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 Launches Healthy Schools Program That Will Reward Nation’s “Healthiest” Schools
2. Editorial: Government Should Not Economize on Fruits and Vegetables for Needy Mothers and Children
3. Study Finds Increase in Overweight Babies
4. Study Shows “Exercise Gap” Is Lower Than Previously Thought
5. Policies Eliminating Poverty Help Schools Boost Achievement by Low-Income Students
6. Death Rate of Uninsured Children and Children on Medicare Is Double That of Children With Private Insurance
7. State Tax Collections Exhibit Strong Growth
8. New York City Hunger Hotline Fails to Provide Accurate Information About Access to Emergency Food and Food Stamps
9. California Lawsuit Accuses Sacramento County of Delaying Expedited Food Stamps to Neediest Residents
10. Alabama’s Food Stamp Participation Rising, But Officials Aim to Reach Even More Eligible People
11. Virginia: Residents of New River Valley Sign Up for Food Stamps, Flock to Food Kitchens
12. Ohio: Cleveland Hospital Teams Up with Attorneys to Help Patients Obtain Food Stamps, Medicaid and Other Assistance
13. Oklahoma Sets Record in Number of Children Eating Summer Meals
14. Virginia Schools Raise Price of School Meals by Quarter Because of High Gas Prices
15. West Virginia: Jefferson County Schools Revise Pre-Pay School Meal Policy
16. Texas: Rochelle Schools Serve Free Breakfast and Lunch for All Students This School Year
17. Kentucky: Jefferson County Public Schools Put Breakfast Science to Work for Students’ Health
18. Ohio Governor Rewards Schools for Best Nutrition Practices
19. California Legislation Invests More Money to Put More Fruits and Vegetables in Schools
20. Tennessee: Fresh Produce Stand Makes Difference in Nashville Residents’ Diets
21. Op-Ed: North Carolina Should Invest in Community Colleges and Provide Tax Relief for Low-Income Families Hard Hit by Recent Recession
22. Minnesota: Duluth Low-Income Families Cannot Afford Back-to-School Supplies

1. Bill Clinton Launches Healthy Schools Program That Will Reward Nation’s “Healthiest” Schools

(“Clinton and AHA Set Nutrition Guidelines for Schools,” foodnavigator-usa.com, August 16, 2006)

Former President Bill Clinton, Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher and Howell Wechsler, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, officially launched a Healthy Schools Program at the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Ark., by addressing representatives from 200 American schools. The program is a joint effort of Clinton and the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Alliance for a Healthier Generation and has a criteria-based recognition system that rewards schools for creating a healthier place for students to learn. Speakers underscored the importance of nutritional standards for foods offered in school cafeterias and sold on school grounds and stressed the need for physical education standards. AHA has been promoting its recently released nutritional guidelines for children, underlining the dangers of arteriosclerosis and type 2 diabetes. Both diseases can affect young children who follow a poor diet and take too little exercise. The Healthy Schools Program also is running a TV campaign with Nickelodeon to get children to pledge to “Go Healthy.”

http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/news/ng.asp?n=69902&m=1FNU816&c=xqdjukrrlerzutg

2. Editorial: Government Should Not Economize on Fruits and Vegetables for Needy Mothers and Children

(“Government’s Food Basket Penny Foolish,” daytondailynews.com, August 18, 2006)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed changes to the food package it offers to low-income women and children under 5 through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). “That’s very good news,” writes this editorial in the Dayton (Ohio) Daily News, especially, because the new WIC package is based on recommendations of independent medical and nutrition experts and includes fresh fruits and vegetables. The agency, however, “didn’t follow through by fully implementing the recommendations for fruits and vegetables” submitted by the Institute of Medicine and only allowed $6 for WIC produce purchases instead of the recommended $8. “If it takes an apple a day to keep the doctor away … they should give needy moms and kids the whole apple,” contends the newspaper. “The Bush administration and Congress should not allow an otherwise excellent plan for the program to be undermined for miniscule savings — contrary to the best medical advice the government sought.”

http://www.daytondailynews.com/opinion/content/opinion/daily/081806wic.html

Also see http://www.frac.org/html/news/newWICpack80406.html (Preliminary summary of the new WIC food package proposal by the Food Research and Action Center)

http://www.frac.org/html/news/statement80406.html (“FRAC Statement in Response to USDA Rule (Published August 4, 2006) Proposing New WIC Food Package”)

3. Study Finds Increase in Overweight Babies

(“Even Infants Are Increasingly Fat,” startribune.com, August 9, 2006)

