TEFAP Alliance Blog

Foodlinks America - November 7, 2008

In this issue:

• Hunger is on the Obama Agenda
• Congressional Line-ups Relatively Unchanged
• SNAP Shots
• TEFAP Tidbits
• Rules Published for WIC Farmers’ Market Program
• Uptick Noted in Indian Commodity Program
• Reports from the Field – Newark, NJ
• Small Bites

Foodlinks America is published 24 times a year by California Emergency Foodlink in Sacramento, CA and distributed by Weinberg & Vauthier Consulting, 122 South Main Street, No. 9, 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.

Hunger is on the Obama Agenda

For the first time in the nation’s history, the United States will have a leader who knows about hunger and has pledged to do something about it.

“When he was a child, Barack Obama’s mother briefly received food stamps to put food on the table when she needed help,” notes the President-elect’s campaign issue paper titled Tackling Domestic Hunger. “As a result, Barack Obama understands firsthand that federal nutrition and food assistance programs play a key role in minimizing the ill-effects of poverty and improving the diets of low-income working families, especially children. Barack Obama will strengthen and expand nutrition assistance programs and commit to ending childhood hunger by 2015.”

Hunger is directly tied to poverty in the issue paper. Obama’s campaign clearly emphasized the increasing poverty and economic inequality inherent in U.S. society today, and the candidate’s “Blueprint for Change,” recommended increasing the national minimum wage to $9.50 per hour by 2009 and expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit, two measures that would undoubtedly help low-income working families.

In the issue paper on tackling hunger, both President-elect Obama and his running mate Joe Biden state that they supported changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP _ formerly food stamps) and emergency food assistance made in the 2008 Farm Bill, along with the addition of improved availability of fresh fruits and vegetables in schools with significant numbers of low-income children. The paper emphasizes the protection of vulnerable individuals, including the provision of nutrition and health coverage for low-income seniors and increased investments in the WIC Program.

Aiding community groups feeding the hungry is also part of the Obama plan. “Food banks and community-based food providers are often the first point of contact for families who need help putting food on the table. Barack Obama and Joe Biden are proud of their support for the historic levels of support provided to food banks in the 2008 Farm Bill and will work to ensure that food banks and community-based food providers have the food and funding necessary to carry out their critical work in the future.”

The boldest promise from the campaign is to eliminate child hunger by 2015. This objective would be addressed by providing all poor children with free school meals, expanding the summer feeding program, developing a pilot program to provide poor children with additional nutrition through SNAP, and supporting solutions to year-round feeding, including after school and weekend meals. “Improving and expanding federal food assistance and nutrition programs will also be a key component of ending hunger in the United States,” the document concludes.

Congressional Line-ups Relatively Unchanged

If an Obama Administration wants to tackle hunger concerns, it will need the concurrence of Congress to act. Even though the 2008 elections increased Democratic majorities in both the House and the Senate, the congressional landscape was not substantially changed, and most of the key players will remain in place.

With major alterations made in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (or food stamps) and commodity programs earlier this year through enactment of the Farm Bill, it is doubtful that those programs will be reconsidered early in an Obama presidency. However, child nutrition programs _ including school lunch, school breakfast, child care food, and summer feeding _ are due to be renewed in 2009 and may be substantially amended if additional resources can be identified.

Continuation of the current leadership in Congress will probably translate into maintenance of the status quo or at least only minor shifts in plans from what has been previously proposed. In the Senate, Tom Harkin (D-IA), chair of the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry which oversees nutrition programs, was re-elected with 62 percent of the vote. The Committee’s ranking member, Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), saw his re-election bid against Democrat Jim Martin fall short of a majority with 49.8 percent of the vote, and he faces a December 2 run-off election.

Legislators involved in crafting nutrition policy on the House side will remain unchanged in the new Congress. Representative Collin Peterson (D-MN), chair of the House Agriculture Committee, with jurisdiction over food stamps and commodity programs, will be back after capturing 72 percent of the vote in his re-election bid. Bob Goodlatte of Virginia, the top Republican on the Agriculture Committee, received 62 percent of the ballots in his effort to stay in Congress. Child nutrition issues in the House are the province of the Education and Labor Committee and George Miller (D-CA), who received 73 percent of the vote in his district, will return as chair, along with Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-CA), a winner with 58 percent of the vote, likely continuing as ranking member of the Committee.

