TEFAP Alliance Blog

Foodlinks America - April 14, 2006

In this issue:

· Budget Resolution Stalls in House
· Nutrition Standards for Foods at Schools Proposed
· ACDA Conference Capsules
· CSFP Termination Draws Media Attention
· Food Stamp Briefs
· WIC Income Guidelines Updated
· Obesity Round-Up
· Small Bites

Foodlinks America is published 24 times a year by California Emergency Foodlink and distributed by Weinberg & Vauthier Consulting, 6412 CR 116, Burnet, Texas 78611; Zy Weinberg and Barbara Vauthier, Editors; email: bvauthier@281.com.

There is no copyright on Foodlinks America, so the information can be freely shared with colleagues and friends, though attribution for reprinted articles is appreciated. To receive the newsletter directly, contact Barbara Vauthier at: bvauthier@281.com.

Budget Resolution Stalls in House

On April 6, the Republican leadership in the House of Representatives pulled its proposed budget resolution for fiscal year 2007 off the floor when it became apparent that the votes for passage were lacking. Rival factions within the Republican Party, including fiscal conservatives, Appropriations Committee members, and moderates, could not reach consensus on a spending outline for next year.

Conservatives are seeking changes to the budget process, including giving line-item veto authority to the President. Appropriators are closely guarding their broad jurisdiction over federal spending. Moderates in the House, like those who were successful in the Senate in March, are seeking an additional $7 billion for domestic discretionary programs. Negotiations will continue during the two-week congressional spring recess from April 8 to April 23.

Unless some middle ground is found, the stalemate may result in no budget resolution at all for 2007. The annual budget resolution, though not binding, sets the parameters for government appropriations each year. Fiscal year 2007 appropriations bills can and are moving ahead without the resolution, but reaching agreement between the House and Senate later in the year will be more difficult without a budget plan. Nonetheless, House Appropriations subcommittees expect to begin marking up spending bills in mid-May.

Nutrition Standards for Foods at Schools Proposed

On April 6, 2006, a bipartisan group of seven Senators, led by Democrat Tom Harkin of Iowa, introduced legislation to update nutrition standards for foods sold outside of school meal programs on the school campus during the school day. The bill would authorize the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to help schools regulate sales from vending machines, at school stores and snack bars, and in a la carte lines in the cafeteria.

“Current federal regulations limiting the sale of junk food in schools are very narrow and have not been updated in almost 30 years, despite major changes in nutritional science and other advances during that time,” explained Harkin. “What is more, though a narrow category of junk foods cannot be sold in certain areas of schools, even the prohibited junk foods can be sold anywhere else on campus – including just outside the cafeteria – at any time.” USDA would be required to redefine what constitutes a “food of minimal nutritional value” that cannot be sold on school grounds.

The bill, titled the “Child Nutrition and School Lunch Protection Act of 2006,” is numbered S. 2592 and is co-sponsored by Senators Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Lincoln Chafee (R-RI), Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Richard Durban (D-IL), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Arlen Specter (R-PA). Companion legislation (H.R. 5167) has been introduced in the House by Representative Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) and 11 bipartisan co-sponsors.

“As a parent of school-age children,” said Senator Murkowski, “I know first-hand of the poor dietary temptations that are readily available to children each day at school. Our children learn in health class to eat five fruits or vegetables a day, but then they go to the cafeteria where they are able to buy soda, potato chips and a candy bar for lunch. Not exactly a ‘well balanced’ meal.”

“Currently,” Senator Murkowski noted, “the federal school meal programs will reimburse schools for ice cream, but not popsicles; candy bars, but not seltzer water. Schools can also be reimbursed for potato chips, snack cakes and donuts served in the cafeteria. It just doesn’t make much sense. I believe that the federal government shouldn’t be paying to put high-fat high-sugar foods in schools.”

ACDA Conference Capsules

Editor’s Note: Foodlinks America staff attended the 31st annual conference of the American Commodity Distribution Association (ACDA) in Denver on April 8-11, 2006 and filed these reports. ACDA membership includes state agencies, local school food service authorities, emergency feeding organizations, and food manufacturers.

· School nutrition priorities outlined: Ruth Jonen, a school food director from Palatine, IL and current president of the School Nutrition Association, recapped her organization’s 2006 legislative goals for the ACDA crowd. They include: maintaining current funding levels for child nutrition programs; eliminating the reduced price category for school meal program eligibility; appropriating 50 cents per child enrolled in school for nutrition education and local wellness activities; providing commodities worth up to ten cents per meal for every school breakfast served; and addressing childhood obesity and overweight.

· CSFP to be maintained on life support: U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services Kate Coler told conference attendees that the Department “will not try to dismantle the CSFP [Commodity Supplemental Food Program] in 2006,” in spite of an Administration proposal to terminate the program in September. In later workshops, USDA staff noted that they are “running the CSFP as if it will continue in fiscal year 2007,” to insure that commodities for the program keep flowing. Should the program be eliminated, remaining inventory would be transferred to other programs, such as The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP).

