TEFAP Alliance Blog

Foodlinks America = August 1, 2008

In this issue:

• Fiscal Year 2009 Appropriations Inch Forward
• Pantries Struggle to Provide Food and Nutrition
• Details of Senior Hunger Outlined in Study
• Fewer Children Getting Summer Meals
• Senior Farmers’ Market Expansion Confirmed
• Reports from the Field – Athens County, OH
• 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.

Taking a Break

In keeping with our publication schedule of 24 issues per year, Foodlinks America will take a summer vacation this month. Our next issue will be published and distributed on August 29, 2008.

Fiscal Year 2009 Appropriations Inch Forward

Though congressional action on federal spending decisions for next year has begun, the process is moving slowly and probably will not be resolved for several months. The House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee passed a bill on June 19 to fund nutrition assistance programs within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), but no mark-up has been scheduled in the full committee. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved its version of a fiscal 2009 USDA spending bill on July 18, but that bill is not expected to see further congressional attention until September at the earliest.

Although observers expect that Congress will ultimately combine all fiscal 2009 appropriations bills into one long-term continuing resolution (CR) that would carry well into 2009, numbers generated by the House subcommittee and the Senate committee will be influential in setting final funding levels for next year. Proposed funding levels for key discretionary programs, are:

*WIC Program: $6.75 billion in the Senate and $6.65 billion in the House, though neither figure may be enough to cover rising food costs and participation. The Senate would also cut a WIC contingency fund from $150 million to $50 million.

*The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP): Mandatory funding for food jumps to $250 million annually but discretionary storage and distribution support, currently set at $49.5 million, is kept level in the Senate bill and increased to just $55 million in the House.

*Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP): Annual funding was set at $155 million in the Senate and $159.4 million in the House.

Meanwhile, anti-hunger activists were telling Congress that household allotments and overall funding for food stamps is inadequate. At a July 23, 2008 House Agriculture Subcommittee hearing on the short- and long-term costs of hunger in America, James Weill, president of the Food Research and Action Center in Washington, D.C., detailed the reduced buying power of food stamps and claimed, “It is essential that a significant increase in food stamp help be part of any forthcoming economic stimulus or economic recovery package.”

Subcommittee chair Joe Baca (D-CA) agreed with Weill that food stamp augmentation should be included in an economic stimulus bill, but noted, “The problem we’re going to have is the pay-go requirement,” which mandates budget cuts to offset any new spending. More money for food stamps or any other program will be hard to come by. Indeed, whoever is elected President this fall will be hamstrung by a crumbling economy and the burgeoning federal deficit. Government red ink will balloon to a record $482 billion in fiscal year 2009 according to the latest Administration estimate, significantly above the $413 billion deficit of fiscal 2004, the current record.

Among those testifying at the House subcommittee hearing was Harvard University’s Dr. Larry Brown who has been studying the societal costs of hunger his entire career.  Brown, who now estimates that hunger is costing America $90 billion a year, said, “Our nation pays far more to let hunger exist than it would cost us to eliminate it.  The United States is quite unique among industrial democracies because we let so many of our people go hungry, and we seem to be doing precious little to close this gap.”

Pantries Struggle to Provide Food and Nutrition

Bread for the City, the largest food pantry in Washington, D.C., learned an important lesson operating a medical clinic on the second floor of its building. While doctors upstairs treated people with hypertension, high cholesterol, and diabetes, advising them to eat less salt and cut down on refined sugars and fats, volunteers downstairs were handing out emergency food boxes that included soups packed with sodium and cereals made with high fructose corn syrup.

To Ted Pringle, the organization’s director of food and clothing, the disconnect became personal when a client scolded him, waving a jar of maraschino cherries in his face, “Are you trying to kill me? I’m a diabetic. I can’t have these!”

That occurrence prompted Bread for the City to rethink how it stocked its pantry. Pringle stopped ordering soup that was not low-sodium. Brown rice replaced white rice. Clients received whole wheat pasta instead of commercial macaroni and cheese in a blue and yellow box.

Other food pantries and food banks across the country are doing a similar reassessment. “Food banks have gotten much more diligent at making sure that our product mix is adequate,” said Deborah Flateman, CEO of the Maryland Food Bank in Baltimore. Her organization started a program in 2007 to provide clients with a weekly basket of fresh fruits and vegetables, with recipes included.

