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 Than 35 Million Americans Lived in Food Insecure Households Last Year
2. Editorial: Government Obscures Problem of Hunger with New Terms
3. Op-Ed: Democrats Should Think About Providing Economic Security for All Working Americans
4. Federal Minimum Wage Increase Becomes Urgent Priority
5. Going from Rags to Riches Is Harder Than It Used to Be Or Just Myth, Scholars Contend
6. California Ranks Last in Food Stamp Participation
7. New York City Council Speaker Promotes Food Stamps to Immigrant Families at Public School
8. Hunger in Massachusetts More Than Doubled Over Last Three Years, Report Says
9. Op-Ed – Texas: USDA Official Writes in Local Newspaper to Clarify Misconceptions About Food Stamps
10. Oregon: Corvallis-Benton County Food Assessment Review Reveals Hunger and Poverty Among Residents
11. Virginia: Monticello Agency Gets Taste of Food Stamps by Going on Poverty Diet
12. Texas: Free Breakfast Program in Houston Schools Attracts More Students to Morning Meals
13. Virginia: Breakfast in Classroom Improves Students’ Behavior and Learning, Schools Report
14. Nebraska: Thanksgiving Food Giveaway Draws Long Lines in Lincoln
15. California: Long Beach Bustling with Affluence and Poverty Reveals Two Different Sites
16. Utah Advocates for Poor Call for Minimum Wage Increase and Repeal of Sales Tax on Food
17. Editorial – Wisconsin: Low-Income Consumers Need Lower-Cost Alternatives to Payday Loans to Stay out of Poverty

1. More Than 35 Million Americans Lived in Food Insecure Households Last Year

(“More Than 35 Million of Americans Lived in Food Insecure Households in 2005,” frac.org, November 15, 2006)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s annual analysis of Census Bureau survey results showed that the food insecurity rates in the United States dropped somewhat in 2005, but more than 35 million people were still living in households considered food insecure. The food insecurity rate still remains higher than in 1999-2001. The number of people in the worst-off households (previously called “food insecure with hunger” and now called “very low food security” households) actually rose in 2005, from 10.7 to 10.8 million. The percentage of households in this category stayed flat at 3.7 percent. “Very low food security ” is a new USDA term that means one or more people in the household were hungry over the course of the year because they couldn’t afford enough food. “The technical terms have been revised, but it doesn’t change the reality of stagnant wages, rising costs for housing, health and energy, and the resulting squeeze on food. Millions of people don’t have enough to feed themselves, their families or their children,” said Jim Weill, FRAC president. This lack of improvement in the worst-off households is consistent with other studies and the Census Bureau’s poverty data, which show worsening conditions for the poorest Americans. “It is simply unacceptable that after years of economic growth, 35.1 million people in this country face a constant struggle against hunger,” said Weill. “We need to make ending hunger a national priority. We will be calling on Congress to attack this shameful national condition with new commitment and new energy.”

http://www.frac.org/Press_Release/11.15.06.html

Also see http://a.abcnews.com/WNT/story?id=2659818&page=1 (“Gov’t: Hungry Americans No Longer ‘Hungry,’” abcnews.com, November 16, 2006)

2. Editorial: Government Obscures Problem of Hunger with New Terms

(“Ending Hunger,” washingtonpost.com, November 17, 2006)

“The Agriculture Department has taken what you might call the Scarlett O’Hara approach to Americans without enough to eat: It will never call them hungry again,” writes this editorial in The Washington Post. “Rumbling stomachs? Malnourishment? That’s not hunger, the department says. It’s experiencing ‘very low food security.’” As the lead author of the annual government report on food security in America told the newspaper, “hungry” is “not a scientifically accurate term for the specific phenomenon being measured.” In previous reports, households in the most desperate straits were categorized as “food insecurity with hunger.” This year they were renamed “very low food security,” meaning that their members show “multiple indications of disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake.” “In other words, they’re hungry,” observes the newspaper. “Whatever the intention, this linguistic airbrushing diminishes the shame of the problem, its persistence and its scope. That 11 million Americans reported going hun – sorry, reported disrupted eating patterns – is a national embarrassment. In this group, 96 percent said they cut the size of meals or skipped meals because they didn't have enough money. The same percentage said their food did not last and they did not have enough money to get more.”