Obama’s appointee as Secretary of Agriculture will exert some influence over nutrition policy concerns, but as this issue of Foodlinks America was being prepared no information was yet available on a potential selection for that Cabinet post.

SNAP Shots

A third of city dwellers losing out on food stamps: One in three low-income urban households potentially eligible for aid under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP _ formerly known as food stamps) faces increased hunger while their city loses out on millions of dollars in government support. On average, only about two-thirds of families in two dozen of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas are getting the help they are entitled to, according to “Food Access in Urban America: A City-by-City Snapshot” released on October 28, 2008 by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) in Washington, D.C.

“At a time when millions more Americans are facing unemployment, shortened hours of work or reduced wages, failure to get food stamps to needy families is deepening the harm to them, hurting urban economies, and worsening the recession,” said Jim Weill, FRAC president. “Cities have to do a much better job of reaching eligible people with food stamps. Households are crushed between rising food prices and falling incomes. Food stamps are a crucial way to help.”

The FRAC report, which studied 24 large urban areas in the country, found that food stamp participation was highest in Wayne County, MI where Detroit is located, with 98 percent of eligible individuals there getting aid. SNAP usage was also high in Milwaukee, WI, at 89 percent; Baltimore, MD at 86 percent; Philadelphia, PA at 85 percent; and Washington, D.C. at 83 percent. At the other end of the scale, San Diego, CA served only 29 percent of potential eligibles, Denver, CO, 42 percent, and Las Vegas, NV, 44 percent.

Cities included in the FRAC study were: Atlanta, GA; Baltimore, MD; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Columbus, OH; Denver, CO; Detroit, MI; Houston, TX; Indianapolis, IN; Jacksonville, FL; Las Vegas, NV; Los Angeles, CA; Louisville, KY; Miami, FL; Milwaukee, WI; New York, NY; Oakland, CA; Philadelphia, PA; Phoenix, AZ; San Antonio, TX; San Diego, CA; Seattle, WA; Washington, D.C.; and Wichita, KS. For additional details, see: http://www.frac.org/Press_Release/urbanfoodstamps08release.htm.

Resources to expand urban usage: FRAC not only tracks urban SNAP/food stamp participation, the organization also offers resources to improve it. An updated “Toolkit for Changing Times: Rebranding, Program Improvements, and Economic Hardship” is now available on the FRAC web site. The toolkit includes outreach ideas and activities, “policy hooks” for target populations, talking points, sample fliers, a calendar of events, and data sources. For further information, see http://www.frac.org/SNAP_toolkit_changing_timesOCT2008.htm.

Interview waiver criteria eased: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has changed its policy on SNAP interviews to help ease the burden on low-income families. Federal policy requires that households applying for SNAP/food stamp benefits have a face-to-face interview with a state eligibility worker. Waivers for telephone interviews are allowed, but have been limited. To address the changing economic circumstances of poor households, USDA recently issued a memo easing the criteria for waivers of the face-to-face interview requirement. For details, see: http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/rules/Memo/08/102808.pdf.

TEFAP Tidbits

Annual allocations announced: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has published the fiscal year 2009 allocations for entitlement food and administrative funding under The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). State-by-state allocations are provided in an October 24, 2008 memo that may be reviewed at: http://www.fns.usda.gov/fdd/programs/tefap/FY09_TEFAP-FoodEntAdmAllocations.pdf.

Federal law requires USDA to expend $250 million in fiscal 2009 for the purchase of TEFAP food. The Department estimates that approximately $2.1 million will be needed to pay costs associated with ordering and transporting the food, leaving some $247.9 million for the actual purchase of food. Discretionary appropriations for storage and distribution of TEFAP food at the state and local level are currently funded at $49.65 million annually. However, since fiscal year 2009 funding is only tentatively provided under a continuing resolution (CR) until March 6, 2009, a pro-rated share of just $21.35 million is currently available for allocation. Congress may pass a budget and finish fiscal year 2009 appropriations in a lame duck session later this month or wait until early next year after the new 111th Congress is seated.

