Foodlinks America – July 18, 2008
Foodlinks America – July 18, 2008
In this issue:
· Food Price Increases Put the Squeeze on Nutrition Programs
· Interest Groups Seek Changes in Child Nutrition Law
· Food Stamp Facts
· Senior Farmers’ Market Program Poised for Expansion
· Payment Rates for Child Care Feeding Updated
· Obesity Round-Up
· Reports from the Field – Fresno, CA
· Small Bites
Foodlinks America is published 24 times a year by California Emergency Foodlink in Sacramento, CA and distributed by Weinberg & Vauthier Consulting, 6412 CR 116, Burnet, TX 78611; Zy Weinberg and Barbara Vauthier, Editors; email: bvauthier@tefapalliance.org.
Foodlinks America is not copyrighted, so the information can be freely shared with colleagues and friends, though attribution for reprinted articles is appreciated. For archived issues of Foodlinks America, go to: www.tefapalliance.org. To request a free subscription to the newsletter or to submit story ideas, contact Barbara Vauthier at: bvauthier@tefapalliance.org.
Food Price Increases Put the Squeeze on Nutrition Programs
Although federal reimbursements for meals served in child nutrition programs are increasing due to annual inflation adjustments, they are not rising nearly as fast as food prices. As a result, schools, child care centers, and other meal providers are scrambling to cut corners and costs to keep their programs going while simultaneously raising their prices and petitioning the government for relief.
The food price crisis prompted the House Education and Labor Committee, which has jurisdiction over child nutrition programs, to hold a hearing on the subject on July 9, 2008. “With food prices continuing to rise drastically – with no signs of slowing down anytime soon – it is becoming tremendously hard for these programs to continue providing healthy, low-cost meals that children will want to eat,” said Committee chair George Miller (D-CA) in a statement opening the hearing.
School officials readily agreed. After a statutory 4.3 percent annual increase in the federal reimbursement provided to school nutrition programs was announced in early July, the School Nutrition Association (SNA), which represents tens of thousands of school food service workers, noted that “the increased reimbursement does not cover the estimated 11.6 percent increase in the cost of preparing and serving nutritious meals that schools have witnessed this year. School nutrition programs have been challenged with increased food, milk, and energy costs combined with high labor and benefit costs, all significantly impacting program budgets,” said SNA.
Many food items critical to providing balanced, nutritious school meals – principally milk, whole grain breads, meats and meat alternates, and fruits and vegetables – have experienced double-digit price increases in the past year. As a result, more than three-quarters of the schools surveyed by SNA are raising the prices they charge paying students and over 60 percent are laying off staff, trying to stay within budget.
However, finding more funding in an already tight and deficit-ridden federal budget will definitely be an uphill battle. “It is deeply worrisome,” concluded Chairman Miller, “that climbing food costs, combined with stagnant federal support for child nutrition programs, may force schools and programs to offer less healthy options for kids, raise prices for school meals, or serve fewer children.”
Interest Groups Seek Changes in Child Nutrition Law
When Congress begins to reauthorize child nutrition programs next year, a wide variety of interest groups will be pushing to make their voices heard. For-profit businesses, non-profit service organizations, public schools, and advocates for healthier meals, among others, will be seeking a place at the table to influence policy decisions on how the School Lunch, School Breakfast, Child and Adult Care Food, and Summer Food Service Programs should be revised.
Because reauthorization of child nutrition programs occurs only once every four years, if changes are not made in the anticipated 2009 legislation, advocates will have to wait until the middle of the next decade to try again. As a result, those interested and involved in the child nutrition services are mobilizing their resources and networks now to stake out and publicize the alterations they seek.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which administers child nutrition programs, has begun holding “Listening Sessions” around the nation to gather recommendations on what changes should be included. USDA plans to hold seven Listening Sessions this summer in regional meetings around the country, and the comments received from hundreds of groups will be compiled for Congressional consideration.
A Listening Session for states in the Southwest Region, held in Austin, TX on July 15, 2008, provided a sample of the diverse range of entities that have an investment in child nutrition efforts. Jeff Denton, child nutrition director for the Ponca City, OK school district, told USDA officials point-blank, “We need more money,” and suggested a higher federal reimbursement level for healthier meals. Geraldine Ray, a cook at a charter school in New Orleans, LA and a member of the Service Employees International Union, said food service workers not only want to see higher reimbursement rates but higher school nutrition standards, too.
