Foodlinks America - August 14, 2009
Foodlinks America - August 14, 2009
In this issue:
• Agriculture Appropriations Move Ahead
• Proposed Legislation
• SNAP Shots
• FEEDBAG: A Compendium of News on Nutrition Assistance Programs
• Obesity Round-Up
• Gardens Given a Boost by the Federal Government
• Reports from the Field
• 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.
CORRECTION
Some editions of the July 31, 2009 issue of Foodlinks America contained a typographical error in the story “Upsurge in Child Hunger Pre-dates Recession.” Households with extremely low “food security” increased from 0.6 percent in 2006 to 0.9 percent in 2007, not 2009.
Agriculture Appropriations Move Ahead
Government funding for most nutrition assistance programs in 2010 remained on track for completion by the October 1 start of the new fiscal year with Senate passage of an agriculture appropriations bill earlier this month. The House of Representatives passed its version of the bill on July 9. Senate approval, by a vote of 80 to 17 on August 4, sent the bill to a conference committee, which will work out differences between the two bills during the current recess, which extends through Labor Day.
The Senate bill provides a total of $86.092 billion in mandatory funding for nutrition programs, including $61.352 billion for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly the Food Stamp Program, and $16.8 billion in funding for child nutrition programs. The Senate total of $7.946 billion in annual discretionary spending includes $7.552 billion for the WIC Program.
Proposed Legislation
Among bills recently introduced in the 111th session of the U.S. Congress are the following:
House Resolution (H.R.) 3321: Introduced by Representatives Gwen Moore (D-WI) and Andres Carson (D-IN), the Afterschool Flexibility to Expand Reimbursement for School Meals or AFTERschool Meals Act, would expand access to healthy afterschool meals and supplements for school children in working families.
Senate (S.) 1499: Introduced by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), this legislation would amend the National School Lunch Act to expand eligibility for free meals to families in areas with greater than fair market rent.
S. 1503: Introduced by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), the Improved Nutrition and Physical Activity or IMPACT Act, would establish grants to provide health services for improved nutrition, increased physical activity, and obesity.
For bill summary and status information, along with the text of legislation, visit: http://thomas.loc.gov/ and enter the bill number.
SNAP Shots
Up, up, and away: National participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or food stamps, continues to soar. May 2009 data found 34,409,460 people receiving benefits, an increase of more than 650,000 over the previous month and another all-time record. At present, more than one in nine Americans is getting help from SNAP. The average monthly benefit is now $133.65 per person or just under a dollar and a half ($1.485) per meal.
Program growth occurred in all states between May 2008 and May 2009, with the largest increases reported in Nevada at 42.5 percent and Utah at 42.4 percent. Seven other states experienced growth of more than 30 percent over the past year – Idaho (38.3 percent), Washington (37.1 percent), Florida (36.5 percent), Vermont (35.2 percent), Wisconsin (32.7 percent), Colorado (32.2 percent), and Arizona (31.5 percent).
Cost-of-living adjustments announced: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has published cost-of-living adjustments, or COLAs, for SNAP income eligibility standards and deductions in fiscal year 2010. Maximum and minimum monthly benefit allotments for households remained unchanged, though under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) passed earlier this year, the maximum allotment was raised 13.6 percent.
The ARRA actually insulated participants from a small benefit reduction. Under previous law, allotments would have dropped 0.83 percent next year, as food price inflation was slightly lower, according to USDA calculations. However, the minimum standard deduction, not protected by the legislation, will drop from $144 per month to $141. To learn more, see: http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/rules/Memo/2009/080309.pdf.
States earn performance bonuses: USDA has awarded $30 million in high performance bonuses to various states under SNAP, the Department announced in an August 3, 2009 news release. A total of $18.5 million was given 10 jurisdictions (FL, SD, GA, MS, NC, WY, NE, and VI) for having the best payment accuracy rates in fiscal year 2008, all well below the national average of 5.01 percent. Three states – GA, OH, and DE – received monetary awards for the most improved payment accuracy. In addition, NE, SD, ID, and NH were recognized for the best negative error rate and OK and CO awarded funds for the most improved negative error rate. Awards ranged from $148,000 to nearly $7.2 million.