Infant obesity is a worrisome trend with serious implications for the nation’s obesity epidemic, according to a study published in the July issue of Obesity, a medical journal. A 73.5 percent increase in overweight babies over a 22-year period shows that “even our very youngest children are gaining excess weight, not just adults and adolescents,” said senior author Dr. Matthew Gillman of Harvard Medical School. The study, which tracked overweight infants fewer than 6 months old, discovered that more babies are larger at birth than a quarter-century ago, partially because more mothers are entering pregnancy overweight and developing gestational diabetes while pregnant. Also, more infants are putting on weight rapidly in the first few months of life. By 2001 overweight babies accounted for 5.9 percent of infants, up from 3.4 percent in 1980. “Our obesity-prevention efforts need to start at the earliest stages of human development,” Gillman warned.

http://www.startribune.com/789/story/605651.html

Also see http://www.obesityresearch.org/cgi/content/abstract/14/7/1107 (Obesity, “Trends in Overweight from 1980 through 2001 among Preschool-Aged Children Enrolled in a Health Maintenance Organization”)

4. Study Shows “Exercise Gap” Is Lower Than Previously Thought

(“Study Finds Need Drives Poor People to Exercise,” nwanews.com, August 14, 2006)

A new study on physical activity of more than 55,000 Californians, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, showed that the exercise gap between people with less money and education, and their wealthier and more educated counterparts is smaller than it was previously thought. People who do not own cars, or have limited access to them, were physically active walking or biking to their daily destinations such as a bus stop or a store. The study found that 51.6 percent of people with incomes at least four times the poverty level met the recommendations for physical activity compared with 26.8 percent of those living below the poverty line. The exercise gap narrowed to 11 percent – 58.5 percent versus 47.5 percent – when biking and walking for transportation were included. Many prior studies attempted to quantify exercise in various ethnic and socioeconomic groups, but they examined only leisure-time exercise, said lead author David Berrigan of the National Cancer Institute. “To fully understand the contribution of physical activity to health and the obesity epidemic, we need to assess physical activity in the full range of areas: leisure, transportation, work and household activity,” he explained.

http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Style/163529/

Also see http://tinyurl.com/zvl5o (the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, “Active Transportation Increases Adherence to Activity Recommendations”)

5. Policies Eliminating Poverty Help Schools Boost Achievement by Low-Income Students

(“It Takes More Than Schools to Close Achievement Gap,” nytimes.com, August 9, 2006)

Children in private schools generally did no better than comparable students at public schools on national tests of math and reading, according to the U.S. Department of Education, which raises the question whether the impediments to learning are associated with any type of school or school reform at all. A 1966 study by Prof. James S. Coleman looked into the performances of minority schoolchildren and concluded that, although the quality of schools mattered, the achievement gap was rooted in the backgrounds and resources of the students’ families. The 2002 No Child Left Behind law, however, makes schools responsible for students’ academic failures, no matter what social, economic and physical backgrounds the students have. Yet, a growing body of research suggests that, while schools can impact individual children, the quality of children’s lives outside of school affects their academic success. The 1982 Johns Hopkins University study by Doris Entwisle and Karl Alexander found that poor children do make progress in school, although they start out behind their peers and suffer the most from summer breaks, which leave them without an opportunity for enrichment, while their peers are attending camp and reading. Better housing positively affects performance of low-income students, while higher rates of lead poisoning, asthma and the lack of health care fuel low achievement. Richard Rothstein, the author of “Class and Schools: Using Social, Economic and Educational Reform to Close the Black-White Achievement Gap,” argues that educational reforms which are not tied to changes in economic and social policies improving children’s lives outside school are doomed. “I would never say public schools can’t do better,” Rothstein said. “I’d say they can’t do much better,” unless lawmakers address the social ills caused by poverty.

http://tinyurl.com/gafbv (subscription or purchase required)

6. Death Rate of Uninsured Children and Children on Medicare Is Double That of Children With Private Insurance

(“Doctor Visits Save Dollars, Kids’ Lives,” denverpost.com, August 7, 2006)

A study by two Denver pediatricians, published in the Pediatrics journal, reveals that children on Medicaid and uninsured children are twice as likely to die as those with private insurance. The study tracked children between six months and 18 years and found that those who were uninsured or publicly insured were hospitalized more often for commonly treatable or controllable conditions like asthma, diabetes and flu. Children on Medicaid had almost double the emergency room visits because too much time passed between the moment children got sick and the time they got care. Nationwide, more primary and preventive care to uninsured or publicly insured children could save an estimated $5 billion a year, said the authors, Stephen Berman and James Todd of the Children’s Hospital. “If you don’t give children a medical home, they end up in the emergency department or the hospital. That costs more, in dollars and also in morbidity and mortality,” Todd said. “For years we’ve been saying we need to get kids insured. But that is not enough,” commented Berman. “We have to address the access issue.”

