TEFAP Alliance Blog

Foodlinks America – September 26, 2008

In this issue:

• Continuing Resolution to Offer Half-Year Funding
• Exploding Food Prices Pose Problems for TEFAP Networks
• Food Stamp Facts
• Farmers’ Market Numbers Continue to Grow
• Nutrition News and Notes
• National Summer Food Conference Slated
• Reports from the Field – Berkeley, 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: http://www.tefapalliance.org. To request a free subscription to the newsletter or to submit story ideas, contact Barbara Vauthier at: bvauthier@tefapalliance.org.

Continuing Resolution to Offer Half-Year Funding

Before adjourning for the fall election campaign, Congress is finalizing legislation that will fund federal programs from the October 1, 2008 start of the new federal fiscal year for approximately six months. Because Congress failed to pass any of the 12 annual appropriations bills this year, a continuing resolution (CR) is needed to keep government functioning. The proposed CR, expected to be passed by both the House and Senate this week and which would keep most programs at fiscal year 2008 funding levels, would be in effect until March 6 of next year.

There will be pluses and minuses for nutrition assistance programs. The draft CR would increase funding for the WIC Program in fiscal year 2009, boosting the annual appropriation to $6.658 billion. It would also raise funding for the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) to $163 million next year. Those funding levels are reportedly designed to cover rapidly increasing food costs, which have been a bane for both WIC and the CSFP.

On the downside, funding for storage and distribution expenses under The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) would be unchanged and held at the fiscal 2008 level of $49.5 million, though up to $10 million of program funds designated for food could be used for distribution. The annual allocation for TEFAP food purchases was increased to $250 million from $140 million last year, a 78 percent increase. However, the limitation on transportation funding is creating hardships for food banks and other emergency food providers struggling to serve burgeoning numbers of low-income Americans seeking food assistance.

The CR contains a section of technical corrections for the five-year Farm Bill that passed in May, but reportedly does not include restoration of fiscal year 2008 funding for the Community Food Projects (CFP) program, which was inadvertently dropped in the Farm Bill. The CFP is scheduled to receive $5 million in fiscal year 2009 and future years, in spite of the one-year hiatus in support.

Additional economic stimulus measures targeted to low-income families, including a temporary boost in food stamp allotments to help poor and hungry Americans, were considered as part of the CR but ultimately were not included in the final package.

Exploding Food Prices Pose Problems for Emergency Food Networks

It is costing more to buy less. That is the upshot of the situation facing state and local hunger relief organizations nationwide when it comes to government commodities, according to a survey of organizations participating in The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) recently interviewed by Foodlinks America.

“This is certainly a VERY serious problem, especially considering that providers are experiencing large increases in demand for food assistance in this difficult economy,” said Jonathan Bader, programs manager for the Wisconsin Community Action Programs Association (WISCAP) in Madison. Bader has catalogued a 19 percent increase in TEFAP food prices over the past year and 40 percent over the past two years. “The price increase in medium grain rice alone was 70 percent over two years,” he noted.

“The higher food prices have caused us to utilize roughly the same amount of TEFAP entitlement dollars to purchase fewer trucks of protein items over the past four years,” stated Bob Murphy, supervisor of food distribution programs for the Missouri Department of Social Services. “The average cost per truck of protein items we order has risen approximately 21 percent since 2005, while our entitlement has remained virtually the same,” he said.

The prices for TEFAP foods provided through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have been increasing regularly, even between the time that orders are placed and when the food is actually purchased by USDA. “With very few exceptions, the increases are staggering,” commented Melinda Annis, senior vice president for food programs at California Emergency Foodlink in Sacramento, noting, for example, that a truckload of canned pork ordered earlier this year for an expected $58,073 ended up costing $82,028 when it was actually purchased. “With the average increase of about $3,100 per truckload, we spent almost a million dollars more than we anticipated when we placed the orders,” Annis stated. “We have been scrambling to keep a sufficient reserve in our entitlement balance so that USDA won’t have to cancel loads.”

The cancellation of bonus food purchases has added to the complexity and frustration of managing state TEFAP efforts. Over and above the entitlement dollars that states are provided for food purchases and delivery, USDA provides surplus or bonus commodities at no charge to recipient agencies. In prior years, these bonus buys have totaled millions of dollars. But as produce markets tighten, planned USDA purchases have declined significantly. Just within the past few months, USDA has reduced or eliminated bonus distributions of pears, tomato juice, applesauce, and grapefruit juice, among other items, decreasing the amount of bonus foods available to TEFAP by nearly 250 truckloads. That also demonstrates “how difficult it is for food banks across the nation to plan an even and consistent flow of food to serve a growing population of hungry people,” concluded Foodlinks’ Annis.