3. Op-Ed: Democrats Should Think About Providing Economic Security for All Working Americans

(“Remember Who Sent You,” washingtonpost.com, November 17, 2006)

Now it’s time for Democrats to start thinking about the people with pinched pocketbooks who sent them to Washington, writes columnist E. J. Dionne Jr. in The Washington Post. He references a pre-election speech by Janet Yellen, the president and chief executive of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, who “makes clear that voters who feel severe economic pressures are not deluded, despite the economy’s strong performance.” Yellen spoke about new forms of inequality when, she said, “much of the gain from excellent macroeconomic performance has gone to just a small segment of the population – those already in the upper part of the distribution.” According to Yellen, in the 1970s, “a typical family might have seen its income vary from a high of $60,000 to a low of $30,000 over the decade,” but in the most recent decade its income might have dropped to as low as $15,000. “Is it any wonder so many working Americans are mad?” asks Dionne. Education and job training – traditional roads to financial success – are no longer “cure-all,” as Yellen notices that even the better educated are now suffering from globalization and technological change. Yellen draws from Jacob S. Hacker’s “The Great Risk Shift,” which shows how more and more risk is being passed on from government and private corporations to individuals. Hacker “makes a powerful case for remodeling our social insurance systems to provide genuine economic security for all working Americans,” writes Dionne.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/16/AR2006111601507.html

4. Federal Minimum Wage Increase Becomes Urgent Priority

("Time for the $5.15 Minimum Wage to Punch Out?” online.wsj.com, November 11, 2006)

Democrats are promising to introduce a bill to raise the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 within the first 100 hours after the new Congress convenes in January. On Dec. 2, it will be nine years since the minimum wage was increased, the longest period in the nation’s history. The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) estimates that only about 15 million people would be affected by a federal minimum-wage increase to $7.25, because many states already passed minimum-wage increases that surpass the federal law. After the six states that recently voted for a wage increase implement their laws, that number could decrease slightly. EPI also says that people who made more then $7.25 before the change will likely get a pay increase to stay in the same relative position on their company’s pay scale. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, about 1.4 million people earn below minimum wage and 72 percent of those people work in the leisure and hospitality industry. Whether the measure results in job losses remains a debated issue. “The evidence appears to be against the simple-minded theory that a modest increase in the minimum wage causes substantial job loss,” said Federal Reserve Former Vice Chairman Alan Blinder who admitted to changing his views on the subject “dramatically.” Public opinion strongly favors the raise. Gallup Polls show that the level of support varied from about 55 percent in 1945 to 83 percent in 2006.

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB116321732695020658-Tja5qdj7qEnvZkaONGUHpI_6aMk_20061118.html?mod=blogs

5. Going from Rags to Riches Is Harder Than It Used to Be Or Just Myth, Scholars Contend

(“Rags to Riches in U.S. Largely a Myth, Scholars Write,” edweek.org, October 25, 2006)

A growing body of research suggests that one of the most cherished American beliefs that the United States is a land of opportunity where all children have an equal chance at success might be a myth. Some studies conducted over the past 10 to 15 years say that American children born into poor families have a smaller chance of rising out of poverty than their counterparts in many other industrialized countries. Brookings Institution scholars contend that opportunities to move forward remained high for much of the 20 th century but appeared to diminish in the 1980s, when the income gap between America’s poorest and richest citizens began to widen. “Greater inequality means it takes longer for any income differences to disappear in subsequent generations. The United States could be in danger of creating a poverty trap at the bottom and an enclave of wealth at the top,” writes Isabel V. Sawhill, editor of “Opportunity in America: The Role of Education,” a volume of research released by Brookings. Other research shows that America offers less opportunity for upward and downward mobility than Britain, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and possibly Germany. In terms of occupational mobility, the United States is someplace in the middle, Brookings reports. A German study by the Institute for the Study of Labor in Bonn found that compared to the Scandinavian countries, relatively smaller proportions of poor American children ever rise out of poverty. Brookings scholars point out that the problem is that the American education system operates in some ways that can reinforce the gaps between the haves and have-nots.

http://tinyurl.com/y8ehhf (subscription required)

6. California Ranks Last in Food Stamp Participation

(“California’s Food Stamp Participation Ranks Last,” insidebayarea.com, November 16, 2006)

California ranked last among states in food stamp participation in 2004, according to a report released by the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service. Only 46 percent of eligible Californians actually received food stamps, compared to 60 percent nationwide. Out of more than 3.9 million state residents who qualify for food benefits nearly two-thirds were working. California remains one of just a few states that require applicants to be fingerprinted. Potential recipients also must attend face-to-face meetings with caseworkers, which is tough for those who work to do, said Suzan Bateson of the Alameda County Community Food Bank. Bateson noted that some people stay away because they believe myths that they may be deported or may be forced to pay the money back. Shirley Washington, state social services spokeswoman, admitted that the program is underused. She said, however, that the numbers don’t account for the many people getting Social Security benefits who in California get cash instead of food stamps. In contrast to California, Missouri had the highest food stamp participation, at 84 percent.