However, because emergency food providers depend largely on donations and surplus food, it is hard to be picky and they must be careful not to discourage donors. But clearly, efforts focusing on increasing the quality and healthfulness of food donations are in order. Feed My People, a rehabilitative help center and food pantry in St. Louis, MO, issued a Holiday Wish List of nutritious foods last year in response an agency-wide evaluation that found only 11 percent of nonperishable goods received were considered healthy.

Pantries and food banks have responded to the need to deliver more nutritious items in various ways. Many have increased their efforts to collect and distribute fresh produce. The Central Virginia Foodbank in Richmond implemented a Healthy Food Initiative by emphasizing produce donations; the volume of fresh fruits and vegetables distributed increased by 5,000 percent between 2003 and 2008.

Others have promoted gardening programs, urging community residents to “Plant A Row” for the food pantry to generate produce donations. In locations across the nation, residents are willing to help. For example, in Langdon, NH earlier this year, more than 50 local gardeners and farmers responded to the call to “Grow a Row” for the Fall Mountain Foodshelf, where demand had jumped from 40 to 50 families a week seeking food to over 130.

With help from the City of Warren and the Vermont Land Trust, the Vermont Foodbank recently purchased an historic 20-acre farm in Warren, to insure a permanent supply of fresh produce for the organization’s statewide network. The seller specified that the buyer would have to maintain the property as a working farm, so the Foodbank’s purpose was a perfect fit. Doug O’Brien, the Foodbank’s CEO, believes the farm will be a great teaching tool, and provide “a way to explain the link between agriculture, food systems, and ultimately hunger.” But more important, he said, it will enable the Foodbank to “have a regular, stable, secure supply of fresh produce for the people we serve.”

Other groups have promoted better nutrition and healthier foods by initiating “choice” food pantries, which allow families to choose food items in a grocery store-type format, based on preference and need rather than just being handed a box or bag of food. Nutrition education and resource management are integrated into the program to help people make healthy choices of things they like to eat, so there is less food waste.

A few food banks have gone a step further. The Greater Boston Food Bank, a huge operation that distributes 30 million pounds of food a year to 320,000 people through more than 600 hunger-relief agencies, made major adjustments in order “to change the environment and the system,” said Tara Hatala, the Food Bank’s nutrition director. Hatala set out to improve clients’ nutrition by decreasing the bad choices available to them, even declining an unhealthy donation sometimes.

In 2006, Hatala and other food bank nutritionists devised a system to rank all the foods coming in to the food bank warehouse in five nutritional categories. Though time-intensive, the system allowed the Food Bank to set a goal that 65 percent of the food it distributed would rank in the top two nutritional categories. The goal was met and exceeded and has been raised to 72 percent this year.

Back in Washington, D.C., Bread for the City development associate Matt Steiner noted the changes. “Our food pantry doesn’t have any high-sodium objects, no trans fats, and we’ve cut back on red meat and put an emphasis on fresh produce. We’re not trying to take away food,” he emphasized, “we’re just trying to give people different ideas of how they can eat.” The challenge for Bread for the City is ongoing. “We want to give people the calories they need to survive, but we also want the food to be nutritious and tasty,” added staff nutritionist Sharon Gruber. “It requires a shift in thinking.”

Details of Senior Hunger Outlined in Study

A new national study on hunger among elderly Americans has revealed some striking contrasts with hunger among the rest of the population. Surprisingly, being a younger (age 60-64) elderly adult, living with a grandchild, and being a renter rather than a homeowner are all factors that increase the risk of hunger for an elderly person, according to a study released earlier this year by the Meals on Wheels Association of America Foundation (MOWAAF).

“Hunger is a serious threat facing millions of seniors in the United States [and] over five million seniors – some 11.4 percent of all seniors – experience some form of food insecurity,” claimed James Ziliak of the University of Kentucky and Craig Gundersen of Iowa State University, the principal investigators of “The Causes, Consequences, and Future of Senior Hunger in America,” issued in March 2008 by MOWAAF.

And yet, “Despite this important public health threat, we know very little about the face of hunger among seniors, the causes of senior hunger, its consequences for the well-being of seniors, or what will happen in the next twenty years with respect to hunger among senior Americans,” Ziliak and Gundersen stated. Their research attempts to fill critical gaps, since, as they noted, “The population of seniors is changing rapidly, both in size and composition.”

Most importantly, the authors put a face on senior hunger, noting that over half of all seniors who are at-risk of hunger have incomes above the federal poverty line and that more than two-thirds of seniors at-risk of hunger are white. Moreover, they reveal that the likelihood of hunger is increased for seniors who have limited incomes, are under age 70, may be African American or Hispanic, have never married, are renters, or are living in the South.