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_4144600

7. State Tax Collections Exhibit Strong Growth

(“State Revenue Preview,” rfs.rockinst.org, August 2006)

Tax collections for 34 states for the April-June quarter of 2006 totaled $138.2 billion, an increase of 10.2 percent compared to the same quarter the year before. This is the highest in four quarters and shows the fastest growth since April-June 2005, according to a report by the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, the public policy research arm of the State University of New York. The Rocky Mountain region had the strongest growth at 16.6 percent, followed by the Southwest at 15.6 percent. The Great Lakes region recorded the weakest growth at 4.3 percent. In the April-June quarter, 18 of the 34 states produced growth rates of more than 10 percent and only three states showed a decline in total tax collections; last quarter, there were 17 such states out of 50, with two states collecting less tax revenue. “Growth rates for the personal income tax and corporate income tax collections were up from the last quarter, but general sales tax collections were weaker,” the report notes.

http://rfs.rockinst.org/exhibit/9061/Full%20Text/SRP_65P.pdf

8. New York City Hunger Hotline Fails to Provide Accurate Information About Access to Emergency Food and Food Stamps

(“Hunger Hotline Fails New Yorkers in Need,” qgazette.com, August 16, 2006)

Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum charged New York City officials with continued mismanagement of the Hunger Hotline, which provides hungry New Yorkers with the information about access to emergency food at soup kitchens and pantries. Gotbaum’s follow-up to her May 2004 investigation showed that the hotline still offers its services in English and Spanish instead of the six languages promised in 2003 and still provides inaccurate and insufficient information about hours of operation for emergency food programs. Investigators from the Office of the Public Advocate also determined that the system fails to inform callers about expedited food stamps, which could lead them to believe that emergency food is only available through soup kitchens and food pantries. Moreover, the hotline is unreliable in providing information about food stamps. Of the 50 calls regarding food assistance placed during the investigation period, operators failed to inform callers about food stamps in 20 cases, or 40 percent of the calls. The hotline does not advise clients about other food assistance programs, such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). In 2004, about 1.2 million New Yorkers, including 417,000 children, lived in households facing hunger. “The Hunger Hotline is still making it far too difficult for people to access emergency food programs and still giving them the false impression they can’t use Food Stamps in an emergency,” said Joel Berg of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger. “I urge the city to follow the Public Advocate’s recommendations so struggling families have all the information they need to get help.”

http://www.qgazette.com/news/2006/0816/features/019.html

9. California Lawsuit Accuses Sacramento County of Delaying Expedited Food Stamps to Neediest Residents

(“Suit: Needy Denied Food Stamps,” sacbee.com, August 17, 2006)

The Sacramento County Department of Human Assistance frequently has failed to provide food stamps to the county's neediest residents within the time frame mandated by state law, according to a lawsuit filed by Legal Services of Northern California on behalf of the Loaves & Fishes homeless services center and several indigent people. Between January and March 2006, more than 44 percent of applicants eligible for expedited food stamps had to wait more than three days, and in some cases up to two weeks, to receive their food stamps. The law requires the state to provide food stamps within three days to homeless individuals, destitute seasonal workers, households with incomes less than $150 a month and less than $100 in resources, and households that do not earn enough to pay the mortgage or rent and utilities. Regular food stamp applications must be processed within 30 days. Joan Burke of Loaves & Fishes said the statute is particularly important for people who do not have transportation to places that give out food or free meals. She is concerned that people are going hungry because of delayed assistance.

http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/14299279p-15161104c.html

10. Alabama’s Food Stamp Participation Rising, But Officials Aim to Reach Even More Eligible People

(“Since 2001, One-Third More Get Food Stamps,” al.com, August 14, 2006)

