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. Agriculture Secretary Expects to Send Administration Farm Bill Proposal in January
2. House Ag Committee Chairman Looks to Farm Bill in 2007
3. USDA Awards $4 Million to 14 States to Help Children Develop Better Eating and Physical Activity Habits, Assess Wellness Policies
4. British Schools Tackle Wellness With Added Dollars; Celebrity Chef Challenges Parents on Lunchboxes
5. Dietitians Recommend Starting Day With Breakfast
6. New York City Council Launches Campaign to Increase Food Stamp Participation
7. San Francisco Receives USDA Grant for New Food Stamp Access Initiative
8. North Carolina: Hunger Among Hispanics Is Higher Than General Population, Study Finds
9. New York City Council Has Poster Competition to Promote Free Breakfast to High School Students
10. Iowa School Teacher Is Grateful to In-Classroom Breakfast Program for Feeding Hungry Children
11. Rhode Island: Woonsocket Schools Embrace Free Breakfast Program
12. Letter to the Editor – Colorado: Universal School Breakfast Significant Step Forward in Denver Schools
13. Montana: Missoula Downtown Market Is First State Farmers Market to Accept Food Stamps
14. Iowa Low-Income Mothers Support Plan to Add Fruits and Vegetables to WIC Food Package
15. Utah: Sixth Annual Hunger Banquet Raises Awareness About Hunger
16. Wyoming: Local Community Lacks Resources, Nutritious Foods to Help Growing Number of Hungry
17. Kansas: Vegetable Lunches Excite Children Who Plant and Harvest Their Own Schoolyard Gardens
18. Oregon Needs Higher Living Wage and Expanded Job Training to Help Working Poor
19. Indiana Poverty Experts Urge Policy Changes, Investments in Creating Opportunities for Poor
20. Op-Ed: New York Low-Income Students Losing Their Chances for College Education

1. Agriculture Secretary Expects to Send Administration Farm Bill Proposal in January

(“Johanns: Expect a New Farm Bill,” wisconsinagconnection.com, September 18, 2006)

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said the Bush administration plans to send a new farm bill, which covers programs through 2012, to Congress in January. Previously, some farm groups suggested that the administration support extending the present farm bill for a year or two instead of writing a new one. But Johanns said the 2002 law cannot meet the changing needs of farmers and agriculture in the near future. Although there are fewer than 2 million farms in the U.S., with 150,000 producing most of the food for Americans, Johanns pointed out, their needs are vastly different. In FY 2005, federal commodity subsidies totaled $20.2 billion, with some of that cost driven by drought and Hurricane Katrina’s impact on grain prices.

http://www.wisconsinagconnection.com/story-national.cfm?Id=1888&yr=2006

2. House Ag Committee Chairman Looks to Farm Bill in 2007

(“House Ag Committee Chair Says Budget Will Drive Farm Bill,” brownfieldnetwork.com, September 18, 2006)

Writing the 2007 farm bill is not possible ahead of the Congressional budget process for FY 2008, which will begin early next year, according to House Agriculture Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte. The American Farm Bureau Federation has endorsed an extension of the current farm bill to ensure the next farm bill complies with any deal reached in the Doha Round of World Trade Organization talks. But Goodlatte said the fact that no new deal is in the offing has negated the need to extend the 2002 farm bill. “We don’t know, given the fact that we do have deficits again, although they are declining; the situation is improving,” explained Goodlatte. “Nonetheless, we don’t know what the picture’s going to be.” Goodlatte said he and ranking House Agriculture Committee Democrat Collin Peterson were both committed to gaining as big a share of the federal budget as possible for agriculture and “are already in full agreement that we will work hand in hand to make sure agriculture is treated fairly in that budget process.” However the federal budget picture shapes up, Goodlatte said the next farm bill must be different from the current one. He said that’s necessary, not to comply with some future WTO agreement, but to comply with current global trade rules.

http://www.brownfieldnetwork.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=C17F8CA4-0927-0B25-02E3E1567331E1AF

3. USDA Awards $4 Million to 14 States to Help Children Develop Better Eating and Physical Activity Habits, Assess Wellness Policies

(“USDA Awards $4 Million in Team Nutrition Training Grants,” usda.gov, September 19, 2006)

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns awarded $4 million in grants to help children in 14 states develop better eating and physical activity habits. The grants came from “Team Nutrition” – one of the USDA Food and Nutrition Service initiatives that provides schools with nutrition education materials for children and parents. “Team Nutrition” also distributes technical assistance materials for school food service providers and communities to support healthy eating and physical activity. Eleven states received Team Nutrition Training Grants for training and technical assistance on the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, MyPyramid and MyPyramid for Kids, and the agency’s HealthierUS School Challenge. California, Iowa and Pennsylvania were awarded Wellness Demonstration Project Grants intended to assess the implementation of the local wellness policies, which the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 required to be in place by the start of the current school year.