The health consequences of elderly hunger are also enumerated – hungry seniors are significantly more likely to have lower intakes of energy and major vitamins, significantly more likely to be in poor or fair health, and more likely to have limitations in the activities of daily living, such as shopping, preparing meals, and handling money.

Although the MOWAAF report does not discuss current services for seniors that might help prevent hunger, funding for nutrition programs for the elderly have been relatively stagnant for decades and are not increasing in proportion to the number of seniors in need. Additionally, “Nutrition programs for older Americans continue to have some of the same problems that programs for children are facing – increasing energy and food costs,” says Jean Lloyd, national nutritionist for the Administration on Aging in Washington, D.C.

Ziliak and Gundesen predict that an estimated 9.5 million American seniors will face some form of hunger by the year 2025 and that “in the absence of significant economic or policy reforms, the percentage of seniors at-risk of hunger in 2025 will be of comparable magnitude to the present. For more details or to view the 88-page report, go to: http://www.mowaa.org/SeniorHungerStudy.pdf.

Fewer Children Getting Summer Meals

During the school year, more than 16.5 million low-income children in America receive a school lunch daily; fewer than one in five got a meal from a summer food program in July 2007, according to Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation, an annual analysis from the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) in Washington, D.C.

Last year, at their peak, summer nutrition programs reached only 2.85 million low-income children, a mere 17.5 percent of those potentially eligible. The ratio of children fed has declined from 22.2 percent in 2000.

“Some drop-off from school year to summertime can be expected, but far too many children are falling through the cracks,” said Jim Weill, president of FRAC. “The weak economy should be countered by a stronger, not weaker Summer Nutrition Program. This summer, we see that rising food and energy costs are playing havoc with budgets – both for families that were already struggling to make ends meet and for summer food programs that are trying to serve hungry children,” continued Weill. “Congress should consider improvements that would provide additional resources,” he added.

The only jurisdiction that served a large percentage of needy children was the District of Columbia. In 2007, D.C. provided meals to an estimated 95.9 percent of low-income children during the summer. The only other state to serve more than a third of eligible children was New Mexico at 35 percent. Other top states were Nevada at 33.1 percent and California at 30.6 percent.

States doing the poorest job of getting summer meals to low-income children were: Oklahoma, 4.9 percent; Mississippi, 5.0 percent; Alaska, 6.3 percent; Kansas, 6.6 percent; and Colorado and Texas tied at 8.2 percent. For more details, see the FRAC report at: http://www.frac.org/pdf/summer_report_2008.pdf.

Senior Farmers’ Market Expansion Confirmed

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced final fiscal year 2008 funding levels and new state agencies and Tribal organizations participating in the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP). The SFMNP provides low-income elderly persons with coupons to exchange for fresh produce at farmers’ markets, roadside stands, and community supported agriculture programs.

The recently-passed Farm Bill increased funding for the SFMNP from $15 million in fiscal 2007 to $20.6 million in fiscal 2008. An additional $1.2 million in unspent carryover funds from last year gave USDA a total of more than $21.8 million to distribute this year. All 46 jurisdictions, including states and Indian Tribal Organizations (ITOs), participating in fiscal year 2007 received funding in fiscal 2008. Two new states – Arizona and New Mexico – and one additional ITO – Standing Rock Sioux in North Dakota – were provided federal funding for the first time.

For additional information, see the USDA news release at: http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1RD?printable=true&contentidonly=true&contentid=2008/07/0201.xml.

Reports from the Field – Athens County, OH

How are low-income people coping with hunger and increased gas and food prices? The Athens County, Ohio Department of Job & Family Services sent a one question survey – “What financial or medical hardships are you facing?” – to all current Ohio Works First (OWF) households in February 2008. The County then posted participant comments and concerns on its blog on July 15, 2008 at: http://athensjfs.blogspot.com/2008/07/ohio-works-first-client-survey.html. The quotes below represent a sample of the responses to the question:

“Every month I live with the fear of being evicted. I’m a single mom with two children…and if that were to happen, I have nowhere to go. I currently get OWF $410, but my rent is $425 not including utilities, or diapers, wipes, toilet paper, shampoo, soap, laundry detergent or gas for my van. Because of all the rising costs, I’m digging a financial hole every month I can’t get out of. This causes a lot of depression, despair and worry. I’m so busy with the worry of money, I can’t even enjoy my children as much as I would like to. Please, please help us, this can’t go on.