Alabama state officials report that the number of families receiving food stamps has risen by one-third in five years, but too many people who could get help do not sign up. Joyce O’Neal, state director of the food stamp program, refers to hurricanes Ivan and Katrina to explain the most recent growth. When the Alabama Department of Human Resources offered one-time food stamp enrollment to Ivan victims in 2004 and Katrina victims in 2005, more than 55,000 households enrolled after each storm. “Ivan and Katrina helped many people understand they are eligible” for regular food stamps, said O’Neal. In 2003, 56 percent of Alabamians eligible for food stamps received them. Now the official goal is to reach 80 percent by 2010. O’Neal and DHR Commissioner Page Walley are planning to meet with officials from the 10 Alabama counties with the lowest participation rates to discuss ways to reach more people. They also will visit South Carolina, which has launched a program to boost food stamp participation among the elderly. Currently, Alabamians need to fill in a 22-page application, which O’Neal referred to as “tedious,” and an interview is required. DHR will work to simplify the application process, including offering more flexible hours for interviews. The state is considering hiring more food stamp case workers and investing in food stamp outreach and advertising programs. Walley said DHR will also talk to the Alabama Grocers Association about raising awareness.

http://tinyurl.com/hperw

11. Virginia: Residents of New River Valley Sign Up for Food Stamps, Flock to Food Kitchens

(“Hunger and Humility,” roanoke.com, August 13, 2006)

New River Valley, Va., is overwhelmed by increasing food insecurity and reports increases in food stamp participation. The Pulaski Daily Bread food kitchen served 10,467 meals in 1987. Last year, that figure rose to 38,200, and Debbie Harrell, executive director, expects the number to go over 40,000 this year. “A lot of it is unemployment,” she noted. “All the plants [in Pulaski] are closing down.” Nancy Haynie of the Giles Christian Mission said, “We have seen an increase in about the last six to eight months.” Tammy Lemons of Floyd’s New River Valley Community Action has clients who say gas prices force them to dip into the grocery money. Vicky Collins, director of Radford’s Department of Social Services, has noticed an increase in applications for food stamps. “We are getting new cases every month and there has been a steady increase since February,” Collins said. Caroline Crist, eligibility supervisor at the Montgomery County Department of Social Services, pointed out the same trend. “The state has been actively doing outreach. There are a lot of households we know that qualify for benefits that are not receiving them,” she added.

http://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/wb/wb/xp-77902

12. Ohio: Cleveland Hospital Teams Up with Attorneys to Help Patients Obtain Food Stamps, Medicaid and Other Assistance

(“With Friends’ Help, MetroHealth Expands Legal Aid Program,” cleveland.com, August 11, 2006)

Children, the elderly, the homeless and ex-convicts receiving health care at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland will be given $1.27 million worth of free legal help to obtain food stamps, Medicaid, child care and decent housing through the Community Advocacy Program. Dr. Robert Cohn, a pediatrician, said “teaming up with Legal Aid attorneys will help us resolve economic, environmental and social problems that can have a negative impact on health.” MetroHealth is the first and only city hospital that offers such a program. Two other Ohio hospitals in Toledo and Cincinnati are modeling similar programs after the first nation’s model created in 1993 at Boston Medical Center. Since then, legal advocacy programs have spread to hospitals in more than 20 states. “What we learned from the pilot program is that there is tremendous demand for this type of service,” said attorney Mallory Curran who works with MetroHealth in Cleveland. The center’s pediatricians also learned how much they could do to improve lives of struggling families.

http://tinyurl.com/f6wp5

13. Oklahoma Sets Record in Number of Children Eating Summer Meals

(“State’s Summer Feeding Program Serves Record Number of Meals to Children This Summer,” kten.com, August 9, 2006)

State officials report that a record number of children were provided free meals this summer through the Summer Feeding Program coordinated by the Oklahoma State Department of Education. “Because of the high level of poverty in Oklahoma … during the school year school breakfasts and lunches are the only meals many students receive,” said State Superintendent Sandy Garrett. The record participation rate is “a blessing in that we are able to assist more families who desperately need the help,” said Garrett. She added, “It is a curse in that record participation proves that poverty continues to be a huge challenge for this state.” With final participation numbers to be collected later this month when the program ends, so far, 26,181 Oklahoma children have been fed each week day at 382 participating sites. Last summer, 21,599 children were fed daily at 375 sites.

http://www.kten.com/Global/story.asp?S=5261475

14. Virginia Schools Raise Price of School Meals by Quarter Because of High Gas Prices

(“Prices Affect Costs of School Lunches,” whsv.com, August 8, 2006)

Staunton, Waynesboro and Augusta County School Systems in Virginia are raising the price of a school breakfast and lunch by a quarter. According to school food services coordinators, the meals will cost more because of higher fuel costs for food delivery. Students who receive free and reduced-price school lunches will not be affected by price increases.