Additional bonuses for best program access index, most improved program access index, and best application processing timeliness will be announced next month. For further details, go to: http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/government/pdf/2008-chart-awards.pdf.
FEEDBAG: A Compendium of News on Nutrition Assistance Programs
The federal shopping list: The government wants schoolchildren to eat less fatty foods and more fruits and vegetables. But its purchases belie such initiatives. For every dollar the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) spends on commodities for school meals, 55 cents goes for meats and cheeses versus about 23 cents for fruits and vegetables. The single item that USDA spends the most on? Mozzarella cheese.
“Part of our challenge is to figure out how to make the kids’ choice be the salad rather than the pizza slice,” commented Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released a research report last year examining USDA food-buying practices and summarized its findings with two pyramids. One was the USDA food guide pyramid that recommends more servings of fruits and vegetables. The other showed what USDA buys for schools. The pyramids appeared as almost reverse images of one another.
However, getting meat and cheese from USDA helps schools stretch their limited food service budgets further, claims the School Nutrition Association (SNA), which says school food services are more likely to find produce items competitively priced elsewhere. The meat and dairy industry do not complain about the status quo either.
Nonetheless, food purchasing and preparation practices are changing in a positive direction, according to SNA. USDA is buying more low-fat cheeses, and baked French fries and whole grain pizza crusts are becoming more common in the lunchroom. See the Johnson Foundation report at: http://www.rwjf.org/pr/product.jsp?id=34381.
Repercussions of a corny policy: Recent research has shown that the objectives of government nutrition assistance and energy policy may be at odds. A study by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), released in April 2009, found that food price increases due to corn-based ethanol production will raise the cost of nutrition assistance programs, perhaps by as much as $900 million. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and child nutrition programs will be affected the most.
“[T]he rise in food prices attributable to increased production of ethanol will lead to higher federal spending for those programs: specifically, an estimated $600 million to
$900 million of the more than $5 billion increase in spending projected for fiscal year 2009 as a result of the rising price of food,” the CBO stated. Its analysis was based on food prices between April 2007 and April 2008. Find the CBO study at:
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/100xx/doc10057/04-08-Ethanol.pdf.
Commodity juices going plastic: USDA has announced that beginning in October 2009 it will start offering juices in plastic bottles for The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), and the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR). The Department will no longer purchase juice in tin cans.
Although USDA claims the “plastic bottles will better appeal to program participants in terms of both taste and … convenience,” juices will only be available in 64-ounce bottles, as smaller container sizes are more expensive. The bottles will, however, be recyclable. More information on the transition to plastic juice bottles may be reviewed at: http://www.fns.usda.gov/fdd/guidance/Juice_in_Plastic_Bottles_Memo.pdf.
CACFP report highlights progress, ongoing problems: USDA has taken a close look at family day care home (FDCH) and sponsor operations under the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and come away with a mixed bag of findings. In the “Child Care Assessment Project Final Report,” released in July 2009, USDA noted that “some of the most serious problems that plagued the FDCH component of the CACFP during the 1990s have been successfully addressed.”
However, three important management issues need further attention: 1) Too many providers fail to keep up-to-date meal counts and menu records; 2) Too many sponsors are not fully meeting the regulatory requirements for monitoring providers; and 3) Too few sponsors appear to be employing the serious deficiency process for providers as intended. The 46-page report may be found at: http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/care/Management/pdf/CCAP_Report.pdf.