http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/localnews/ci_4668947

7. New York City Council Speaker Promotes Food Stamps to Immigrant Families at Public School

(“Quinn Urges New Yorkers in Need to Make Use of Food Stamp Program,” ny1.com, November 15, 2006)

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn urged New Yorkers to sign up for the Food Stamp Program during a recent speech at a Manhattan public school. Quinn used the help of a Spanish translator to encourage eligible families, especially immigrants, to take advantage of this month’s food stamp awareness initiative and enroll in the program. “You don’t have to be a U.S. citizen to qualify for food stamps, but you do have to be here for five years,” Quinn said. “There will never be, in the city of New York, punitive action taken against someone in if they come forward to a government office and ask” for benefits, she pointed out. Quinn pointed out that children of immigrants qualify for food assistance immediately after their arrival in the United States.

http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=3&aid=64271

8. Hunger in Massachusetts More Than Doubled Over Last Three Years, Report Says

(“Report: Hunger Doubled in Bay State in Three Years,” boston.com, November 14, 2006)

An annual hunger report released by Project Bread found that the percentage of hungry Massachusetts residents has more than doubled over the last three years, jumping from 8 percent to 18 percent. “Hunger in Massachusetts is not caused by food shortages,” said Andrew Schiff of the group. “We have plenty of food for everyone.” Hunger is caused by poverty and the high cost of living in Massachusetts, the group stressed. Its recommendations to legislators include streamlining the complicated application process for food stamps and other public benefits, building coalitions at the community level to fight hunger and poverty, endorsing free, healthy breakfasts in all schools and initiating screening of all patients for signs of hunger by health care providers.

http://tinyurl.com/yaoqkn

Also see http://tinyurl.com/y976b6 (“Status Report on Hunger in Massachusetts”)

9. Op-Ed – Texas: USDA Official Writes in Local Newspaper to Clarify Misconceptions About Food Stamps

(“Separating Fact from Fiction: The Benefits of the Food Stamp Program,” November 13, 2006)

William Ludwig of the U.S. Department of Agriculture writes to clarify some of the myths and misconceptions about the Food Stamp Program in the East Texas Review. The program serves as the first line of defense against hunger and helps low-income people buy the food they need for good health. But some feel that they shouldn’t use the benefits because other people might be in greater need or they think that food stamps are welfare, Ludwig says. “Most people who work at low wage jobs can get food stamp benefits. Many working people use food stamp benefits to help make ends meet,” Ludwig clarifies. “The Food Stamp Program is a nutrition assistance program. It helps low income people buy nutritious foods. It is not welfare,” he points out. The USDA official also says that the common notion that elderly people can only receive $10 a month in food stamp benefits is a myth. “Our fiscal year 2003 statistics showed that elderly people who lived alone received an average of $53 a month and that elderly people not living alone received an average benefit of $123 a month.”

http://www.easttexasreview.com/story.htm?StoryID=4016

10. Oregon: Corvallis-Benton County Food Assessment Review Reveals Hunger and Poverty Among Residents

(“Study Surveys Local Food Needs, Benefits,” gazettetimes.com, November 10, 2006)

“From Our Own Soil,” a Corvallis-Benton ( Ore.) County food assessment review sponsored by Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, found that hunger and poverty are common in local communities. “Hunger and poverty are not going away. The need is actually increasing,” said Sister Kathy Carr of St. Mary’s Catholic Church. One woman interviewed for the study said, “First of the month, I get my food stamps. Second of the month, we go out and we do major shopping. ... That’s got to last us all month.” According to Nancy Rosenberger, a professor in Oregon State University’s anthropology department and a participant in the study, the high cost of a healthy diet is one of the challenges revealed by the food assessment. The study showed that most low-income people were interested in buying more local and healthful foods. But “first and foremost” they need “to survive and they shop for the cheapest prices,” Rosenberger explained. “Farmers’ markets are way too expensive for them. … They are hounded by expenses of housing, utilities, cars and medical crises. Food provides the elastic give in their budget,” Rosenberger said. According to the Oregon Center for Public Policy that also participated in the study, soaring housing costs as well as the high cost of health care and stagnated wages contributed to Oregon’s ranking among the hungriest states in the nation in recent years. For example, more than half of Benton County families spend at least 30 percent or more of their income on housing, the ceiling of what financial experts recommend should be spent on housing.