http://www.whsv.com/home/headlines/3524511.html

15. West Virginia: Jefferson County Schools Revise Pre-Pay School Meal Policy

(“Pre-paid Meal Plan Put on Table,” journal-news.net, August 15, 2006)

Parents in Jefferson County, W.Va., will be given the option of being billed for their child’s school breakfast and lunch or pre-paying a month in advance for meals. The Jefferson County school system is revising its current pre-pay meal policy, adopted in 2002 to decrease its debt from outstanding bills and allowing charges only in “emergency situations.” The pre-pay system created a problem for students who weren’t eating because their parents forgot to pre-pay or send money with them to school, said School Board President Pete Dougherty. Participation in school meals has gone down by more than 10 percent, to less than 50 percent of all students. Over the last four years Jefferson County schools have lost about $1 million in federal reimbursements for school meals. After adopting the pre-pay system, school officials did not want to punish children whose parents did not pay and offered students a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Returning to the billing system, Dougherty hopes, will eliminate the possibility that a hungry child might not eat at school. It also will remove the stigma associated with a child’s getting a sandwich instead of a hot lunch.

http://www.journal-news.net/news/articles.asp?articleID=3080

16. Texas: Rochelle Schools Serve Free Breakfast and Lunch for All Students This School Year

(“Rochelle Students Get Free Lunches, Breakfasts,” dfw.com, August 14, 2006)

The Rochelle Independent School District in Texas surprised its students at the start of the new school year by serving free breakfasts and free lunches for all 180 students. With more than 75 percent of Rochelle students qualifying for subsidized school meals, the district will serve free meals every school day using a four-year grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Superintendent Steve Butler said offering the free meals brings equality to the students. “There were some that qualified for free-and-reduced, but their pride wouldn’t let them apply,” he explained. “This takes all the stigma away from it.” Students Angelina Wills and Mikayla Johnson, both 16, like the change because they often went without eating lunch last year to save money.

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/state/15274866.htm

17. Kentucky: Jefferson County Public Schools Put Breakfast Science to Work for Students’ Health

(“A Healthy Start,” courier-journal.com, August 10, 2006)

The Jefferson County (Ky.) Public Schools offer breakfast at most of its schools, giving students the option of eating a whole meal or selecting individual items, such as milk, to accompany food from home. Cheryl Sturgeon, Director of school and community nutrition services, said breakfast can combat behavioral problems and reduce complaints from students, who might be suffering from stomachaches or headaches associated with being hungry. Last year, the Journal of the American Dietetic Association published a review by Gail Rampersaud of the University of Florida that analyzed the findings of nearly 50 studies related to children’s and adolescents’ breakfast habits. Children who regularly eat breakfast tended to have “superior nutritional profiles” to their counterparts who skipped the morning meal. Breakfast “may improve cognitive function related to memory, test grades, and school attendance,” the review said. Also, “breakfast eaters generally consumed more daily calories, yet were less likely to be overweight.”

http://tinyurl.com/l6d83

18. Ohio Governor Rewards Schools for Best Nutrition Practices

(“United Honored for Health Efforts,” salemnews.net, August 12, 2006)

Ohio Gov. Bob Taft presented both the elementary and the high schools of United Local School in Hanoverton, Ohio, with Governor’s Buckeye Best Healthy Schools Gold Awards. The awards were given under the “Healthy Ohioans” program which rewards schools for promoting nutrition, physical fitness and tobacco prevention. The school district formed a health team that developed the School Health Index and an action plan to create a healthier environment for students. One of the health team’s most recent initiatives was letting students take their breakfast to their first period classes and attempting to improve the quality of school snacks. The school installed the Snackwise computer program in a vending machine that allows users to rate different snacks based on their nutritional value: green means “best choice”; yellow signals “choose occasionally”; and the red warns “choose rarely.” The healthier the item in the machine is, the lower the school sets the price. School Principal Bill Young said in the summer already the green-sticker snacks are outselling the reds and yellows, and the favorite item, multi-grain Sun Chips, have to be restocked on a daily basis.

http://www.salemnews.net/news/story/0812202006_new04health.asp

19. California Legislation Invests More Money to Put More Fruits and Vegetables in Schools

(“Tahoe Truckee Schools Better Kids’ Eating Options,” tahoebonanza.com, August 16, 2006)

