 study by Brandeis University. “For most of us, hunger is something quickly assuaged. But for too many people – and any is too many – it’s a gnawing reality,” observes Stumpe. His “food stamp” food didn’t taste as good, and he noticed – for the first time – the high price of fresh produce. “Don’t feel sorry for me. I’m doing this by choice, and only for one week. Feel sorry – or better yet, do something – for the people who have no choice in the matter,” urges Stumpe.

http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/living/15672031.htm

Also see http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/living/columnists/joe_stumpe/15678688.htm
(“Joe’s Food Diary: See How He’s Doing,” October 4, 2006)

http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/living/15687912.htm (“Joe’s Food Diary: See How He’s Doing,” October 9, 2006)

11. Pennsylvania: Mazon: A Jewish Response to HungerSupports Advocacy for Food Stamps

(“Those Who Seek to Eradicate Hunger Make a Request at Yom Kippur,” jewishexponent.com, October 5, 2006)

Hunger-relief group Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger encouraged families to donate money that would have been spent on meals during their roughly 24-hour period of fasting during Yom Kippur holiday. The group has a two-pronged approach to fight hunger: funding groups that work to feed the hungry and supporting the advocacy work of organizations that promote better policy solutions to end the causes of hunger. Last year, Mazon provided 183 grants to 34 organizations in Pennsylvania, totaling almost $1.7 million in aid. The Food Stamp Enrollment Campaign run by the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger is one of the major initiatives funded by Mazon. “There are huge numbers of people in the United States who are eligible for food stamps but don’t receive them because they don’t know about the program, or they don’t think they’re eligible,” said Eve Klothen, a Swarthmore attorney and former chair of the board of directors of national Mazon. “With the right policy, we can end hunger in this country,” stated Klothen. Since the coalition released a report on barriers to food stamp participation last June, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell has announced two initiatives to reduce those barriers.

http://www.jewishexponent.com/article/10825/

12. Washington Eliminates Reduced-Price Category for School Breakfast, Expanding Free Breakfast to Needy Children

(“Schools Expand Free Breakfasts for Kids in Need,” seattletimes.nwsource.com, October 3, 2006)

Washington state legislators allocated $1 million to eliminate the reduced-price category for school breakfast. This will make Washington the first state in the nation that allows children who previously qualified for reduced-price school breakfasts to eat for free. The Children’s Alliance and the Washington School Nutrition Association, which urged the legislators to fund this initiative, hope to eliminate reduced-price lunches in the 2007-08 school year. “Though it seems like a small amount, when you add it up over the course of a school year, it begins to be a barrier if you have a family who’s working a minimum-wage job, and paying the heating bills and rent,” said Shelly Curtis of the Children's Alliance. About 32 percent of Washington children who qualify for free breakfasts and 17 percent of children who qualify for reduced-price meals eat breakfast at school. State officials hope eliminating the reduced-price category will help to close that gap.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003286220_breakfast03m.html

13. Oregon School Districts Work to Attract Low-Income High School Students to School Lunch

(“Phoenix High Wants Hungry Teens to Fill Up,” mailtribune.com, September 28, 2006)

Compared to elementary and middle school students, low-income high school students are the most underparticipating group in the school lunch program. “They want to eat with their friends and don’t want to be identified” as recipients of subsidized meals, said Joyce Dougherty of the Oregon Department of Education. Whether the school has an open or closed campus, the appeal of the cafeteria food and the extent of the confidentiality of the application process also can affect the number of children applying for food programs, Dougherty said. To fight the free lunch stigma, the Phoenix-Talent School District has implemented a new system to help connect more low-income students with school meals. The district uses a database that automatically qualifies any high school student for subsidized meals if he or she belongs to the same family of an eligible elementary and middle school student. In the Rogue River School District, the stigma attached to free or reduced-price lunch seems to be fading.The Rogue River high school uses eligibility for the lunch program to determine whether a student qualifies for a scholarship that covers the $100 fee for participating in extracurricular activities, such as sports. “The stigma is starting to negate itself because of the desire to participate in extracurricular activities,” said Principal David Orr.

http://tinyurl.com/zme63

14. Mississippi: Pascagoula School District Implements School Wellness Policy Providing Healthier Meals and Nutrition Education

(“New School Wellness Program Launched,” gulflive.com, September 24, 2006)

