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. Number of Hungry and Food Insecure Americans Jumped to 38 Million in 2004
2. House of Representatives Committee Cuts Food Stamps by $844 Million While Numbers of Hungry Rising
3. House Agriculture Committee’s Budget Cuts Also Will Take Away School Meals from 40,000 Children
4. Op-Ed by Lutheran Bishop: Reconciliation is Cynical and Savage in Taking from Poor and Giving to Rich
5. Op-Ed: Cutting Food Stamps and Medical Help is “Bizarre Twist of Logic”
6. Editorial – Nebraska: State Senator and Advocates for Poor Urge Support for Needy
7. Income Gap between Rich and Poor Growing, Likely to Be Worsened by Congressional Proposals, New Analysis Finds
8. Editorial – St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Cut Taxes, Not Programs for Poor
9. Study: Tax Cuts Since 2001 Have Not Helped Economy; Wages, Job Growth, Other Measures Lag
10. Poll: Americans of All Races Name Fighting Poverty As Most Important National Goal
11. Clinicians May Overlook Obesity during Well-Child Visits, Study Finds
12. Agencies in Kentucky and Indiana Do Not Have Capacity to Keep People from Freezing This Winter
13. California: Egregious Red Tape Turns San Diegans Away from Food Stamps
14. New Hampshire Official Poverty Data Greatly Understate Families’ Struggles
15. Louisiana: Hurricanes Both Reveal and Increase Poverty
16. Iowa: Growing Number of Working Poor Need Food Stamps, Report Says
17. Missouri: Food Bank Demand Growing, Resources Shrinking in Kansas City
18. Ohio: Universal Breakfast in Six of Eight Biggest Cities
19. Florida: Access to Online Benefit Applications Is in Question
20. Washington: King County Explores Ways to Help Residents Fight Obesity
21. California: Farmers Markets Reaching Out to Low Income Communities

1. Number of Hungry and Food Insecure Americans Jumped to 38 Million in 2004

(“Number of Hungry and Food Insecure Americans Jumps to 38 Million in 2004,” frac.org, October 28, 2005)

New USDA data based on Census Bureau surveys show a fifth consecutive annual increase in the number of Americans living in households suffering from hunger without the resources to afford an adequate diet. The total number of people living in food insecure households went up to 38.2 million in 2004, compared to 36.3 million individuals in 2003. The increase approached two million food insecure people in 2004 (seven million people in five years). This was the biggest jump since 2000. The 2004 total included 24.3 million adults (11.3 percent of all adults) and 13.9 million children (19 percent of all children). 10.7 million people lived in households which experienced outright hunger. From 2003 to 2004 the prevalence of food insecurity and hunger rose in virtually all regions of the country and in all types of households. The ten states with the highest food insecurity rates, in descending order, were Texas, New Mexico, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Utah, South Carolina, Arkansas, Idaho, North Carolina, and Arizona, all with rates at or above 12.7 percent of households.

http://www.frac.org/Press_Release/10.28.05.html

http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/err11/ (USDA report)

2. House of Representatives Committee Cuts Food Stamps by $844 Million While Numbers of Hungry Rising

(“House Panel Votes $844 Mln Cut in Food Stamp,” news.yahoo.com, October 28, 2005)

The House of Representatives Agriculture Committee voted to cut food stamps by $844 million last week on the heels of a new USDA report showed 38.2 million Americans were food insecure in 2004, an increase of nearly 2 million from the previous year. The House plan will change eligibility rules for food stamps and result in lost benefits by nearly 300,000 people. Adult immigrants will have to wait seven years, instead of the current five, to apply for aid. An estimated 70,000 immigrants will be affected. Also, 225,000 of those individuals who automatically get food stamps because they receive benefits through other welfare programs, but whose income is slightly above regular food stamp levels, will be denied food stamp assistance. “That is not moral. That is not American,” Rep. G.K. Butterfield (R-NC) said in opposing the cuts. Anti-hunger activists point out hunger rates were up for the fifth year in a row, yet the House proposes to cut anti-hunger help. “It is hard to imagine any congressional action that is more detached from reality,” said James Weill of the Food Research and Action Center.

http://tinyurl.com/dg5mp

3. House Agriculture Committee’s Budget Cuts Also Will Take Away School Meals from 40,000 Children

(“House Panel OKs School Lunch Funding Cut,” washingtonpost.com, October 28, 2005)