Food Stamp Facts

Participation still climbing: Nationwide enrollment in the Food Stamp Program (FSP) grew again in June 2008 to 28,616,305 persons. The number represents an increase of 180,464 people over May and more than two million over June 2007. The June total is the second highest on record, eclipsed only by November 2005 when millions of victims of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma swelled the FSP ranks to more than 29.85 million people.

Allotments fail to meet dietary needs: Food stamp benefits are insufficient to buy a healthy diet, even when recipients get the maximum amount, according to an analysis from the Boston-based Children’s Sentinel Nutrition Assessment Program (C-SNAP) released on September 16, 2008. In its report, “Coming up short: High food costs outstrip food stamp benefits,” C-SNAP shows that the maximum food stamp benefit is grossly inadequate to buy the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP – the diet upon which food stamp benefits are based) in any size food store in Boston and Philadelphia. Families receiving the maximum food stamp benefit would have to spend an additional $2,250 in Boston and $3,165 in Philadelphia annually to purchase the TFP.

Moreover, it was particularly difficult for families in the surveyed neighborhoods to find healthy foods – on average 27 percent of the items that make up the TFP were missing, predominantly the healthier options like whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, and low-fat milk and cheese. The report recommends increased funding for food stamps and other changes that will help low-income families achieve a better diet. To examine the report, see: http://c-snap.org/upload/resource/RCOHD_Report_Final.pdf.

Access grants announced: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded $5 million in eight grants to state food stamp agencies, a local agency, and a non-profit organization to simplify FSP application and eligibility systems and improve access to the program by low-income people. This current round of grants focuses on modernizing and streamlining eligibility. More than half the grants will promote FSP activities in Hispanic communities and among the elderly. Grantees are located in AL, CO, FL, OR, and NY. For additional details, go to: http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1RD?printable=true&contentidonly=true&contentid=2008/09/0231.xml.

Farmers’ Market Numbers Continue to Grow

There are more farmers’ markets than ever across the country and the number keeps increasing. According to the latest census conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), there were 4,685 farmers’ markets nationwide as of August 2008. The figure represents an increase of 6.8 percent since the previous AMS inventory of markets done in August 2006. Since the agency began tracking markets in 1994, nearly 3,000 have been added to the roster.

“More and more consumers are discovering the wide array of fresh, locally grown produce available at farmers’ markets,” said AMS Administrator Lloyd Day. “Another reason for their popularity is food buyers like the opportunity to interact with the producers.” AMS maintains and continually updates a comprehensive database of U.S. farmers’ markets that may be found at: http://apps.ams.usda.gov/FarmersMarkets.

Nutrition News and Notes

School meal reimbursements lag behind costs: The cost of preparing a nutritious school lunch has increased ten percent over last year, although federal reimbursement for the meals has gone up only 4.3 percent, according to the School Nutrition Association (SNA) of Arlington, VA. “This funding gap could cost America’s school nutrition programs a potential loss of at least $4.5 million per school day” in the 2008-2009 school year, SNA said. Many school districts have responded by raising lunch prices.

The “double-digit increases in food costs combined with increases in labor rates, benefit costs, transportation and fuel charges, and high prices of nutritious items such as whole grains create a situation where the cost to prepare a meal exceeds both the amount charged for the meal and the federal reimbursement issued for free and reduced meals,” claimed SNA in a report, “Heats On: School Meals Under Financial Pressure,” released on September 16, 2008. SNA discovered that 88% of school nutrition programs found the National School Lunch Program reimbursement insufficient in covering the cost of producing a meal during the past year; this figure is expected to increase in the coming months. To view the report, go to: http://www.schoolnutrition.org/Blog.aspx?id=10348&blogid=564.

EBT advanced through grant awards: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has provided supplemental funding to some two dozen organizations and agencies nationwide to further the development, implementation, and transfer of information through electronic benefits transfer (EBT) systems. A total of $9 million has been provided to state WIC agencies to promote EBT in the WIC Program. In addition, of 85 grants to entities in 43 states made under this year’s Farmers’ Market Promotion Program (FMPP), 18 are directly targeted for EBT activities.