Glenda Overfelt of Child, Inc. an Austin, TX non-profit that administers the Child and Adult Care Food Program in Head Start centers, called for better access to the program, improved meal quality, and an allowance for children in care more than eight hours to receive a third, reimbursable meal. Sonia White of Central Dallas Ministries in Dallas, TX urged “less red tape and more coordination” for the Summer Food Service Program, in addition to simplified application procedures for experienced sponsors. Melinda Newport, representing the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma, spoke in favor of more administrative funding, expanded nutrition education, and more frequent re-evaluation of the food package in the WIC Program.
Private sector interests also highlighted their issues. Beverly Porter of Dairy MAX, a milk supplier based in Grand Prairie, TX, emphasized the importance of dairy products – especially flavored milk that now accounts for 80 percent of school milk sales – for children’s growth and development. Allan Green of Efunds Corporation in Scottsdale, AZ stressed the development of electronic benefits transfer (EBT) technology for the WIC Program. Debby King of The Cancer Project in Washington, D.C. stated that, as evidenced by recent and increasingly frequent recalls, processed meats are unsafe and schools should stop serving them to children, substituting vegetables instead.
Although such interest groups will be clamoring to make their voices heard, child nutrition may be no more than a blip on the congressional radar screen next year. The 111th Congress that convenes in January 2009 will already have a full plate of pressing and substantive issues, including war in the Middle East, rejuvenation of the sagging U.S. economy, tax reform, the crisis in health care, and quickening climate change, just to name a few. How child nutrition will fare in this frenetic environment remains an open question.
Food Stamp Facts
Participation approaching record levels: Nationwide enrollment in the Food Stamp Program (FSP) topped 28 million people in April 2008, the second highest total in the history of the program, exceeded only by the 29.85 million person total in November 2005, when three major hurricanes (Katrina, Rita, and Wilma) hit the U.S., and millions became eligible for temporary disaster food stamp benefits. The April 2008 total of 28,063,229 persons was more than 184,000 above the previous month and an increase of more than 1.78 million from the prior year. It was also higher than the previous record of 27.97 million people in March 1994.
Over the past year (April 2007 to April 2008), food stamp caseloads have grown 6.8 percent nationally. States with the largest increases during that time period are: Florida, 21.2 percent; Nevada, 20.0 percent; Arizona, 17.0 percent; Idaho, 16.3 percent; and Maryland, 14.5 percent. Caseloads declined in only four states – Minnesota, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska. For more details and state-by-state statistics, go to: http://www.frac.org/html/news/fsp/2008.04_FSP.htm.
Food costs outpacing benefit increases: While food prices across the country rose an average of 5.8 percent between May 2007 and May 2008, the cost of the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP), the mix of food items on which the federal government determines food stamp benefits and upon which low-income households rely, rose by 7.3 percent. The maximum food stamp benefit today falls more than $40 short of the amount needed to purchase the TFP.
The TFP, the least expensive of four market baskets the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) tracks, is supposed to provide a minimally adequate diet, although USDA recommends it for short-term use only. “The especially rapidly rising cost of the Thrifty Food Plan means that low-income families are struggling even harder to keep hunger at bay,” notes the Food Research and Action Center in Washington, D.C.
Long-term earnings and food stamp participation: Results from a USDA-financed study examines the relationship between food stamp participation and historical earnings for low-income households over periods of 10-15 years. Earlier research found that households that experienced short-term income declines were less likely to participate in the FSP than those that had sustained low incomes. However, the latest research shows some evidence that historical annual earnings as far back as five years earlier are negatively and significantly associated with households’ decisions to participate in the FSP; that future earnings, which may proxy for earnings expectations, are also negatively and significantly associated with participation; and that monthly income volatility may also play an important role. For further information, see: http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/CCR46/.
Senior Farmers’ Market Program Poised for Expansion
New funding available under the recently-passed Farm Bill for the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) is expected to result in free produce for tens of thousands of low-income elders and additional income for small farmers. The Farm Bill, in addition to providing supplemental funding for fiscal year 2008, increased annual mandatory funding for the SFMNP from the current $15 million to $20.6 million next year.