The House Agriculture Committee approved budget cuts that will take food stamps away from nearly 300,000 people notwithstanding statistics showing that nearly 12 percent of American households could not afford to buy enough food in 2004, according to new data from USDA. “If there are cuts to be made, why should we make them on food stamps?" said Rep. David Scott (D-GA). "This is the meanest cut of all.” This restriction also could take school lunches and breakfasts away from an estimated 40,000 children, because students in many states are automatically eligible for school meals when they get food stamps.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/28/AR2005102801462.html

4. Op-Ed by Lutheran Bishop: Reconciliation is Cynical and Savage in Taking from Poor and Giving to Rich

(“Making Our Deficit Bigger, Poor Poorer and Rich Richer,” startribune.com, October 24, 2005)

“Webster defines the word ‘reconcile’ as ‘to cause to be friendly again, to bring back to harmony.’ Strange, then, to see a host of leaders rise up from the religious and non-profit sectors to stand against reconciliation,” writes Peter Rogness, the bishop of the St. Paul Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. This year Congress has split its budget “reconciliation” into two bills, one mandating about $35 billion in program cuts, the other requiring $70 billion in tax cuts. The proposed cuts “have an air of cruel class warfare to them” and “would be devastating to low- and moderate-income people, not only in the Gulf Coast but throughout the nation. With deep cuts in food stamps and Medicaid, the poor would face more hunger and disease,” argues bishop Rogness. Meanwhile, the extension of the 2003 tax cuts that lowered the rate on capital gains and dividend income will benefit the rich. “The cruel irony is that the $35 billion in program cuts don't match the proposed $70 billion in tax cuts, so this two-part reconciliation doesn't reconcile anything. It makes our deficit bigger, the poor poorer and the rich richer. . . . This reconciliation is neither friendly nor harmonious. It is cynical and savage.”

http://www.startribune.com/stories/1519/5683185.html

5. Op-Ed: Cutting Food Stamps and Medical Help is “Bizarre Twist of Logic”

(“What About Wisconsin? Tax Cuts to Benefit Wealthy Would Further Harm Poor,” madison.com, October 19, 2005)

More than 570,000 people, including 187,000 children (14 percent of the state’s children), live in poverty in Wisconsin, according to the most recent count. This is bad news, writes Charity Eleson for Madison-basedCapital Newspapers. “The good news is that we know what to do to mitigate the destructive effects that poverty has on children, and there are some effective public programs in place to do that,” food stamps and health care being among them. It is “unacceptable” for Congress to cut billions of dollars from health and nutrition programs for children while giving billions in tax cuts to the wealthy. “In a bizarre twist of logic, Congress is contemplating cutting some of the programs that will help the families affected by those storms [Katrina and Rita] recover, as well as harming states like Wisconsin that are welcoming the victims of the storm,” writes Eleson. “It's time to speak out loudly and clearly and say that children's needs for medical care and food far outweigh the need that wealthy citizens have for another tax cut.”

http://tinyurl.com/dh3b5

6. Editorial – Nebraska: State Senator and Advocates for Poor Urge Support for Needy

(“Budget Cuts for Needy Draw Fire,” journalstar.com, October 25, 2005)

A number of groups in Nebraska asked Nebraska’s U.S. House of Representatives members not to support proposed federal budget reductions targeted at children and low-income families and benefiting wealthy Americans through new tax cuts. The proposed cuts would particularly affect Medicaid and food stamps, and thus reduce help to the most vulnerable. “This new budget would hurt vulnerable children, people with disabilities and the elderly in our state,” said Kathy Bigsby Moore of Voices for Children in Nebraska. “The last thing we should be doing after the hurricane experience is plunging other families deeper into poverty.” State Senator Gwen Howard of Omaha stressed that Nebraskans “need to stand up and support those who would suffer” from the budget cuts.

http://tinyurl.com/dvmpm

7. Income Gap between Rich and Poor Growing, Likely to Be Worsened by Congressional Proposals, New Analysis Finds

(“New IRS Data Show Income Inequality Is Again on the Rise,” cbpp.org, October 17, 2005)