The main task of the Pascagoula ( Miss.) School District Office of Child Nutrition is to make sure that 7,000 children eat two healthy meals a day. Following the district’s school wellness policy, staff nutritionists are removing fat and sugar out of meals and snacks and adding more whole grains and salads. “That will help with the Five-a-Day requirement,” said Dianna Krebs, director of child nutrition, referring to the USDA Food Pyramid recommendation to eat at least five fruits and vegetables a day. The pyramid guidelines are taught at all levels in the schools, but a special focus is on younger children in elementary schools. “If you educate the kids about making good food choices, they’ll make them,” said Krebs who is beginning to see positive results in the cafeteria food lines as they enter the second year of a pilot nutrition program at Central, Beach and Lake elementary schools. Although most students eat school lunches and many eat breakfasts, children are still allowed to bring food from home. “While teachers don’t police lunch bags, they are very good at advising parents about snacks,” explained Frank Catching, principal at Singing River. “If they see a child coming to school frequently with cake and chips, they work with the parents to make it more nutritious.” The school has participated in the Farm to School Program, which gets locally grown produce into school cafeterias. In September, seedless watermelons started to arrive and school officials quickly made room for them on school menus.

http://tinyurl.com/efrgn

15. Michigan: Foundering Economy Produces More Workers Seeking Help With Food, Rent and Other Living Expenses

(“The Struggles of Oakland’s Working Poor,” theoaklandpress.com, October 1, 2006)

People who work but do not earn enough to make ends meet are a fast-growing population in Oakland County and throughout Michigan. According to Oakland County and state human service agencies, Michigan’s foundering economy, proliferation of low-paying jobs, layoffs and job elimination have led to an increase in the working poor. Agencies report a surge in requests for assistance with food, mortgages, rent and utilities payments. Foreclosure rates are up, and people are desperately seeking help to save their homes. “The stories people are telling us, they were laid off, spending their savings, then they come to us for help,” said John Ziraldo of the Lighthouse of Oakland County. Advocates urge providing support for those in need. Until people get to the point where they can pay their living expenses, a safety net of programs should be provided, said Sharon Parks of the Michigan League for Human Services. This safety net would include food assistance, subsidized child care, subsidized housing, Medicaid, and federal and state earned income tax credits, Parks stated.

http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/100106/loc_2006100119.shtml

16. Maryland: New Welfare Rules Will Negate Success With Welfare Program

(“Many Leaving Welfare for Jobs,” washingtonpost.com, October 4, 2006)

The Maryland welfare program “seems to be working. People are going to work,” said Kevin McGuire, state Family Investment Administration executive director, at a meeting on welfare changes. Last year, 74 percent of the people who left the rolls did not come back, and many of those found jobs paying an average of $8 an hour, he reported. But the new welfare rules made by Congress this year as part of the Deficit Reduction Act have officials worried that the changes won’t let them sustain their success. State officials and advocates for the poor say much of the flexibility granted under the welfare changes of 1996 has been removed. “You should have 100 percent of your clients doing something,” commented Wade F. Horn of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department. “The only way you can help people is if you engage them.” Catherine E. Born of the University of Maryland who conducted an annual study of welfare recipients in Maryland said, “This Deficit Reduction Act is one of the most cynical pieces of legislation I have ever seen.” Previously, the welfare law required that 50 percent of recipients be working or in training programs. But states that had greatly reduced their rolls were flexible to lower that percentage to allow the remaining people more time for specialized training or treatment. The new requirements will limit the amount of time for such activities. The last thing that the remaining families on TANF need is to be rushed into work to meet a quota, said Lynda Meade of Welfare Advocates.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/03/AR2006100301483.html

17. New Massachusetts Health Insurance Law Does Not Require Coverage of Children

(“Coverage of Children Not Required in Health Law,” boston.com, October 2, 2006)

Advocates for the uninsured are worried that some of Massachusetts’ 40,000 to 78,000 children without health insurance will remain uninsured if parents cannot afford health plans that cover their entire family. The new law requires the state’s residents aged 18 and over to have coverage by July 1 or face income tax penalties, but parents are not obligated to cover their children. A family “pushed to the wall” and faced with the threat of tax penalties, “might be forced to say we have to buy the adults insurance, but we’re not legally required to cover the children,” said Neil Cronin of the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute. Children’s coverage can cost hundreds of dollars extra a month. “If many parents do not end up voluntarily covering their children, the Legislature will have to reexamine the issue,” said Representative Patricia A. Walrath.

http://tinyurl.com/fvpxo