http://tinyurl.com/qm3dn

4. British Schools Tackle Wellness With Added Dollars; Celebrity Chef Challenges Parents on Lunchboxes

(“School Cooks Wage War on Junk Food,” thisiswiltshire.co.uk, September 19, 2006)

A campaign to make school meals healthier started by British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has resulted in a promise from the British government of £280 million to raise school nutritional standards around the country following a campaign and a petition with 300,000 signatures which demanded healthier menus. Food in vending machines across the country has been replaced with healthier items. Now Oliver blasts parents for unhealthy food items they put in children’s lunchboxes, saying that 70 percent of packed lunches in Britain are “disgraceful” and he would like to see them banned. Parents are being encouraged by schools to place more emphasis on fruits and vegetables while schools like Fordingbridge Junior School in Hampshire plan to encourage parents to pack healthier items. The school has long been promoting healthy choices and taking away unhealthy snacks. Inspired by research showing that children benefit from eating breakfast and drinking cold water, Ringwood School has installed chilled water coolers and initiated a breakfast service. “Since the healthy meals were brought in, we have definitely noticed a decline in poor behaviour after lunch,” said Fordingbridge Lead Learner Jonathan Hannam.

http://tinyurl.com/loqd3

5. Dietitians Recommend Starting Day With Breakfast

(“Success in School and Smart Health Habits Begin with Breakfast,” home.businesswire.com, September 18, 2006)

Making smart food choices was on the agenda of this month’s Food & Nutrition Conference and Expo, an annual event of the American Dietetic Association. One constant theme: food and nutrition professionals recommend starting the day with a balanced breakfast. Research has consistently confirmed that a nutritious breakfast, especially one consisting of cereal and low-fat milk, contributes to a healthier body weight and greater success in school. Children who skip breakfast rarely make up for the missed nutrients during the day and also show more discipline problems and a poorer academic performance than their non-cereal-eating counterparts, writes Kathleen Zelman, a registered dietitian, author and educator.

http://tinyurl.com/rcqou

6. New York City Council Launches Campaign to Increase Food Stamp Participation

(“Council Launches Food Today, Healthy Tomorrow Campaign to Increase Food Stamp Participation Among New Yorkers,” nyccouncil.info, September 19, 2006)

New York City Council members launched a citywide campaign to increase food stamp enrollment in the most vulnerable communities. The “Food Today, Healthy Tomorrow” campaign first will target senior citizens. Council members will visit senior centers to educate seniors about food stamps and help them sign up. One in four seniors relies on emergency food from soup kitchens or food pantries and one in five worries about where their next meal is coming from. In upcoming months, the council is planning to reach out to children, eligible immigrants, new mothers and New Yorkers living in public housing. The goal is to enroll 350,000 more people in food stamps over the next three and a half years. Currently, more than 600,000 city residents who are eligible for food stamps are not receiving them. Council Speaker Christine Quinn said, “Hunger in New York is a big – but solvable – problem. Working with community leaders and civic groups, we are going to hit the streets to talk to New Yorkers about the importance of enrolling in the food stamp program and make sure they have the information they need to sign up. We are going to see to it that all New Yorkers have access to three square meals a day.”

http://www.nyccouncil.info/pdf_files/newswire/09_18_06_foodrelease.pdf

7. San Francisco Receives USDA Grant for New Food Stamp Access Initiative

(“San Francisco Gets Food Stamp Grant,” cbs5.com, September 19, 2006)

San Francisco is one of five cities to be awarded a $1 million grant from the U. S. Department of Agriculture for a new food stamp access initiative, announced the city’s mayor, Gavin Newsom. “This is yet another positive step in ensuring that all our underserved residents have proper access to the food and nutrition they need to foster healthier lives and ultimately enhance their quality of life,” Newsom said. San Francisco’s Human Services Agency, with several community partners, will install Web cameras and computer kiosks where San Franciscans will be able to enroll in the food stamp program or renew their applications online. San Francisco’s Food Security Taskforce will oversee the initiative.

http://tinyurl.com/nm5lg

8. North Carolina: Hunger Among Hispanics Is Higher Than General Population, Study Finds

(“Hispanic Hunger Is Studied: WFU Study Finds State’s Rates Exceed Nation’s,” journalnow.com, September 21, 2006)