“I feel kind of a let-down and basically worthless to my son. If I had a car and extra money to feed him our hopes would begin to open up doors.”

“I never have enough money to pay my bills. I always have to figure out how to pay for food. I get disconnection notices all of the time. I never have enough gas to transport my children to and from school. I don’t have enough money to buy my children new clothes or school supplies. I don’t have enough money to enroll my children in any kind of sports or activities. I’m always worried about how I’m going to pay for things. I don’t have enough money to transport my children or myself to doctor’s appointments. I just don’t have enough money. Gas is too high priced, so is food. How am I supposed to raise a family of five on one income?

“I am a single father taking care of my 4-year old daughter. I have realized that due to the high bottle gas prices (which is a necessity to have in my home for cooking, heating, and having hot water for showers) and now the rising prices for automotive gasoline, complications have developed in my ability to provide my daughter with new clothing and new shoes when she needs them. This situation is also hurting my daughter due to our home and our vehicle (our only form of transportation), needing desperate repairs done to them. I could sit here and write a novel to you regarding all of the financial, physical, and mental hardships that I face on a day to day basis.”

“For the past few months my family has been unable to fully pay our monthly rent for our home. My fiancé’s job hours go up and down by the week. We have had to put ourselves further in debt by borrowing money just to have a place to live. It doesn’t help being denied for disability, over and over again. We began to lose hope, living paycheck to paycheck has really been a struggle. It just feels at times, people like us are looked at like lazy, poor individuals, which is obviously not the case at all. We just wanna be able to support our children and ourselves without worrying, what is to happen next month?”

“There are days we don’t get to eat a solid meal, just soup and bread if we are lucky because I have other children that are over age and stop by to eat with us.”

“It is very hard to get all that you can to feed your children when you don’t have the money or food stamps to buy them with. With the cost of gas nowadays you get to pick either buy a gallon of milk or get a gallon of gas. And, if you don’t have gas to go get your child milk then you are just out of luck.”

“I always run short on money for toilet paper, shampoo, conditioner, tampons, dish and laundry soap. And like everyone else who gets help from the state, I live disconnect notice from disconnect notice. I challenge any and all of our government officials to try to live off $336 per month. And let’s not forget we have to put gas in our cars at almost $4 a gallon.”

“Where do I begin? I’m a single parent of three. I do get help. On top of that I work. I still struggle every pay check/every month. It would be really nice to be able to have some money in my pocket to be able to do something with my kids. My kids are always telling me how they want this or want to do that and I have to tell them no. It’s sad when I can not even treat them to a 99-cent cheeseburger for good behavior.”

“The food stamps we get are not enough to feed us for the month. We can’t buy anything healthy, it must be what’s on sale or what we can afford. Plus, I’ve got to throw in $100-$150 in money to the food cost every month. I also don’t have transportation. Instead of giving someone $20 for a 17-mile ride to the store I am giving them $40 for wear and tear and fuel.”

“I have financial hardships with trying to buy quality fresh nutritious food for my family of four. Doctors, school, even family members tell me that my four-year-old eats too much pasta and other carbs (contributing to his weight gain) as opposed to fruits and vegetables! Duh! Fresh, quality fruits and veggies are too expensive to buy once a week! My food stamps do not cover my family’s needs!”

“I am always running out of food before the month is half-way over. And I think every day there are people out there that have it rougher than I do.”

The County stated in its “Summary Observations” that most respondents noted the rising costs of food and gasoline are adding to their increased debt while they try to continue to make it to work or doctor appointments on limited income. Others talked about the problems with the Medicaid card not covering all medications or that pre-authorization created a hardship. Others talked about the mental anguish of being poor and the stress it causes on their daily lives.

Small Bites

The skin-ny on onion consumption: Americans eat an average of 20 pounds of onions a year.

With breath mints for the guys: Men eat 40 percent more onions than women.

French fried frenzy I: One-third of potatoes sold in the U.S. are French fried.

French fried frenzy II: Twenty-two percent of all restaurant meals include French fries.

Dairy days: Though milk consumption in the U.S. declined by nearly a third between 1970 and 2005, dairy products still account for about 29 percent of all food consumed.

Keeping the doctor away: Americans eat an average of 18 pounds of fresh apples annually, with Red Delicious continuing to be the most popular variety.

mvauthier :: Aug.01.2008 :: Foodlinks America :: No Comments »:: Print This Post

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