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports that, according to new IRS data, income disparities in America grew significantly from 2002 to 2003. After adjusting for inflation, the after-tax income of the one percent of households with the highest incomes shot up in 2003 by an average of nearly $49,000 per household, while the average after-tax incomes of the bottom 75 percent of households fell. Although income disparities already were at near-record levels, they have continued to widen. Data from the Congressional Budget Office, covering 2002, show that income inequality in that year was wider than in all but six years (1988 and 1997-2001) since the mid 1930s. Budget cuts to programs for the poor and the middle class, plus new tax reductions to the wealthy, will only widen further the gulf between high-income households and other Americans.

http://www.cbpp.org/10-17-05inc.htm

8. Editorial – St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Cut Taxes, Not Programs for Poor

(“Squeezing the Poor,” stltoday.com, October 25, 2005)

“The cost of helping suffering people of the Gulf Coast will be taken out of the hides of suffering people all across America under plans being batted around by Republican members of Congress,” editorializes The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, saying it is “amazed to see it.” The help to hurricane victims “must be subtracted from other government programs, even if it causes more suffering.” To his credit, Senator Jim Talent (R-MO) helped block a Senate attempt to take $500 million in food stamps from the disadvantaged. A better alternative is to repeal some of the income tax cuts for people making over $200,000 per year, which would raise $43 billion this year, according to the Tax Policy Center. Another is to restore the estate tax, falling only on heirs to the richest 2 percent of the population. The premise that higher taxes stifle the economy does not hold true. Taxes on the wealthy did not stall the economy in the late 1990s, “the greatest boom time in American history,” and “restoring those taxes would make very little difference now.”

http://tinyurl.com/7lq8j

9. Study: Tax Cuts Since 2001 Have Not Helped Economy; Wages, Job Growth, Other Measures Lag

(“Tax Cuts: Report Finds Much Harm, Little Good,” epi.org, October 25, 2005)

The positive effects of the $860 billion in tax cuts since 2001 have been negligible or nonexistent, according to a new report by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). The largest effect from the tax cuts has been negative in the form of expanding the federal deficit to unsustainable levels for the foreseeable future. Since the start of the analyzed cycle in 2001, the economy has produced only 1.3 percent more jobs (excluding Katrina’s impact), compared to an average of 8.8 percent in previous cycles. Private-sector employment has grown only 0.8 percent, compared to 8.6 percent previously. Wage growth of 1.3 percent per year is well below that in previous cycles. Overall economic growth and business investments also have fallen short. By virtually every measure, the economy has performed worse than in all past business cycles. Lee Price, EPI research director, says, “If tax cuts were ever going to produce economic growth, the evidence would have shown up in the economic data by now – but it’s simply not there. It’s time to declare this administration’s tax-cutting strategy a failure and start strategizing about how to rebuild the economic strength we have lost.”

http://www.epinet.org/newsroom/releases/2005/10/051025-taxcut-pr.pdf (press release)

http://epi.org/briefingpapers/168/bp168.pdf (report, “The Boom That Wasn’t”)

10. Poll: Americans of All Races Name Fighting Poverty As Most Important National Goal

(“Lessons of Katrina: America's Major Racial and Ethnic Groups Find Common Ground after the Storm,” news.ncmonline.com, October 27, 2005)

Majorities of Asians, Hispanics, African Americans, and non-Hispanic whites believe after Katrina that fighting poverty is more important than fighting terrorism, rebuilding the Gulf Coast, or establishing democracies in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a national multilingual poll by Sergio Bendixen for New California Media. All groups agreed that “it is a disgrace that there are millions of very poor people in the United States and government should do everything in its power to eliminate poverty.” The Katrina disaster and its aftermath also shook public confidence in the U.S. government’s ability to handle catastrophes, including terrorist attacks. “This is the first time in decades that I have seen poverty make it to the top of the agenda for the U.S. public,” Bendixen said. “The dramatic images of the families abandoned at the Superdome and on I-10 brought home just how tough it is to be poor in America.” Sandy Close of New California Media commented, “What we found was a remarkable unanimity on issues of poverty. . . . The question now is whether the leadership exists to act on this consensus.”

http://tinyurl.com/a4krk (poll)

http://media.ncmonline.com/images/polls/katrina_summary.pdf (summary)

http://tinyurl.com/96s9t (press release)

11. Clinicians May Overlook Obesity during Well-Child Visits, Study Finds

(“Screening and Counseling Associated With Obesity Diagnosis in a National Survey of Ambulatory Pediatric Visits,” Pediatrics, Vol. 166, 2005)