Funds transfer being allowed for now: Previous years’ appropriations allowed USDA to give states the option of collectively transferring up to $10 million in TEFAP food funds into the storage and distribution or administrative account. However, as USDA explains in its memo, “Because final appropriations for FY 2009 have not been enacted, it is unclear whether this authority will be retained, expanded, or terminated for FY 2009.” But for the time being, USDA “is proceeding as though the authority will be retained at the $10 million level.” States are being given until April 6, 2009 to decide whether they want to accept their portion of the $10 million as food funds, administrative funds, or any combination thereof.

It would be stimulating to get more food: Congressional negotiators working on a new economic stimulus package to kick-start the ailing economy are considering the provision of another $50 million in food for TEFAP this fiscal year as one of the elements of that plan. However at this point, no supplemental funding for storage and distribution would be added to help move any additional commodities. Feeding America (formerly Second Harvest) informs Foodlinks America that it will, as part of a second stimulus package, “be supporting increases in SNAP (formerly food stamp) benefits and increases in funding for TEFAP food purchases, TEFAP storage and distribution costs, and sufficient funding for CSFP [Commodity Supplemental Food Program] to maintain the program and replenish inventories of food.” Food banks and emergency food providers would be glad to have any extra food or funds to meet the burgeoning need.

Rules Published for WIC Farmers’ Market Program

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released regulations to incorporate changes for the WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) made in legislation during 2004. There are three primary changes dealing with roadside stands, state matching requirements, and maximum federal benefits.

States now have an option to authorize roadside stands as well as farmers’ markets in areas where no markets are available. The law also included an important reduction in the required amount of state matching funds, from 30 percent of the total grant to 30 percent of state administrative costs, making the program easier to operate for states and Indian Tribal Organizations. The previous federal maximum benefit for WIC participants of $20 annually was raised to $30, though the minimum of $10 was retained.

Though the provisions of the statute are not discretionary, USDA issued the regulations as an interim final rule, allowing comments to be made through January 2, 2009. For more details, see the published rule in the November 3, 2008 Federal Register at: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/E8-26099.pdf.

Uptick Noted in Indian Commodity Program

For the first time in a decade, participation is increasing in the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), the federal effort that brings government commodities to Tribal areas. Recent figures released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) show that for the first ten months of fiscal year 2008 (October 2007 through July 2008), the program reached an average of 88,736 individuals each month. That figure is approximately 2,500 people above the previous fiscal year. Between fiscal years 1999 and 2007, FDPIR participation declined by about a third.

There are more than 111 FDPIR programs administered by 98 Indian Tribal Organizations (ITOs) and state agencies, according to USDA. The programs serve as many as 9,500 individuals or as few as two dozen. Nearly 90 percent of the caseload is concentrated in the Southwest, Western, and Mountain Plains regions of the country. The three largest programs are run by the Navajo Nation, the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe. For additional details, see the October 2008 issue of USDA’s FDPIR newsletter at: http://www.fns.usda.gov/fdd/programs/fdpir/fdpir_pubs/FDPIRNewsletterOct2008.pdf.

Reports from the Field – Newark, NJ

All around the nation, the emergency food system is being besieged by the needs of homeless, low-income, and working individuals and families who are struggling to put food on the table. New Jersey has been particularly hard hit, as the following article from the Newark Star-Ledger of October 22, 2008 details.

Craig Witheridge thought he was recession-proof. He was wrong. The 56-year-old Vietnam veteran has an associate’s degree in electronics, 20 years of experience in the computer industry and a steady work history. Yet there he was, sitting down for the noon meal at the Salvation Army soup kitchen in Montclair, “an unexpected charity case” after a lifetime of self-reliance.

“It was humbling and scary to come here,” said Witheridge, who sat stiffly as he gulped his food. “But I tell myself, it’s not just me. The whole country is going through tumultuous times.”

The Community Food Bank in Hillside has given out 23 million pounds of food and groceries this year but donations to them are down 30 percent. Witheridge is one of an estimated 250,000 new clients seeking sustenance this year from New Jersey’s food banks, pantries and soup kitchens. The hungry people in this state are no longer limited to the poor, the working poor and the elderly. The middle class, racked by layoffs, foreclosures or the rising cost of living, is now being forced to the fringes.

