Issue 20, May 16, 2003

1. Senator Kohl Introduces Legislation that would Expand School Breakfast, Summer Food and CACFP
2. Study Shows Negative Long-Term Effects From House Tax-Cut Bill
3. Column: Budget Proposals and Tax Cuts Threaten Bipartisan Consensus on Policies to Help Low-Income People
4. Report: Evaluation of the USDA Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program
5. Report: Analysis of School Lunch Program Revenues and Expenses in Selected States, 1996-2001
6. Committee Hearing Examines 2002 Farm Bill Implementation One Year Later
7. Many States Limit Child Care Assistance Programs As More Low-Income Mothers Work
8. Case Study of Effects of EBT System on Elderly Food Stamp Participants
9. May 16th is the Anniversary of the Food Stamp Program
10. The Bush Administration's Income Verification Plan Could Cause Eligible Children to Miss School Meals
11. Food Stamp Program Participation Drops in California, Rises Nationally
12. Immigrant Farm Workers in North Carolina Are Going Hungry
13. Industry Opposition Forces Texas Lawmakers to Drop School Nutrition Measure
14. Florida Group Forms Political Action Committee to Lobby for Programs for the Poor
15. Arkansas Legislature Approves $100 Million Tax Increase to Avoid Cuts in Services

1. SENATOR KOHL INTRODUCES LEGISLATION THAT WOULD EXPAND SCHOOL BREAKFAST, SUMMER FOOD AND CACFP

(Press Release, Senator Kohl's Office, May 14, 2003)

Senator Kohl (D-WI) introduced three bills that would expand the School Breakfast Program, the Summer Food Service Program and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). A broad coalition including 47 national and 16 Wisconsin organizations have called on Congress to support the legislation. These organization include: the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), America's Second Harvest, the Congressional Hunger Center, the American Dietetic Association, and the National Education Association, as well as religious and education organizations. Several Wisconsin organizations support the bills, highlighting the fact that Wisconsin ranks near the bottom in getting federally funded food assistance to those in need. Senator Kohl's proposals would increase the number of school breakfasts, create start-up and expansion grants for the breakfast program, make more children eligible for the Summer Food Program and expand the Child and Adult Care Food Program.

http://www.kohl.senate.gov/press/051403.html

2. STUDY SHOWS NEGATIVE LONG-TERM EFFECTS FROM HOUSE TAX-CUT BILL

(Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, May 13, 2003)

A study on the House tax-cut bill by the Joint Tax Committee finds that, after the first five years, the tax cut will reduce the size of the economy, due to the negative effects of higher deficits. This means that the tax-cut bill will not generate the long term economic gains that the Bush Administration has claimed. Previous studies of the 2001 tax-cuts by the Federal Reserve, the Congressional Budget Office and the Brookings Institution have all indicated that the long-term negative effects of that tax cut outweigh any positive effects on future economic output.

http://www.cbpp.org/5-13-03tax.htm

3. COLUMN: BUDGET PROPOSALS AND TAX CUTS THREATEN BIPARTISAN CONSENSUS ON POLICIES TO HELP LOW-INCOME PEOPLE

(Boston Globe, Boston, MA, May 11, 2003)

This column, by David Callahan, director of research at Demos in New York City, and Tamara Draut, who directs Demos' economic opportunity program, draws attention to the recent bipartisan consensus that has emerged over policies aimed at helping low-income people. The authors note that this consensus is threatened by the Bush Administration and House of Representatives' budget proposals and tax cuts, which would restrict federal funds to states and result in additional cuts to social services. The earned income tax credit, a program which has done much to reduce child poverty, enjoyed bipartisan support in the 1990s when it was greatly expanded, as did the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) when it was created in 1997.

http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/131/focus/Broken_bargain+.shtml

4. REPORT: EVALUATION OF THE USDA FRUIT AND VEGETABLE PILOT PROGRAM

(Economic Research Service of USDA, April 2003)

This report to Congress is an early review of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program (FVPP). The 2002 Farm Act provided $6 million for the 2002-03 school year to improve fruit and vegetable consumption among the nation's schoolchildren. One hundred schools in four states (25 schools each in Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, and Ohio) and 7 schools in the Zuni Indian Tribal Organization (ITO) in New Mexico participated in the program. Almost all schools participating in the FVPP consider the program to be very successful and would like the pilot to continue. Schools believed that 80 percent of students were very interested in the pilot.