For details, go to: http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB/.cmd/ad/.ar/sa.retrievecontent/.c/6_2_1UH/.ce/7_2_5JM/.p/5_2_4TQ/.d/1/_th/J_2_9D/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?PC_7_2_5JM_contentid=2008%2F09%2F0232.xml&PC_7_2_5JM_parentnav=LATEST_RELEASES&PC_7_2_5JM_navid=NEWS_RELEASE#7_2_5JM for the WIC grants and http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB/.cmd/ad/.ar/sa.retrievecontent/.c/6_2_1UH/.ce/7_2_5JM/.p/5_2_4TQ/.d/1/_th/J_2_9D/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?PC_7_2_5JM_contentid=2008%2F09%2F0235.xml&PC_7_2_5JM_parentnav=LATEST_RELEASES&PC_7_2_5JM_navid=NEWS_RELEASE#7_2_5JM for the FMPP awards.

CSFP analysis out: USDA has released a new study of the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) that looks at program operations, participation, and interactions with other nutrition assistance efforts. This is the first in-depth study of the program, which serves seniors and women and children, since the elderly became eligible for the program in 1982. The 71-page report may be viewed at: http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/CCR48/CCR48.pdf.

Milk substitution rule finalized: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has published a final rule on optional substitution of nondairy beverages for fluid milk in school nutrition programs. The rule appeared in the September 12, 2008 Federal Register. Children with disabilities and medical or special dietary needs may receive milk substitutes that are still reimbursable under USDA programs. For details, see: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/E8-21293.pdf.

National Summer Food Conference Slated

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is hosting a national conference later this year on the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), the most underutilized of all child nutrition efforts. “Summer Food: Pathways to Success” is scheduled for December 2-3, 2008 in Arlington, VA.

The conference will “cover all aspects of program administration, including integrity, access, meal quality, and partnerships,” according to USDA, and “offers excellent opportunities to network and exchange ideas with colleagues.” Persons interested in participating must register by October 24, 2008. The conference registration fee is $140. For more information and logistics, go to: http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/summer/SFSP_Conference.html.

Reports from the Field – Berkeley, CA

Food banks and other emergency food providers around the country are scrambling to meet hugely increased demand in the face of declining donations. In order to tap potential unused food sources in their own neighborhood, food banks are looking up – into the trees around them, as excerpts of this article from The New York Times of September 14, 2008 describe:

Natasha Boissier did not expect an epiphany while pushing her baby’s stroller exhaustedly around the neighborhood. But eyeing her neighbors’ yards, Ms. Boissier began noticing the abundance of fruit trees and how much of their succulent bounty wound up on the ground. There was all this fruit going to waste, she said of the apples, pears and plums in her midst. It seemed like such a natural way to deal with hunger.

Thus was born North Berkeley Harvest, part of a small but expanding movement of backyard urban gleaners – they might be called fruit philanthropists – who voluntarily harvest surplus fruit and then donate it to food banks, centers for the elderly and other non-profit organizations.

In an era in which fruit canning, drying, and preserving are for many no longer everyday skills, harvesters like Ms. Boissier, a 40-year-old social worker, are bringing a new spin to the concept of U-Pick-’Em. A renewed emphasis on locally grown organic foods, along with higher food prices and increased demand at food banks, has inspired a new generation of community harvesters to search for solutions in their backyards.

The concept of gleaning, or collecting a portion of crops on farmers’ fields for the needy, before or after harvesting, goes back to ancient cultures. But it has more recently been taken up by people like Joni Diserens, a 43-year-old program manager for Hewlett-Packard and founder of Village Harvest in Silicon Valley. Ms. Diserens uses sophisticated databases and remote telephone answering systems to track the group’s 700 or so volunteers, 40 receiving organizations, 1,000 fruit-inundated homeowners and, on a recent Tuesday, 780 sticky pounds of French prunes. They rescue people like Diane Leone, an artist whose property south of San Jose, Calif., contains some 40 unpicked fruit trees, from bees, squirrels, the occasional wild boar and other creatures that gorge on fallen fruit.

“You feel like you’re actually doing something,” Diana Foss, 44, a former astronomer who is now a stay-at-home mother, said as she was sorting plums and prunes recently in Ms. Leone’s backyard. “You pick a piece of fruit and know that someone’s going to eat it.”