Hispanics in parts of North Carolina suffer from hunger or food insecurity at much higher rates than the general population in the United States, according to a survey funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health and conducted by Wake Forest University researchers. It will be published in the October issue of The Journal of Nutrition. Nationwide, the hunger rate is 4.3 percent, and the food insecurity rate is 13.3 percent. The hunger rate among the Hispanics surveyed ranged from 8 percent in Western North Carolina to more than 35 percent in Forsyth County. Up to 41.8 percent of them were food insecure. In Forsyth County, nearly 22 percent of those surveyed at a free medical clinic said their child went hungry because they couldn’t afford enough food, and 16 percent said their child had to go for a whole day without food. The lead author of the study, Sara Quandt, cautioned against generalizing the results for the entire state because of small sample sizes. However, researchers identified a variety of factors that worsen the hunger problem for Hispanics: Hispanics eligible for food stamps are less likely to use them, and some have difficulty overcoming the embarrassment of asking for assistance. Children of illegal immigrants born in the United States are eligible for food stamps, but often they are not enrolled.

http://tinyurl.com/hsmos

9. New York City Council Has Poster Competition to Promote Free Breakfast to High School Students

(“Breakfast Promotion Competition,” nyccouncil.info, September 2006)

“Are you hungry? Welcome to the Free Breakfast Program. Introducing a tastier, more delicious breakfast program,” reads the poster from Forest Hills High School that won a poster design competition sponsored by the New York City Council for the city’s high school students last summer. The goal of the posters was to promote the importance of eating breakfast every day and to let the students know that school breakfast is free to all. Poster submissions are available for viewing at this link.

http://www.nyccouncil.info/food/competition.cfm

10. Iowa School Teacher Is Grateful to In-Classroom Breakfast Program for Feeding Hungry Children

(“Pilot Breakfast Program Bringing Higher Attendance,” timesrepublican.com, September 21, 2006)

A pilot school breakfast program at Anson Elementary in Marshalltown, Iowa, has been successfully fighting rumbling stomachs and tardiness among students this school year. The school opted to serve in-classroom breakfasts with easy-to-eat foods, which helps avoid such obstacles as late arrivals and bus schedules. Eighty-three percent of Anson students were eligible for free and reduced-price school meals in the 2005-06 school year. Kim Case, a fourth grade teacher at Anson, said, “It’s kind of like sitting around the breakfast table in the morning. And brain research all shows that kids really need to eat before they can learn.” She said messes had been minimal in her classroom. The added practice of being responsible while eating also has decreased the number of messes in the cafeteria because the younger children are getting more practice eating at school. Case said sometimes the school meals are the only solid meals the children in her classroom eat during the day. “Last year almost one-half of my kids weren’t eating dinner at night,” explained Case. “We’re really grateful to have the program right now and I think the benefits outweigh any hassle there might be.” Marshalltown Community School District Director of Food Service Ann Feilmann is planning to expand the program to more schools in the district.

http://www.timesrepublican.com/iowa/articles.asp?articleID=3243

11. Rhode Island: Woonsocket Schools Embrace Free Breakfast Program

(“Free Breakfast Adopted,” projo.com, September 15, 2006)

The School Committee in Woonsocket, R.I., will pilot a year-long program offering free breakfast to every student in every school starting Oct. 1. “Approximately 73 percent of our student body is on free or reduced lunch and we just feel this is the right thing to do,” said School Superintendent Maureen B. Macera. Schools say serving breakfasts to all students reduces the stigma of receiving subsidized school meals and better prepares students for learning. During the spring semester last year, Woonsocket tested a free breakfast program at two schools, including Bernon Heights where the test showed significant decreases in absenteeism and tardiness. “The qualitative research from parents and students and teachers is overwhelmingly positive. [Students who attended the program] were more attentive, more pleasant and more on task,” reported Macera. At Woonsocket Middle School, participation rose from 100 students to an average of 366 breakfast-eaters last semester. School Committee member Anita Maguire-Forcier said about her daughter, “I always had to fight with her in the morning to get her to eat while she complained that it was too early. Now, by the time we get [to school] and she gets some fresh air, she's ready to eat.” Other districts in Rhode Island that offer universal free breakfast include Cranston, Central Falls, Providence and Pawtucket.

http://www.projo.com/education/content/projo_20060915_weat15.3296321.html

12. Letter to the Editor – Colorado: Universal School Breakfast Significant Step Forward in Denver Schools

(“Breakfast at School,” denverpost.com, September 20, 2006)