http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/efan03006/

5. REPORT: ANALYSIS OF SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM REVENUES AND EXPENSES IN SELECTED STATES, 1996-2001

(U.S. General Accounting Office, May 2003)

This report analyzes how revenues and expenses have been affected since the U.S. Department of Agriculture implemented more stringent nutritional requirements for meals served in the National School Lunch Program. In the six states studied (Florida, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Texas and Virginia) for school years 1996-97 through 2000-01, federal reimbursements decreased slightly as a share of total revenues, revenues from food sales increased slightly, and the small amount of state government and other funding was stable. On expenses, food expenses decreased slightly and labor expenses grew slightly. Overall, expenses increased by about 22 percent while total revenues increased by 20 percent. Local school food authorities limited expenses by, among other strategies, buying in bulk and expanding a la carte menus. The six states had a small but growing deficit in their lunch programs.

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d03569.pdf

6. COMMITTEE HEARING EXAMINES 2002 FARM BILL IMPLEMENTATION ONE YEAR LATER

(Senate Agriculture Committee, May 14, 2003)

On May 14th the Senate Agriculture Committee held an oversight hearing on USDA implementation of the 2002 Farm Bill that was signed into law one year ago this week. Most of the hearing was about farm programs, not the nutrition part of the bill. Audio replay of the hearing is available for download on the committee's web site; see link below. FRAC's 2002 Farm Bill implementation web page also contains links to U.S. Department of Agriculture reports on feedback from state officials regarding food stamp reporting simplification provisions. A report on new Farm Bill food stamp options that states had taken as of February 2003 is also available.

Audio replay of the Senate Agriculture Committee hearing:
http://agriculture.senate.gov/Hearings/witnesslist.cfm?id=755

FRAC's 2002 Farm Bill implementation web page:
http://www.frac.org/html/actioncenters/fsindex.html

7. MANY STATES LIMIT CHILD CARE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS AS MORE LOW-INCOME MOTHERS WORK

(Center for Economic and Policy Research, May 6, 2003)

This data brief examines the child care choices of working mothers as more and more women in the last few decades have started going to work. Currently, two-thirds of mothers with children under age six are employed. More than 30 percent of working mothers provide child care themselves or through the child's other parent, 30.9 percent rely on relatives, and 22.7 percent of working mothers use formal day care. Low-income working mothers generally rely most on relative care and can only afford formal day care with financial assistance. Since 2001, 23 states have limited eligibility for low-income mothers (including former welfare recipients) in their child care assistance programs. More low-income mothers have had to turn to relative care, considered a lower quality form of child care.

http://www.cepr.net/Data_Brief_Child_Care.htm

8. CASE STUDY OF EFFECTS OF EBT SYSTEM ON ELDERLY FOOD STAMP PARTICIPANTS

(USDA Food and Nutrition Service, February 2003)

This study from the USDA Food and Nutrition Service Office of Analysis, Nutrition, and Evaluation examines the tendency of seniors to leave significant portions of their Food Stamp Benefits in their Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) accounts for a year, thus forfeiting them. The report finds that, in the three states examined (Texas, Arizona, and Wisconsin), seniors do not "save up" their benefits significantly more than other demographic groups. More study may be warranted in states with a higher percentage of elderly in their food stamp caseloads.

http://www.fns.usda.gov/oane/MENU/Published/FSP/FILES/EBT/EBTStateSum.pdf

9. MAY 16th IS THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOOD STAMP PROGRAM

(Cybercast News Service, May 16, 2003)

On May 16, 1939 the first Food Stamp Program was started in the United States. The first program had a peak enrollment of 4 million people. The program ended in spring of 1943 with World War II and started again as a pilot project in 1961. The Food Stamp Program was made permanent with the Food Stamp Act of 1964.