A study published by Pediatrics analyzed the results of routine well-child visits to clinicians by nearly 33,000 children ages 2-18, scheduled between 1997 and 2000, and found that obesity had been diagnosed only during 0.78 percent of all visits. Doctors who did diagnose obesity in patients were more likely to talk to them about diet and exercise. Diet counseling was reported for 88.4 percent and exercise counseling was reported for 69.2 percent of visits with an obesity diagnosis compared with 35.7 percent and 18.6 percent during visits without a diagnosis of obesity. Moreover, exercise counseling occurred less frequently in visits by black youths than by white youths. The study concluded that clinicians may overlook obesity during well-child visits. “Programs to increase obesity diagnosis could improve diet and exercise counseling rates, but even with diagnosis of obesity, significant opportunities for screening and intervention are missed,” researchers stressed.

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/116/1/112
(abstract of the article, “Screening and Counseling Associated With Obesity Diagnosis in a National Survey of Ambulatory Pediatric Visits,” subscription required to view the full article)

12. Agencies in Kentucky and Indiana Do Not Have Capacity to Keep People from Freezing This Winter

(“Advocates for Poor Fear Winter's Bite,” courier-journal.com, October 24, 2005)

The volunteer receptionist at South Louisville Community Ministries has been fielding nonstop calls from people facing eviction or a shutoff of their utilities. But the charity that serves lunch for the hungry does not have funds for electric bills. “We're going to have thousands of people … without heat this year,” worries David Menzer of Citizens Action Coalition in Indiana. A similar refrain is repeated by advocates for the poor throughout Kentucky and Southern Indiana frightened by soaring gasoline prices and heating bills and by a five-year trend of rising numbers of people seeking help. "Even the folks that do have some kind of employment, the moment they have a car breakdown, the moment they have a child end up in the hospital, that's where you have a major problem," Kate Husk of the South Louisville Ministries says. Louisville Gas & Electric forecasts a 64 percent average increase to show up in natural gas bills this winter, from $88 to $144/month. “I don't know what we're going to do to keep people from freezing this winter,” says Shirley Raymond, executive director for Harrison County ( Ind.) Community Services.

http://tinyurl.com/bj9y9

13. California: Egregious Red Tape Turns San Diegans Away from Food Stamps

(“Hungry, Fed Up, San Diegans Have All But Given Up on County's Food Stamp System,” voiceofsandiego.org, October 21, 2005)

In San Diego, only 26 percent of people eligible for food stamps actually participate, which makes this city second from the bottom in a study of big cities by the Food Research and Action Center. It is easy to see why by visiting a food stamp office. “The stories of ineptitude, rudeness, delay, humiliation and disgust that resonate from those seeking the county's help” illustrate well why so many eligible San Diegans do not receive much needed benefits. Linda spent 22 hours over three days in lines just to collect her Electronic Benefit Card, and still was not done. Luis Almeida arrived at an office for his 9 a.m. food stamp appointment on time and waited 30 minutes in line only to be told he was too late and would have to return the next day. A young homeless man was supposed to get his emergency food stamps in three days, but did not get them in three weeks. His car, which was his home, was towed from outside the county’s office because he ran out of quarters while waiting for his appointment for three hours. Applicants blame the county’s bureaucratic culture. Some people think food stamps are not for people who do not speak English or who are legal immigrants. Officials say they have done all they can to administer a bureaucratic system handed down to them from the state. But they admitted that applying for benefits can be “convoluted and time-consuming.” “I think the word is out there that when you go into the welfare department, you have to sit for hours and hours and hours . . . ,” said Diana Francis, assistant deputy director for the county's Health and Human Services Agency. Meanwhile, Shelby County, Tennessee, collects just as much information from their clients as San Diego, but has a food stamp participation rate of 97 percent. Eva Mosby, family assistance district director for Shelby County, said: “We despise long lines and we really try to work on getting customers in and out.”

http://tinyurl.com/cxsfq

14. New Hampshire Official Poverty Data Greatly Understate Families’ Struggles

(“Tens of Thousands Struggle Financially in State,” fosters.com, October 16, 2005)