http://www.gazettetimes.com/articles/2006/11/11/news/community/2aaa04_foodsurvey.txt

Also see http://www.emoregon.org/pdfs/CorvallisFoodAssessmentReport.pdf (“From Our Own Soil: A Community Food Assessment of Benton County”)

11. Virginia: Monticello Agency Gets Taste of Food Stamps by Going on Poverty Diet

(“MACAA Employees On Poverty Diet,” November 13, 2006 and “Poverty Diet Ends,” November 15, 2006, charlottesvillenewsplex.tv)

Employees at the Monticello ( Va.) Area Community Action Agency (MACAA) went on a “poverty diet,” spending three days on a tight food budget of an average food stamp recipient in Virginia. MACAA executive director Phillip Dukes grew up on food stamps. He believes that this is a good project for staff. “It helps you to empathize and sympathize a lot more with people who have to live this way” and cannot buy enough food, Dukes explained. Currently, 500,000 Virginians receive up to $58 monthly in food stamps. “We hope people will understand what it’s like to get by on such a small amount of money for food,” said Connie Jorgensen of MACAA. Participants could spend no more than $2.83 a day and learned to make trade offs and budget cuts. “It took a lot [of] angst, a lot of pain, and a lot of choices. We had to choose between milk and orange juice,” said David Moore of MACAA. “We’ve learned that it is very difficult to put together nutritious meals on that kind of money. … if you are buying fresh fruits and vegetables you quickly use up your food stamp allotment. It is very difficult to live on such little money,” said Jorgensen.

http://www.charlottesvillenewsplex.tv/news/headlines/4633431.html

http://www.charlottesvillenewsplex.tv/news/headlines/4661626.html

12. Texas: Free Breakfast Program in Houston Schools Attracts More Students to Morning Meals

(“Free Breakfast for All Students,” chron.com, November 14, 2006)

In Houston Independent School District, more students are eating breakfast at school this year, announced Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra. The district has been offering a free-breakfast-for-all program for the first time this fall. In the past, most students received a free or reduced-price breakfast based on their family’s income. Last June, the school board voted 8-1 to eliminate meal payments for all students. Thanks to the new program, about 63,000 students a day ate breakfast this fall compared with about 54,000 students a day in 2005, an increase of 9,000 students.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/4335449.html (scroll down to see this article)

13. Virginia: Breakfast in Classroom Improves Students’ Behavior and Learning, Schools Report

(“Four Beach Schools Trying out Breakfast in the Classroom,” content.hamptonroads.com, November 15, 2006)

Four Virginia Beach (Va.) elementary schools – Birdneck, Luxford, Shelton Park and Bettie F. Williams – are trying out breakfast in the classroom programs this year. School officials say it cuts back on chaos in the halls and cafeteria, gets students ready to learn sooner and allows more students to eat. “It’s good because when you’re done eating, you are right in your class,” said second-grader Nia Donawa. “By having breakfast in the classroom, instruction starts when they walk in the door,” commented J. Harrison Coleman, principal at Cradock Middle School in Portsmouth, Va., who has already implemented classroom breakfast at several schools. During breakfast, students hear a story, watch a video or answer a question of the day. In Maryland, Montgomery County Public Schools launched a classroom breakfast program in 1998. Kathy Lazor, the food service director, said test scores, attendance and behavior improved, and visits to the school nurse dropped. Nationwide, nearly 11 percent of school systems serve breakfast in class and about 3 percent offer it from hallway kiosks, according to the School Nutrition Association.

http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=114432&ran=45450

14. Nebraska: Thanksgiving Food Giveaway Draws Long Lines in Lincoln

(“Food Distribution Draws Hundreds,” journalstar.com, November 15, 2006)

Several hundred people waited in line before an annual pre-Thanksgiving distribution of food and $10 food certificates started at a recreation center in Lincoln, Lancaster County, Neb. “Whether you’re homeless or just low-income, we can’t afford to feed our own families,” said Nicole Willis, a mother of two, choking back tears, while explaining the importance of this food to her household. “The need has significantly increased,” said Beatty Brasch of the local Center for People in Need. “The rate of poverty is up. The number of hungry people is up.” Jennifer Hernandez of Nebraska Appleseed pointed to the importance of the food stamps portion of the Farm Bill as Congress gets ready for its reauthorization. Her agency wants to stop food stamp cuts that have amounted to more than $30 billion over the past 10 years, and to raise the ceiling on personal assets set at $2,000 for food stamp applicants. Hernandez said taxpayers here and elsewhere shouldn’t regard food stamps as a drain on government resources. According to a Nebraska Appleseed report, every $1 billion spent on food stamps supports 3,300 farm jobs and every $5 spent on food stamps returns $10 to a local economy.