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewLeisure.asp?
Page=%5CLeisure%5Carchive%5C200305%5CLEI20030516a.html

For a history of the Food Stamp Program click here: http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/rules/Legislation/history.htm

10. THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION'S INCOME VERIFICATION PLAN COULD CAUSE ELIGIBLE CHILDREN TO MISS SCHOOL MEALS

(Tri-Valley Herald, Pleasanton, CA, May 4, 2003)

Anti-hunger advocates in California are worried that the Bush Administration's income verification proposal for the National School Lunch Program could cause 750,000 children in the state to lose their free and reduced-price school meals. "The whole idea is to feed kids and now we're looking at ways to not feed them," said Karen Candito, director of nutrition services for the Berkeley Unified School District. Administration officials claim there is a significant number of children using the program whose families make too much money to be eligible for free meals. The estimate cited by administration officials is flawed, critics note, as it is based on census data from a year different from that of the enrollment numbers being compared. Overenrollment virtually disappears when children who receive reduced-price lunches are factored in, according to FRAC. A state official says that for every child found ineligible through verification, five eligible children will drop from the program because their parents do not respond.

http://www.trivalleyherald.com/Stories/0,1413,86~10669~1369114,00.html#

11. FOOD STAMP PROGRAM PARTICIPATION DROPS IN CALIFORNIA, RISES NATIONALLY

(Associated Press, May 12, 2003)

California has seen enrollment in the Food Stamp Program decrease by 4.4 percent over the past year, which means the state ranks last among states in signing people up for the program. Over the past year enrollment in the program has increased by 9.1 percent nationally, and only Hawaii and Rhode Island have seen decreases in enrollment, but neither have seen decreases as large as California's. The California Hunger Action Coalition wants the state to do more to boost enrollment in the program. With the current economic downturn, the state could boost its economy by boosting enrollment, which would bring in hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds.

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/5842871.htm

12. IMMIGRANT FARM WORKERS IN NORTH CAROLINA ARE GOING HUNGRY

(News and Observer, Raleigh, NC, May 13, 2003)

Researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center found that nearly half of North Carolina's Latino farm workers faced food insecurity and 5 percent of the workers lacked adequate access to food and suffer from "severe hunger." The findings are based on a survey of 102 families in a five county area in central North Carolina and is part of a four-year project to devise ways to address issues affecting farm workers. Researchers believe that the nature of the work --jobs that start and stop during the year-- contributes to the high rates of food insecurity.

http://www.newsobserver.com/front/story/2534056p-2353209c.html

13. INDUSTRY OPPOSITION FORCES TEXAS LAWMAKERS TO DROP SCHOOL NUTRITION MEASURE

(Corpus Christi Caller-Times, May 7, 2003)

A bill in the Texas legislature would have eliminated vending machines in elementary schools and limited their use in middle and high schools. Opposition from the soft drink industry and school superintendents forced lawmakers to rework the bill. School superintendents argued that the money from vending machines is crucial in light of decreased education funding from the state in recent years. "It's unconscionable to me that we would not consider children's health over making a profit from these machines," said state Senator Eddie Lucio, sponsor of the bill.

http://www.caller.com/ccct/local_news/article/0,1641,CCCT_811_1943832,00.html

14. FLORIDA GROUP FORMS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE TO LOBBY FOR PROGRAMS FOR THE POOR

(South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, FL, May 13, 2003)

A Broward County, Florida anti-poverty group has created the Economic Justice Committee, a political action committee to lobby for local ordinances and state legislation that supports "a fair and equitable society." The Broward Coalition for the Homeless registered the PAC in February 2003. The group's goals include lobbying for affordable housing, for living wage ordinances, and against funding cuts in programs for low-income people. The PAC also intends to raise private funds to donate to candidates who agree with its agenda. Laura Hansen, executive director of the Coalition, notes that it is the responsibility of the government "to ensure people have access to food, shelter and clothing and that their [basic] needs are met."

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-cpac13may13,0,3579380.story

15. ARKANSAS LEGISLATURE APPROVES $100 MILLION TAX INCREASE TO AVOID CUTS IN SERVICES

(Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Northwest AR, May 9, 2003)

The Arkansas legislature approved a $100 million tax increase to avoid threatened cuts in Medicaid and the state prison system. Lawmakers plan to raise slightly more than half of the funds through increased taxes on tobacco products, and the rest through a 3 percent income tax surcharge. The Medicaid programs that will be spared cuts benefit tens of thousands of elderly and disabled people as well as children from low-income families. Governor Mike Huckabee urged lawmakers to spare state services, saying "while I'm not happy we were forced to raise taxes, it was the responsible thing to do to protect those Arkansans who are the most vulnerable but the least connected politically."

http://www.nwanews.com/adg/story_National.php?storyid=29506