Transportation problems plague summer feeding efforts: Efforts to serve summer meals to isolated rural children during school vacation times have proven unsuccessful, even with supplemental funding and special grants, according to a new USDA report. In its “Summer Food Service Program Rural Transportation Grants 2009 Report to Congress” released last month, USDA reviewed the efforts of two projects in Texas, 10 in Oregon, seven in New York, eight in Mississippi, and 13 in West Virginia that received $4 million in funding earmarked to address the rural meal problem.
USDA concluded that, “It is evident through reports from participating service institutions that economies of scale could not be reached, particularly in very rural areas, in a way that makes ongoing transportation services for congregate meal sites a reasonably efficient endeavor. Driving fifty to one hundred or more miles roundtrip to either move food or children was too costly, both in time and fuel.” USDA did not recommend future funding. Details may be found at: http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/summer/RTGfinalreport.pdf.
Obesity Round-Up
The fat of the land: Mississippi lead the nation last year in the percentage of obese adults at 32.5 percent. It was the fifth year in a row that Mississippi was deemed the fattest state, according to a report released in July 2009 by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The report is based on combined federal data from 2006-2008.
Three other states also have adult obesity rates above 30 percent, with Alabama at 31.2 percent, West Virginia at 31.1 percent, and Tennessee at 30.2 percent, in figures compiled for the report “F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies are Failing America 2009.” Obesity rates increased in 23 states and declined in no states last year. Colorado had the lowest obesity rate for adults at 18.9 percent. The report, available at: http://healthyamericans.org/reports/obesity2009/, also looks at child obesity.
Food stamps and weight gain linked: Participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, may increase the incidence of obesity among its participants, according to a new study. Researchers from Ohio State University reported in the August 12, 2009 issue of ScienceDaily that the average SNAP recipient had a Body Mass Index (BMI) 1.15 points higher than comparable non-participants. The study also noted that people’s BMI increased faster on food stamps than when they did not participate in the program and grew higher the longer they stayed on the program.
“We can’t prove that the Food Stamp Program causes weight gain, but this study suggests a strong linkage,” said Jay Zagorsky, an Ohio State researcher and author of the report. “Every way we looked at the data, it was clear that the use of food stamps was associated with weight gain,” he added. The study followed nearly 4,000 people in SNAP and some 6,000 non-participants for 14 years. Women overall had higher BMIs while on food stamps; White women were most affected. SNAP participation did not affect male food stamp users, White or Black.
Federal statistics showed that the average participant received $81 in monthly food stamp benefits in 2002, the last year of the study. “That figure was shocking to me,” said Zagorsky. “I think it would be very difficult for a shopper to regularly buy healthy, nutritious food on that budget.” Review a news release on the report at: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090810122139.htm.
Economy takes a bite out of snacking: A recent telephone survey of women age 18 and older found that 85 percent admitted to eating between meals, averaging two snacks a day. Fifty-three percent said such eating habits either prevented them from losing weight or caused them to gain weight, as opposed to 24 percent who said it helped them maintain their diets. About 40 percent noted their snacking habits have changed with the recession, with 23 percent snacking on more healthful foods and 17 percent snacking less often.
Gardens Given a Boost by the Federal Government
Whether as response to family belt-tightening during the recession, basic exercise, or just plain growing things, Americans are planting more gardens. Thee Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently declared August 23-29, 2009 as National Community Gardening Week to encourage the practice.
“Community gardens provide numerous benefits including opportunities for local food production, resource conservation, and neighborhood beautification,” said Secretary Tom Vilsack. “But they also promote family and community interaction and enhance opportunities to eat healthy, nutritious foods. Each of these benefits is something we can and should strive for,” noted Vilsack in addressing the American Community Gardening Association at its annual conference in Columbus, OH in early August.
There are thousands of community gardens around the country and more are being organized. USDA has established a “People’s Garden” at its headquarters building in Washington, D.C. that provides sustainable landscaping and educational information as well as fresh food for the homeless. Resources available to community gardens through USDA include grants and on-site technical assistance.