The SFMNP provides low-income seniors with coupons that can be exchanged for eligible foods at farmers’ markets, roadside stands, and community supported agriculture (CSA) programs. The coupons may be used to purchase fresh, nutritious, unprepared, locally grown fruits, vegetables, and herbs, thereby increasing the domestic consumption of agricultural commodities and developing or aiding in the development of new and additional farmers’ markets, farm stands, and CSAs. A provision in the Farm Bill adds honey as an eligible SFMNP food, though honey purchases will not be allowed until next year.
The program currently operates in 46 jurisdictions – 38 states, six Indian Tribal Organizations (ITOs), the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, though it is not statewide in most places. The bulk of the new funds will go to existing states and ITOs in the program, as SFMNP regulations require that, once base grants for current states are met, any remaining funds are allocated in a 75/25 split, with 75 percent of the monies reserved for current program states and 25 percent going to new states that have submitted an approved state plan. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will shortly announce fiscal year 2009 funding levels and new states joining the program.
Payment Rates for Child Care Feeding Updated
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued updated program payment levels for the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) for the period of July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009. They appear in the July 7, 2008 Federal Register. New rates are provided for breakfast, lunches and suppers, and snacks served to children in child care centers and family day care homes as well as administrative reimbursement rates for CACFP sponsor organizations. Find out more at: http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/care/ProgramBasics/Rates/CACFP-ReimbRates-08-09.pdf.
Obesity Round-Up
The write way to shed pounds: A new study has found that the simple act of recording what you eat may help you lose weight. Investigators at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, OR worked with 1,685 men and women age 25 and older in a long-term weight-loss maintenance study and found that keeping a diary of what they ate aided two-thirds of the participants in weight loss. The average weight loss of 12 pounds was not huge, but was enough to reduce blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Study participants, 44 percent of them African American, attended weekly group meetings to encourage better nutrition and behavior change and were asked to keep a daily journal of food consumption and physical activity. “Every day I hear patients say they can’t lose weight. This study shows that most people can lose weight if they have the right tools and support,” stated Dr. Keith Bachman, a Kaiser Permanente physician and weight management specialist. “Keeping a food diary doesn’t have to be a formal thing. Just the act of scribbling down what you eat on a Post-It note, sending yourself e-mails tallying each meal, or sending yourself a text message will suffice,” he said. “It’s the process of reflecting on what we eat that helps us become aware of our habits, and hopefully change our behavior.”
“The more food records people kept, the more weight they lost,” said Dr. Jack Hollis, a Kaiser researcher and lead author of the study published in the August 2008 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. “Those who kept daily food records lost twice as much weight as those who kept no records,” Hollis noted. “It seems that the simple act of writing down what you eat encourages people to consume fewer calories.” To learn more, visit: http://www.kpchr.org/public/news/news.aspx.
Peer opinions affect girls’ weight: Although media and popular culture are often blamed for pressuring girls to become as thin as runway models, a new study has found that peer pressure also plays a major role in how some adolescent girls control their weight. To measure peer pressure on eating and exercise habits, University of Miami researchers studied over 230 teenage girls from public high schools and how they viewed themselves socially.
The girls, about one-third Hispanic, one-third white, and 20 percent African American, filled out questionnaires on their identification with different social cliques – “populars,” “brains,” “jocks,” alternatives,” and “burnouts” – and how those groups affected their body image, appearance, and weight control. The study results, which appears in the July 2008 Journal of Youth and Adolescence, found that: girls who identified with the alternative and burnout peer groups were the most worried about their weight; participants with a higher body mass index perceived their peers to be more concerned with weight than their thinner counterparts; and African American girls were less concerned about their weight than were others.
“Teen girls’ concerns about their own weight, about how they appear to others and their perceptions that their peers want them to be thin are significantly related to weight-control behavior,” said psychologist Eleanor Mackey of Children’s Medical Center and lead author of the study. “Those are really important.” For additional information, visit:
http://www.springerlink.com/content/d76xg27341532tj8/?p=4ecc18b8482d461f875816c4fe0a1192&pi=10.
Reports form the Field – Fresno, CA
Rising food costs, unemployment, and food stamp shortages are sweeping the country from Maine to California, leaving families with limited resources “hungry and desperate,” like those described in the following article published in the July 13, 2008 Fresno Bee in Fresno, CA:
After losing her U.S. Postal Service job last month, Marsha Scott has been living off ramen noodles and is down to a block of cheese, eggs and some condiments in her refrigerator. Hungry and desperate, Scott turned to Fresno County for help. She recently applied for food stamps to tide her over until she finds another job. “It’s hard to swallow your pride, but it’s a matter of survival,” said the 51-year-old Fresno resident. “I’m just really scared right now.”