“The Post’s news brief downplayed the significant shift of more than 100 Denver schools to universal school breakfast for their students,” writes Tori Ford of the Colorado Anti-hunger Network to the editor of The Denver Post, referring to a previously published article, titled “115 schools serving all students breakfast.” “While many students across the state must still wait until the lunch bell before their first meal because of no school breakfast program, this is a positive step to reducing barriers for hungry students in the morning. Nationally, Colorado ranks 44th for providing this government-subsidized program,” points out Ford. The Colorado Anti-hunger Network is working with the Colorado Department of Education and the Food Research and Action Center on improving nutrition programs for Colorado’s children.

http://www.denverpost.com/letters/ci_4363171 (please scroll down to see the letter)

13. Montana: Missoula Downtown Market Is First State Farmers Market to Accept Food Stamps

(“Food Stamp Swipes Come to Clark Fork Market,” missoulian.com, September 22, 2006)

The Clark Fork River Market in Missoula, Mo., is setting up a swipe machine to accept food stamps, the first Montana farmers market to do so since food stamps were replaced with electronic benefit transfer, or EBT cards. “Vegetables. Basil. Broccoli,” Niraja Golightly, an excited food stamp recipient, is naming off her favorite foods to which she will soon have access. “Food and nutrition are really important to me.” With the switch to EBT cards from paper food stamp coupons, low-income families either need cash at the market or must look for places that have electricity and telephone lines to accommodate card swipe machines. Clark Fork Market organizers are planning to raise money or seek grants to buy wireless EBT that will help process EBT transactions without depending on local infrastructure. Now they depend on the generosity of a local business that allowed them to use its phone line.

http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2006/09/22/news/local/news05.txt

14. Iowa Low-Income Mothers Support Plan to Add Fruits and Vegetables to WIC Food Package

(“WIC Proposal Shells Out Less for Eggs,” desmoinesregister.com, September 19, 2006)

Rebecca Ledvina says WIC has not only helped her make ends meet, it has also improved her diet and the diets of her two young children. Like many other low-income mothers from Iowa, she is happy about the government’s proposed change that would allow her to buy fresh fruits and vegetables for her children using WIC. Fruits and vegetables would provide low-income women and children participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) with badly needed nutrients, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The agency proposed to add these foods to the WIC food package while cutting back on eggs and dairy products to reduce saturated fat and cholesterol in the WIC diet. Women on the program would get $8 a month worth of fruits and vegetables and children would get $6 worth. The changes are based on, but are less than recommendations from the Institute of Medicine. According to the Food Research and Action Center, the proposed allowance will supply about three-quarters of the amount of fruits and vegetables that children need under the Institute of Medicine’s recommendations. Experts say eating fruits and vegetables will have a long-term impact on their dietary habits and the nation’s epidemic of obesity. “We would really like these small children from 1 up to 5 to be exposed to fruits and vegetables. They’re more apt to eat them later in life,” said Judy Solberg who oversees the WIC program in Iowa. Egg producers in Iowa, the nation’s largest producer of eggs, are worried about the long-term impact of the proposal.

http://tinyurl.com/nhn9f

15. Utah: Sixth Annual Hunger Banquet Raises Awareness About Hunger

(“Hunger Banquet Highlights Inequity in Access to Food,” dailyutahchronicle.com, September 22, 2006)

The sixth annual Hunger Banquet sponsored by the Lowell Bennion Center is called “A World Without Hunger,” and aims to raise awareness about hunger-related issues domestically and internationally. The U.S. Department of Agriculture ranks Utah 10th in the nation for the prevalence of hunger and fifth for risk of hunger. “Incomes are an increasing issue. It’s not that there isn’t enough food around, some people just don’t have access to it,” said Gina Cornia of Utahns Against Hunger. By being given “profile cards” based on the actual identity of persons around the world, attendees will experience what it is like to be in a socio-economic class of either high- or low-income groups that determine their access to food.

http://tinyurl.com/fx6gz

16. Wyoming: Local Community Lacks Resources, Nutritious Foods to Help Growing Number of Hungry

(“The Shelves Are Empty,” laramieboomerang.com, September 20, 2006)

The shelves and the fridge are bare at Interfaith Good Samaritan in Laramie, Wyo. “The amount of donations has been the same,” said Tom Martin, Interfaith director. “But there’s more people coming in.” The rising demand is due to increased fuel and utility costs, Martin believes, plus food prices are going up because of higher transportation costs. The charity inquires into the personal situations of regular visitors and informs them about food stamp benefits. Though some people do get food stamps, Martin said, food stamps provide only 75 percent of the food needed by a household or individual. The charity also offers budgeting classes to help people stretch their budgets. Interfaith also is concerned about the lack of variety among what is on the shelves. Pasta, bread and canned goods can sustain people for some time, but they cannot provide a balanced diet. This is especially bad for the elderly and children. “If this continues too long, and (children are) not getting proper nutrition, it can affect their development,” Martin said. “I knew of an elderly couple, who for the last 10 days of the month, they would eat oatmeal because it was cheap and it was filling.”