In a separate memo, USDA recently clarified that school food service funds may be used to purchase seeds for school gardens. Such funds may also be devoted to starting and maintaining gardens on school property and schools are allowed to purchase produce from the gardens. Guidance information on school gardens may be viewed at: http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Governance/Policy-Memos/2009/SP_32-2009_os.pdf.
Reports from the Field
Recent statistics tally some 30 million Americans who are either unemployed, underemployed (wanting full-time work but unable to find it), or are so discouraged they have just given up searching for a job.
Yet among those who are employed, there is a segment, numbering in the tens of thousands, who have not seen their wages increase for nearly two decades – tipped workers. They are excluded from coverage under federal minimum wage laws and were unaffected by the minimum wage increases that have gone into effect in the last couple years, as the following article from the Miami Herald of July 24, 2009 describes:
Friday’s increase in the federal minimum wage left Leanne Foti feeling a little hollow. A single mother of two, Foti works as a waitress at the Bridgewater Diner in Bridgewater, N.J. So her base pay of $2.13 per hour didn’t budge Friday when the federal minimum wage went from $6.55 to $7.25 an hour.
Foti, 34, is one of roughly 146,000 Americans – many of them restaurant, hotel, car wash and nail salon employees – who are paid mainly through customer tips and therefore earn a lower federal minimum wage, $2.13 an hour. That federal floor wage for tipped workers has been stuck at $2.13 hourly for 18 years in many states. So Foti didn’t take it well when the standard minimum wage increased for the third time in three years Friday.
“It’s completely and totally unfair,” she said. “These other people that make the ($7.25 an hour) minimum wage, they know they’re gonna get their money, but we got to kick butt to get good tips, and we have to put up with a lot of abuse from customers. If you don’t fill their coffee cups fast enough, they’re not gonna leave anything. I think we should be treated like any other worker in New Jersey and America.”
So do the folks at the National Employment Law Project, a pro-labor advocacy group in New York. They’ve just released a report, “Restoring the Minimum Wage for America’s Tipped Workers,” that calls for increasing the $2.13 rate and improving protections against “tip stealing” by employers and managers.
Congress established the tipped-worker minimum wage in 1966 as a fixed percentage of the full minimum wage, but it dropped the provision that linked the two rates in 1996. Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia already have raised their minimum wages for tipped workers above the federal rate, and in 2010, 22 of these states will pay tipped workers at least 60 percent of the full minimum wage. However, the 18 other states, which include New Jersey, still pay tipped workers the $2.13 hourly rate.
Even with their frozen base wage, most tipped workers still earn several dollars more than the standard minimum wage when their tips are included. Further, if tips alone don’t bring their earnings to the standard minimum-wage level, employers, by law, must make up the difference.
In an economic recession, however, when business slows, tips can fluctuate wildly and make it hard for workers such as Foti to maintain their budgets. Before the recession, Foti typically cleared $150 in tips during a six-hour shift on a decent night, she said. Now, that same shift nets her $40 to $60 in tips. “People that used to leave $15 on a $30 check are leaving $5. Everything was going down before the recession started, and it’s gotten 100 times worse ever since,” Foti said.
Though tipped workers earn a median wage of $8.23 per hour, the National Employment Law Project’s report found that the value of the minimum wage for tipped workers has fallen by 36 percent in inflation-adjusted terms since it was last increased in 1991. The report calls for making increases in the tipped-worker minimum wage automatic when the standard minimum wage increases.
Small Bites
A thirsty world I: Global water consumption is doubling every 20 years, increasing at more than twice the rate of human population growth.
A thirsty world II: More than half of all available fresh water is now diverted for human use.
Wasteful uses: In a typical U.S. home, toilets account for up to 30 percent of all indoor potable water use.
Flushing away resources: Collectively, American toilets flush 6.8 billion gallons a day.
Wasting away: Daily toilet water use per person in the U.S. is 18.5 gallons.
Efficient flushing: The newer 1.0 -1.6 gallons per flush toilets can reduce water use by up to 25 percent.
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