http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2006/11/15/local/doc455a581718447991999091.txt

Also see http://www.neappleseed.org/docs/not_just_for_farmers.pdf (report, “Not Just for Farmers: Nebraska and the 2007 Farm Bill”)

15. California: Long Beach Bustling with Affluence and Poverty Reveals Two Different Sites

(“Thousands Struggle in the Shadow of Affluence,” presstelegram.com, November 12, 2006)

A walk in Long Beach, Calif., reveals that behind manicured lawns and bustling streets by the ocean shore, there is another Long Beach that “struggles daily to make the rent, rather than the one that plops down a fortune for an ocean-view condo.” This other Long Beach “lives on the edge,” relying on food stamps, free school meals and grocery giveaways by local charities. It “must decide between food and clothing for its children. Where closets become bedrooms in overcrowded homes, where asthmatic children gasp for air and others are made sick by vermin in their homes,” reads this story that opens a series on the city’s poverty in the Long Beach Press Telegram. According to the 2005 Census, about 89,000 or 19 percent of Long Beach residents lived under the poverty line and about 34,000 or 28 percent of the city’s children lived in poverty. The city ranked No. 6 in the nation for the concentration of poverty in 17 neighborhoods. Mayor Bob Foster who made poverty an issue in his successful election campaign promised “to work hard” to reduce poverty in the city. However, “more than 40 years after Lyndon Johnson famously began his ‘war on poverty,’ it is staring back, as resolute and deep-seated as ever.”

http://www.presstelegram.com/poverty/ci_4646852

Also see http://www.presstelegram.com/poverty (more articles from the “Poverty in Long Beach” series)

16. Utah Advocates for Poor Call for Minimum Wage Increase and Repeal of Sales Tax on Food

(“Advocates for Poor Seek State Help,” deseretnews.com, November 8, 2006)

Utah advocates for the poor are determined that it is time for Utah lawmakers to “do the right thing” on measures they’ve rejected in the past. Top priorities for the 2007 Legislature include removing the remaining sales tax on food and increasing the state’s minimum wage. “I’m hoping the choices and priorities put people first,” said state Sen. Ed Mayne who plans to sponsor a bill to raise the minimum wage to $7 an hour. A full repeal of the sales tax on food is another initiative that, advocates say, takes “steps to dignity for Utah’s poor.” This year, lawmakers approved a 2 percent reduction of the state’s portion of the tax, which is considered the most regressive in the state.” The tax “hits the poor and the working poor much harder ... than it does the wealthy,” said Doug MacDonald of Utah Issues. “There’s a huge gap and a huge disparity there that must be rectified,” he said. According to Utah Issues, the elimination of the tax will cost state and local governments about $100 million but will immediately put $40 million into the pockets of the state’s low-income and working-poor families.

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650205669,00.html

17. Editorial – Wisconsin: Low-Income Consumers Need Lower-Cost Alternatives to Payday Loans to Stay out of Poverty

(“Meet Demand for Small Loans,” madison.com, November 13, 2006)

When a breadwinner in a low-income family faces an emergency, like a $500 car repair, the decision she makes next could determine whether she continues to work her way out of poverty or get dragged into a debt spiral by taking a loan from a payday lender, writes this editorial in the Wisconsin State Journal. “That is why Wisconsin financial institutions should expand their efforts to provide small, convenient loans to low-income people,” argues the newspaper. “Financial institutions that provide small loans with a quick, no-credit-check application process offer an alternative to payday lenders, whose high-cost loans too often sink borrowers deeper into debt.” Several Wisconsin banks and credit unions have developed small loans for low-income customers. Although the interest rate is still high, 29.9 percent, it is better than predatory practices of payday lenders, whose loans can cost, in fees, the equivalent of 500 percent in annual interest. In addition, “borrowers get an opportunity to establish a credit record and gain financial management skills. “Last month economist Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in microlending - the traditionally overlooked business of making small loans - to transform the destitute of the world into entrepreneurs. Wisconsin could use more of its own version of microlending.”

http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/opinion/index.php?ntid=107195