http://www.laramieboomerang.com/news/more.asp?StoryID=105629

17. Kansas: Vegetable Lunches Excite Children Who Plant and Harvest Their Own Schoolyard Gardens

(“Reap It and Eat,” kansascity.com, September 20, 2006)

Students with emotional and behavioral problems at the Niles Home for Children in Kansas City, Kan., get excited about green salad served for lunch. They plant and harvest their own schoolyard gardens, providing fresh ingredients for school cooks. Niles has seen kids who professed a lifelong hatred for vegetables develop a liking for peas, cucumbers and kohlrabi, said garden director Jessica Ratcliff. “It was impressive to see them open their minds to vegetables.” Niles gardens are modeled after the Edible Schoolyard in Berkeley, Calif., started in 1996 at a middle school by renowned chef, Alice Waters. School gardens are becoming popular nationwide. Although schoolyard gardens fit well in the promotion of the newly required school wellness policies with their emphasis on nutrition education, garden projects sometimes lack space and can be expensive; many schools lack resources to have them.

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/living/15555872.htm

18. Oregon Needs Higher Living Wage and Expanded Job Training to Help Working Poor

(“Study: Less Than 20% of Oregon Jobs Can Support a Family,” oregonlive.com September 20, 2006)

http://tinyurl.com/jfbes

Also see http://www.nwfco.org/pubs/2006.09_LW.in.econ.pdf (report, “Living Wage Jobs in the Current Economy: Northwest Job Gap”)

19. Indiana Poverty Experts Urge Policy Changes, Investments in Creating Opportunities for Poor

(“The Poor Among Us,” indystar.com, September 17, 2006)

Citing three years of rising poverty rates and shrinking confidence in the American Dream, The Indianapolis Star published a series of opinion pieces written by social work and human services experts. Jobs, wages and education are community factors increasing the chances of poverty, writes Katharine V. Byers of Indiana University-Bloomington. As better-paying manufacturing jobs have left the state and newly created service jobs tend to be low-paying, people can work very hard but still be poor. Agencies providing food, clothing, shelter and other necessities are seeing increases in caseloads and needs. There is a “connection between poverty and increased needs for mental health services due to higher rates of stress, depression, family disruption and family violence.” What happens to the poor affects “the rest of us,” Byers contends. “There are policy changes that can improve the economic security of Hoosiers who are struggling,” writes Patti O’Callaghan of the Indiana Coalition for Human Services and Lafayette Urban Ministry, describing the parent struggling with a $7.86 an hour job, the grandmother caring for special needs children, and the growing number of others struggling to make ends meet. “We can help workers” by increasing the minimum wage and the state and federal earned income tax credits, by removing the state sales tax on federal dollars that come to Indiana for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, by providing students free textbooks and free breakfast and enrolling their families in the food stamp program. Carter Wolf, of Horizon House, a homeless center, points out to a “separate world” that poor people live in, unable to “grasp” the American Dream. “The reductions in support dollars directed to the poor are directly related to their invisibility and lack of political clout. The net effect is that society bears the cost of public services, lost economic productivity and human resources,” argues Wolf.

http://tinyurl.com/llb4e

20. Op-Ed: New York Low-Income Students Losing Their Chances for College Education

(“Too Poor to Graduate,” nytimes.com, September 17, 2006)

According to the U.S. Department of Education, New York offers the least affordable public higher education. “The costs for low- and middle-income students to attend public universities and community colleges here represent nearly 50 percent of their annual family income,” writes New York Senator Liz Krueger is The New York Times. For middle-class students growing costs of tuition and decreased federal and state financing for higher education have translated to bigger loans and post-college debt. For lower-income New Yorkers, this means less opportunity to attend college and a higher likelihood of “remain[ing] in poverty and dependent on government assistance.” All of this hurts New York businesses. Interest rates for federal Stafford Loans have soared from an average of 3 percent two years ago to more than 6.5 percent today. The president has proposed eliminating federal financing of low-interest Perkins Loans and freezing Pell Grants amounts for the fifth consecutive year. This only adds to a situation in which too many seem to be “too poor to graduate,” worries Krueger.

http://tinyurl.com/fgvj6v (subscription or purchase required)