Last year California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation that invested more than $18 million in putting more fruits and vegetables on school cafeteria tables by reimbursing schools 10 cents for every fresh piece of produce they serve to students. Since last spring, children in Tahoe Truckee Unified schools have been reaping the benefits of eating fruits and vegetables offered by the school’s breakfast program, which did not serve fresh produce items prior to receiving state funding. “The program teaches children healthy habits when they are allowed the opportunity to have a fresh fruit everyday, as they might not be getting it at home,” said Rose Walterbeek, food services director. Parents and health and nutrition professionals have formed the Nutrition Coalition network that seeks to bring nutrition education to local communities and schools. “There have been concerns about what has been available to children in school, including vending machines,” said George LeBard of Project MANA and a coalition participant. “The schools are in a position where they can actually have an impact on what kids eat.” The coalition is developing a pilot project to implement healthy nutrition policies at Kings Beach Elementary in the fall.

http://www.tahoebonanza.com/article/20060816/Region/108160005

20. Tennessee: Fresh Produce Stand Makes Difference in Nashville Residents’ Diets

(“Initiative Brings Healthy Foods to North Nashville Neighborhoods,” vanderbilt.edu, August 10, 2006)

Luscious fruits and leafy vegetables from the RiverWest Produce Stand in North Nashville, Tenn., give residents of three nearby neighborhoods a much-needed opportunity to buy healthy, affordable foods. Darcy Freedman, a doctoral student at the Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy Studies and produce stand organizer, discovered the problems of access to nutritious food in these “food deserts” while researching methods for addressing childhood obesity. “There are places to purchase food where you can buy chips, beer, cigarettes and soda,” Freedman said. “If there are fruits and vegetables at those stores, they’re often poor quality and they’re very expensive.”Freedman interviewed parents of preschool-age children and found that people liked fruits and vegetables, but were not able to buy them in their neighborhood. “It wasn’t accessible to them and in their busy lives, that barrier was a big barrier,” Freedman said. The stand, a project of several local organizations, purchases its produce from the Nashville Farmers’ Market and from local farms and has been very successful. Residents also hope to expand their community garden program, supported by the agricultural extension at Tennessee State University. TSU instructors teach community gardening and nutrition. The excess produce from the garden goes to the stand for sale.

http://www.vanderbilt.edu/news/releases/2006/8/10/initiative-brings-healthy-foods-to-north-nashville-neighborhoods

21. Op-Ed: North Carolina Should Invest in Community Colleges and Provide Tax Relief for Low-Income Families Hard Hit by Recent Recession

(“N.C.’s Working Poor Need Help,” charlotte.com, August 14, 2006)

North Carolina’s economy finally has rebounded from the recent economic downturn, but few families have benefited from this prosperity, writes John Quinterno, a research associate at the N.C. Budget & Tax Center, in The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer. “The impact on low-income working families was so severe that many have yet to recover. Now that the overall economy has improved, North Carolina must make smart policy choices like strengthening the community colleges and fairly taxing low-income families.” From 2000 and 2004, the state’s median household income decreased, health insurance coverage shrank and hourly wages remained flat. These factors, along with the decline of traditional industries and fewer opportunities for people with lesser education, have led to North Carolina’s having “a greater proportion of low-income working families than the nation as a whole.” The typical low-income working family held the equivalent of 1.2 full-time jobs in 2004, but no matter how hard these families worked, they could not get ahead. The underfunding of community colleges and less support for schools have decreased educational and career opportunities to low-income families. They need more help with medical and tax bills, decent child care and health insurance, Quinterno points out.

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/opinion/15268497.htm

22. Minnesota: Duluth Low-Income Families Cannot Afford Back-to-School Supplies

(“Helping Struggling Families Stock Up,” duluthsuperior.com, August 15, 2006)

“Students are expected to bring more than just paper and pencils to schools these days. A lot of schools even require them to bring separate gym shoes,” said Kerri Hauser of the Union Gospel Mission, one of the organizations in Duluth, Minn., that is sponsoring back-to-school assistance programs to help low-income parents. According to a survey by the National Retail Federation, the average family is expected to spend about $530 on school clothes and supplies this year, up from $445 last year. “There is a tremendous need,” Hauser said, and it’s outpacing donations. College of St. Scholastica economics professor Tony Barrett said Duluth isn’t generating enough well-paying jobs for lower- and middle-income families. “Think of someone who makes $10 an hour, which is substantially above minimum wage. That’s only $20,000 a year,” Barrett said. “Give them two school-aged kids, and that’s just not enough to go around, even with subsidized housing and the other assistance programs.” One-third of all children in the Duluth public school district come from low-income families, according to Churches United in Ministry.

http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/15276757.htm