The huge upswing in demand, coupled with the upheaval in corporate America – the traditional donor backbone of emergency food network – and an unusually high export of America’s food surplus could have a devastating impact on the state’s, and the nation’s, emergency food supplies, experts say. Food banks in New Jersey experienced a 25 percent increase in clients along with a 20 percent decline in food supplies and donations in the last year, according to Governor Jon Corzine, who included an extra $3 million for emergency food in his economic stimulus plan unveiled last week.

“I’ve been working on anti-hunger initiatives for 29 years and I’ve never seen anything even close to what’s happening right now,” said Adele LaTourette, director of the Statewide Emergency Food and Anti-Hunger Network.. “With a nasty winter expected and fuel prices out of control, anybody who isn’t scared is out of their mind.”

In the last six weeks, emergency food suppliers have been rocked by a series of setbacks:

* In September, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced New Jersey lost 2.5 million pounds of surplus food it expected because there were no bidders on the government contract. Producers made more money selling the food abroad.

* Three weeks ago, Paterson’s largest food pantry closed for a day because it had 230 new clients and no food.

* Last week, the Community FoodBank of New Jersey in Hillside, the state’s largest food bank and rated by Forbes magazine as one of the county’s most efficient charities, announced it “very likely” will start rationing food for the first time in its 30-year history.

* The same week, Interfaith Food Pantry in Morristown reported September food costs were up 300 percent over last year and new clients were up 400 percent, half of whom were people who had never before applied for assistance.

“We realized that we’ve been running short of everything nutritious, but it was only last week that we really looked at our donation sources and realized the roof is falling in,” said Meara Nigro, at the Community FoodBank, which distributed 23 million pounds of food last year.

The emergency food network in New Jersey is vast and complicated. At the apex are five large food banks with major storage and refrigeration facilities. All the free food distributed to New Jersey under The Emergency Food Assistance Program of the USDA is funneled through the food banks.

At the local levels are food pantries, which offer discounted or free groceries and soup kitchens with free meals and, increasingly, programs to help people sign up for federal benefits. Statewide, there are at least 900 organizations ranging from the $50 million Community FoodBank to small churches delivering food baskets made by parishioners.
The food comes from various sources. The USDA emergency assistance food is supplemented by individual and corporate donations. Many food agencies prefer money because they can buy food much cheaper in bulk.

Then there is state money. Corzine began his hunger initiative two years ago, allocating $4 million annually for food. The money is distributed quarterly, but last month Corzine announced he would release $1 million early because food pantries and kitchens were in trouble. He followed that up with the Oct. 16 announcement of an additional $3 million.

There are traditional food drives, extra food planted by local farmers and game donated by hunters. Another source is food manufacturers and wholesale clubs. One major boost to depleted emergency food pantries has come from grocery stores that give not just dented cans but leftover produce, meat and bakery goods approaching their expiration dates. The Community FoodBank estimates it receives 100,000 pounds of fresh or frozen food donated every month by New Jersey grocery stores. Altogether it is not enough.

A major underutilized source of food for hungry New Jerseyans is food stamps, LaTourette said. Because of income eligibility limits, New Jersey gives out only about 58 percent of its food stamp allotment, she said, annually giving up about $245 million in federal subsidies. Ultimately, however, people at soup kitchens said the answer is not more help, but more work. “I know there is no shame it taking help when you need it, but what I really want is not to need the help,” Witheridge said. “Don’t give me charity. Give me a job.”

Small Bites

Disappearing farms: During the past 40 years, the number of farms in the U.S. has declined from 3.8 million to two million, with the loss averaging 41,000 farms per year.

Disappearing farmers: About 80 percent of the farms lost have been family-run farms.

Fuelish food: After automobiles, the food system uses more fossil fuel than any other sector of the U.S. economy, about 19 percent.

Carnivorous consumption: Americans eat an average of 190 pounds of meat per year _ half a pound per day.

Carnivorous absorption: It takes 5,000 gallons of water to produce a pound of feedlot beef.

Going by cow or by car: Livestock for meat and dairy production account for 18 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases, more than all forms of transportation combined.

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Foodlinks America - November 7, 2008

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