The natural 2004 poverty threshold was $19,307 per year for a family of four, and New Hampshire had the nation’s lowest official poverty rate. But those numbers “don't show just how many of the state's families are struggling to survive.” $35,000 is a more realistic minimum income for a poor family of four in New Hampshire, said Cynthia “Mil” Duncan, director of the Carsey Institute, a University of New Hampshire division that researches social issues. Duncan estimated that 23 percent of households in the state make less than that. The official 2000 census data showed that 75,800 four-member families in New Hampshire earned less than $35,000 annually, compared to about 14,000 who were officially living in poverty. High gasoline and heating oil prices only add to financial struggles of the working poor and could push them into de facto poverty. Richard Hayes of the Strafford County Community Action Committee in Dover pointed out that people have already been calling nonstop about heating fuel assistance. Distribution of food has grown by about 40 percent, said Melanie Gosselin of the New Hampshire Food Bank.

http://tinyurl.com/bbwah

15. Louisiana: Hurricanes Both Reveal and Increase Poverty

(“Catholics, Others Seek Aid for Poor,” theadvertiser.com, October 16, 2005)

About 100 local people discussed ways to assist the millions of poor and low income Americans at a recent Diocese of Lafayette anti-poverty conference. “Within one month, two hurricanes revealed for Louisiana and the world that we have systemic poverty,” Lena Charles, chairwoman of the Diocese's campaign against poverty, said. After the hurricanes, "people who never needed assistance now need food stamps,” noted James Gilmore, a policy adviser to Governor Kathleen Blanco. “We've got a new population of people in poverty in our state.” Tim Collins of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development said that his group is working to break the cycle of poverty, not just identify its symptoms. “We're now called upon to make sure the rebuilding includes the poor and that they are a part of the decision-making process,” he stressed.

http://tinyurl.com/exgvk

16. Iowa: Growing Number of Working Poor Need Food Stamps, Report Says

(“Iowa Human Needs Advocates Releases Food Stamp Report,” frac.org, October 2005)

According to a new report, “ Food Stamps: Supporting Healthy Families and Communities in Iowa,” released by the Iowa Human Needs Advocates (IHNA), more than 25 million people naturally depend on food stamps each month to make ends meet and feed their children, including 209,189 people in Iowa. “The Food Stamp Program is an effective and efficient way to get nutritious food directly into the hands of the people who need it,” stressed Lana Ross, Co-Chair of the Iowa Human Needs Advocates. “So many low-income parents are working hard, but after paying the rent and utilities each month, there’s not much left for a family living on minimum wage. As increasing numbers of working families in Iowa are unable to afford the basic necessities; the Food Stamp Program makes it possible for them to put food on the table,” noted Ross. Jim Cain of the Iowa Coalition for Housing and the Homeless, who is a member organization of IHNA, stressed the importance of urging Senators from Iowa, Chuck Grassley and Tom Harkin, “to use their positions on the Senate Agriculture Committee to stop any budget cuts that take food away from the children and families who are least able to protect themselves.” Seventh Day Adventist Ministries program coordinator Genive King said, “emergency food is intended only to supplement the Food Stamp Program – we don’t have the capacity to take care of all of the families who currently benefit from food stamps.”

http://www.frac.org/pdf/iofsp_press.pdf (press release by Iowa Human Needs Advocates)

http://www.frac.org/pdf/iofsp_report.pdf (report, “ Food Stamps: Supporting Healthy Families and Communities in Iowa”)

17. Missouri: Food Bank Demand Growing, Resources Shrinking in Kansas City

(“Food Banks Say Katrina, Other Changes Hurting Food Donations,” kansascity.com, October 16, 2005)

As holidays approach, the largest food bank in the Kansas City area, Harvesters, has warned that it might not be able to provide as much food as in past years. Meanwhile, the need for food assistance in the area has grown. “People who needed Harvesters before will need us more now,” said Karen Siebert, a spokeswoman for the group. A combination of Hurricane Katrina, less help from a local food manufacturer, and a change in America’s Second Harvest’s food distribution system have contributed to the squeeze. Donations are down 8 percent. Harvesters fear the Katrina disaster has drawn on the public's willingness and ability to donate for the holidays. Some food banks “take up the slack,” asking churches and community organizations to help.