With the economic downturn and sky-high gasoline prices, Scott is among a growing number of county residents who need help paying for food, rent and other bills. Fresno County officials say in the past year and a half, the number of households receiving food stamps jumped 27 percent. They’ve seen more than a nine percent increase in families on welfare, or CalWORKs. And the people receiving general relief – which provides cash for those who don’t qualify for other public-assistance programs – has gone up 36 percent.
“Obviously people that may not have been interested in our programs in the past really don’t have much of a choice now,” said Christine Balbas, deputy director for the Employment and Temporary Assistance Department. “It’s a matter of survival and making sure their kids are fed.”
A similar trend is developing across the state as more people struggle. Other Valley counties – including Tulare and Madera – also are seeing increases. In Madera County, public assistance applications are up about 20 percent from last year, said Hub Walsh, director of social services. Tulare County officials estimate they’ve seen about a five percent increase.
In Fresno County, officials are trying to process applications as quickly as possible. People who are destitute are able to get their benefits the same day. Many of those turning to the county for help have recently lost jobs or had their hours at work reduced, officials say. Many hope the public assistance they’re receiving is a temporary measure.
Others need more lasting help. Over the past two years, the number of families receiving welfare checks has grown by more than 2,500 to about 26,000, Balbas said. There is a 60-month lifetime limit for adults receiving monthly cash assistance, Balbas said. There are no time restrictions for children on welfare.
The need is obvious at the Employment and Temporary Assistance Department’s Heritage Center satellite office. People have been lining up outside the door as early as 7:30 a.m. over the past two weeks to get food stamps. “We’re getting a lot of first-timers who say, ‘I never thought I would be here’,” said Barbara Boswell, program manager. At that one county site, the number of food stamp applications has increased by 30 percent in the past year. The staff is processing about 1,500 food-stamp applications a month at the Heritage Center. The average monthly household allotment is $302 countywide.
Part of the increase in food stamp applications is due to a countywide effort to reach out to people who might not realize they are eligible for the program. Caseworkers are contacting local agencies that also provide assistance – including local food banks – to let people know food stamps are an option. The outreach effort has helped to take some of the pressure off local food banks, which are struggling to keep up with the demand for food.
But not everyone is getting the help they need. Some people who just need a way to reduce some of their monthly expenses make too much money to qualify for food stamps, officials say. Among them is Angelica Lester. Lester, 21, recently applied for food stamps but was told her yearly income is $500 more than the qualifying limit for a family of two, which ranges from $1,484 to $1,883 a month, depending on individual circumstances. Lester, a full-time college student who holds a part-time job, is caring for her mother.
“I’m basically scraping, trying to find extra money to pay the food, the bills, the car and everything else,” she said. “I do have food in the house. I spent $100 two weeks ago, but we’re getting down to the wire here.” Lester was given a preliminary estimate that she was over the limit. She is continuing to pursue her application to see if there is anything more that can be done to get her qualified.
For Scott, the food stamps she received are the only way she can provide for herself and her 17-year-old daughter, she said. She had been a data conversion operator at the U.S. Postal Service operation in Selma, which is closing in November. She keyed in addresses that couldn’t be scanned, and she redirected mail.
Scott said she is looking for a job, sending out resumes daily and scanning the want ads.
She also is taking classes through the University of Phoenix, hoping to obtain a bachelor’s degree in human services. But Scott said the competition for jobs is fierce, and she hasn’t found anything yet. She said she will have to rely on food stamps until she has a stable income. “Even if I go get a minimum-wage job, it’s still going to be tough to make ends meet,” she said. “It’s just a really scary time right now.”
Small Bites
Coming of age: Right now, 11 percent of the world’s population is over 60 years of age. By 2050, 22 percent will be.
More elderly than ever: Almost two-thirds of all humans who have ever lived beyond 65 years of age are alive today.
And still on the job: In 1985, 18 percent of Americans in their late 60s were still employed. In 2006, 29 percent were.
Among an aging workforce: In the next 10 years, the number of workers over age 55 will grow five times as fast as the workforce at large.
Not seen as seniors: Sixty-three percent of senior center directors would like to remove the word “senior” from their program name.
Age in perspective: Asked when old age begins, Americans aged 25 to 34 say 67, while those over 45 say 77.
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