The group’s car pools fan out to places like the Community Services Agency in Mountain View, which operates a food pantry that serves a large Russian, Hispanic and Asian population. “Their speed is astonishing,” said Laura Schuster, the nutrition programs director. “They’ll call and say, ‘Hey, we’re hitting an orchard in San Jose.’ Then they walk in with 1,000 pounds of plums.” Ms. Schuster added: “We always worry about nutrition. When we get the fresh fruit, we worry less.”

Over the last decade, organizations like Feeding America [formerly America’s Second Harvest], a non-profit agency that distributes food to more than 200 food banks around the country, have introduced more fresh produce to respond to high rates of poverty and obesity and a lack of access to nutritional food in low-income neighborhoods. About 18 million pounds of fresh produce was distributed nationally 10 years ago, said Rick Bella, the director of food purchasing. This year, that has grown to 150 million pounds, 30 percent of it donated by corporations and individual farmers.

But affordability continues to be an issue, Mr. Bella said, which is where the fruit philanthropists come in. “It’s a shame to say, but a package of Twinkies per pound costs a lot less than a pound of fresh apples,” he said. “Backyard gleaners make a difference.”

Amy Grey, a graphic designer and mother of two in Moscow, Idaho, became a harvester after inadvertently growing 200 heads of lettuce in her backyard. “I didn’t know you weren’t supposed to plant the whole packet of seeds,” Ms. Grey said. “We have friends,” she added, “but we don’t have that many friends.”

A local food bank was so receptive that Ms. Grey and several volunteers joined with a local environmental group before striking out on their own. Her 50 or so gleaners picked 10,000 pounds of fruit last year, including more than 2,000 pounds of cherries, despite June snows. “It’s different than dropping off cans,” Ms. Grey said. “It’s really about tying the community together.”

Backyard harvests gleaned for the common good echo the Victory Gardens of World War II, when mandatory food rationing resulted in citizen gardens, said Amy Bentley, an associate professor of food studies at New York University and the author of “Eating for Victory.” During the war, Dr. Bentley said, the private yard became “a place of civic obligation.”

Frederick L. Kirschenmann, a fellow at the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University and president of the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Pocantico Hills, N.Y., said that with increased food costs, “we are seeing changing attitudes about our food system.” “People are becoming more engaged,” Dr. Kirschenmann said, “whether growing their own food or being part of community efforts.”

For the St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance in Phoenix, the abundance means a brigade of citrus volunteers from January through March, picking 1.4 million pounds of oranges and grapefruit from Sun City and Surprise. The fruit reaches thousands of people, from those at domestic violence shelters in Tempe to those on the Havasupai Indian Reservation in the Grand Canyon.

In Los Angeles, three “social activist” artists who call themselves Fallen Fruit have mapped neighborhood fruit trees and sponsored public “fruit jams,” said David Burns, a founder. “The L.A. we experience is mostly mediated through windshields and cellphones,” Mr. Burns said. “So it was surprising to find out how many fruit trees hang over alleys, sidewalks and parking medians in neglected corners of the city.”

Ms. Boissier, who grew up on Park Avenue in Manhattan, drives through the Berkeley hills in a Toyota hybrid loaded with apples and ladders, helping out homeowners unable to keep up the pie-baking pace, even with convection ovens, and relieving them of the guilt of waste. In the bustling kitchen of the Bay Area Rescue Mission in Richmond, CA, a shelter serving more than 800 people a day, the apples would soon be transformed into pancake toppings, apple butter, cider and cobblers. Roy Hunderson, homeless for four years, prepares meals in the kitchen. “The fresher the fruit, the better it is,” Mr. Hunderson said. “If I had a backyard with fruit going, I’d bring it here too.”

Small Bites

Talking trash: Americans generate more than 251 million tons of municipal solid waste (before recycling) annually, an average of more than 4.5 pounds per person per day.

Wrapped in garbage: Packaging alone accounts for 33 percent of the trash we make.

The origin of garbage: Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of the trash comes from residences, while 35 percent comes from schools and commercial locations.

The disposal of garbage: Of our mountains of trash, 55 percent gets buried in landfills, 33 percent gets recycled, and 12 percent is incinerated.

An army of collectors: Some 368,000 people using 148,000 vehicles are needed to move the garbage to 1,754 landfills and 87 incinerators.

Garbage is gold: Solid waste is a $47 billion a year industry in the U.S.

mvauthier :: Sep.25.2008 :: Foodlinks America :: No Comments »:: Print This Post

Foodlinks America Newsletter

Foodlinks America – September 26, 2008

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