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/12919026.htm

18. Ohio: Universal Breakfast in Six of Eight Biggest Cities

(“District Pushing Free Breakfasts for All Students,” thisweeknews.com, September 29, 2005)

At Indianola Middle School all 400 students, and not just those who qualify for free or reduced-price meals, get to eat breakfast. The school decided that breakfast was so important that they would let students eat in the classroom, during home room or even later. Sixth-graders “were coming to us at 10 o'clock and saying their tummies hurt, they were starving,” said Principal Donna LeBeau, recalling her students’ complaints. With the introduction of universal free breakfast this year, Columbus Public Schools could potentially serve every student a morning meal, said food services Director Dudley Hawkey. Participation already has risen 20 percent since last year, much more than the expected 8 to 10 percent. It may still grow another 6 to 8 percent. The Children's Hunger Alliance notes that children who don't eat breakfast receive lower scores on standardized tests and are more likely to have behavior problems. “ Cleveland and Dayton have had universal free breakfast for a number of years,” said Charlie Kozlesky, senior vice president of community engagement for the Children's Hunger Alliance. Among the Ohio "Big Eight," only Cincinnati and Toledo have not adopted universal breakfast. Hawkey pointed out that “with 20 percent more kids, my reimbursement increases by 20 percent“ compared with only a 5 percent increase of the cost of food.

http://tinyurl.com/7nkeh

19. Florida: Access to Online Benefit Applications Is in Question

(“Closing Site Won't Hurt Poor, DCF Says,” sptimes.com, October 21, 2005)

The closing of the Department of Children and Families (DCF) office in Dade City will not affect east Pasco County's poor, since people will be able to apply for benefits online, figured DCF officials. “Most people now know somebody that has a computer or has access to a computer that would be more than willing to help," DCF spokesman Andy Ritter said. Research shows more than 70 percent of U.S. families living below the poverty line do not have Internet access in their homes. None of the eight low-income housing complexes in Dade City and Lacoochee have public computers. DCF hopes that the county's 87 “community partners,” such as hospitals and nursing homes, will provide enough computers to applicants for benefits, but “85 of those partners don't want their names released to the general public.”

http://www.sptimes.com/2005/10/21/Pasco/Closing_site_won_t_hu.shtml

20. Washington: King County Explores Ways to Help Residents Fight Obesity

(“Getting to the Roots of Obesity: Why Surroundings May Matter,” archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com, October 19, 2005)

Colin Rehm of the University of Washington's Exploratory Center for Obesity Research has mapped and then gone to see the “fast-food frenzy” in Auburn, an area with the highest rate of obesity in King County. “I've never seen such good deals for unhealthy food,” said Rehm. The Exploratory Center is one of only two federally funded programs in the country that are looking at how economics and the environment affect obesity. “The forces [causing obesity] that we need to reckon with are powerful and difficult to change,” said Shelley Curtis of the Children's Alliance, a statewide child advocacy group also concerned with the obesity problem. High costs of healthy food have gotten higher, according to the Rand Corporation, while the price of sweets and soft drinks has stayed about the same. Junk food often offers more calories per dollar than most healthy food, Adam Drewnowski, director of the Exploratory Center, has found. King County’s nutrition task force has initiated some anti-obesity projects, including offering more vouchers for farmers' markets; providing more produce to local food banks; and dealing with fears of crime so residents can exercise outdoors. The Safe Routes to School program is carried out in partnership with the police department to get more kids walking in a safe environment.

http://tinyurl.com/7ganp

21. California: Farmers Markets Reaching Out to Low Income Communities

(“Growing Demand: Farmers Markets Catering More to Low-Income Communities,” mercurynews.com, October 22, 2005)

Many farmers markets in Bay Area towns now are catering to low income communities and some markets are accepting food stamps. In one Menlo Park neighborhood a new market opened after community realization that most of the elderly residents could not drive to the supermarket and had unhealthy diets. Market organizers order foods popular with clients and try to get “the cheapest price.” Unlike more established markets, these “tend to be no-frills affairs.” Volunteers buy the food from wholesalers and sell it from set up tables. As a result, at one market, cauliflower could be bought for 35 cents a head, compared to $2.99 a head at a local store. Cheap prices help people like Sohila Qayomi and her three children. She walks to the market to save gas that she would need for a trip to the supermarket. Sohila gets $300 a month in food stamps, stretches it carefully, but still is “always low” by the fourth week. Still, not every market accepts food stamps. Some find it difficult to deal with the bureaucracy. Others do not like processing food stamp cards that are actually debit cards and need electrical outlets to be processed. At Fruitvale there is a booth to swipe cards. Market managers are starting to see the benefits of reaching out to low-income communities, and farmers wanting to nurture this new clientele are keeping prices down.

http://tinyurl.com/crp4d

For news tips, suggestions, comments, contact Olga Doty at odoty@frac.org

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