· Farm Bill drivers: Ms. Coler also reported that USDA had held 52 Farm Bill forums around the nation, including 10 dedicated entirely to nutrition assistance programs, to gather input for the reauthorization of agriculture and food programs under this mammoth legislation due to be considered by Congress this year or next. Summaries of comments received at the forums may be found on the USDA web site at: http://www.fns.usda.gov/fns/.

The Farm Bill is of key importance to ACDA members because it authorizes all commodity programs, in addition to the Food Stamp Program. Secretary Mike Johannes has stated that “USDA will be proactive in the development of the next Farm Bill … though we may see most of the policy crafted after the mid-term elections” in November. USDA is also awaiting the outcome of international trade negotiations that will have an impact on commodity and price support programs. Consequently, it is uncertain at this time whether Congress will enact a short-term (one or two-year) extension of the current Farm Bill or work on passing a five-year reauthorization.

· Bonus commodities still declining: USDA purchases of surplus agricultural production or “bonus commodities” that are offered free to states and recipient agencies, including emergency food providers, continue to wane. Federal purchases of bonus product, valued at over $230 million in each of fiscal years 2002 to 2004, declined to $154 million last year. Halfway through fiscal year 2006, USDA reports only $45 million in spending for just six bonus items. Increased industry efficiencies and market conditions are the causes of decreasing surplus availability, federal officials claim.

· Comment deadline nears on faith-based data collection: USDA staff reminded attendees of the June 1, 2006 deadline for comments on a proposed rule published in the March 3, 2006 Federal Register to implement new data collection requirements for all child nutrition and food distribution programs on the participation of faith-based organizations (FBOs) and other community organizations. Under two Presidential Executive Orders, USDA must evaluate and report upon the effectiveness of its technical assistance and outreach efforts to include FBOs in its programming.

The rule, if implemented as proposed, would require both state agencies and groups distributing TEFAP food to report on a number of data elements in future years. State officials are concerned that the new reporting requirements would take precious administrative dollars needed for program storage and distribution expenses and burden food banks and their recipient agencies with additional paperwork. For further information, see the Federal Register notice at: http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/…pdf/06-1985.pdf.

CSFP Termination Draws Media Attention

A Bush Administration proposal to eliminate the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) at the end of this fiscal year has generated nationwide media attention. Stories appearing around the country include the following:

• Under the headline “Cutbacks a Half-Baked Idea, Food Bank Says,” the Los Angeles Times ran the following story on April 1, 2006:

Workers at an Orange County food bank had anything but sweet talk for President Bush on Friday as they sold desserts with such names as “Upside Down Priority Cake” and “Fib Newtons” to protest proposed cuts to a federal food program for the elderly.

Food bank officials, usually surrounded by cans of meat and boxes of cheese, cooked up fare with a pinch of satire Friday for a “budget bake sale.” Items for sale also included “Double Cross Buns,” “Pennywise, Pound Foolish Pie,” and “Program Crumbles.”

“The names are funny, but this is really no joke,” said Mark Lowry, food bank director at the Community Action Partnership of Orange County in Garden Grove. Lowry said the president’s proposed 2007 budget would eliminate a monthly box of food for 24,000 needy seniors in Orange County alone.

• An article that appeared on AlterNet, a syndicated alternative press service, on March 22, 2006, detailed the impact of potential CSFP cuts in South Carolina:

Every month, 80-year-old Sally Shaver pays someone to drive her to the Harvest Hope Food Bank in Columbia, SC, to pick up a box of fresh produce, baked goods, dry cereals, juice, canned goods, and cheese. “It really helps me out because after paying my rent, phone bill, and medication, I barely have enough for food,” she says. “If I could work, I would, but I have an artificial knee and a pacemaker, and I can’t get around.”

Shaver, who worked as a nurse’s aide for most of her life, brings in $451 a month in social security. Her fixed income qualifies her for the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), which is designed to improve the health and nutrition of low-income senior citizens, pregnant women, postpartum mothers, infants, and children.

Last year, CSFP provided 536,196 people with a monthly box of food. Bush’s proposed budget for 2007 calls for a nationwide elimination of the entire program.

“As a food bank, we are very concerned about this program. When you have a growing population of elderly in this state, how are we going to find other resources to replace it?” asks Denise Holland, executive director of the Harvest Hope Food Bank. “We have already been serving these seniors for two years, and they have gotten accustomed to this. I can’t turn people away in wheelchairs. My heart won’t let me do it.”

• A story in the March 28, 2006 issue of the San Francisco Chronicle reflected the opinions of participants, politicians, and service providers:

Ola Mae White, who retired 30 years ago, is proud of her knack for stretching a nickel.

The 93-year-old San Francisco resident lives on $819 in monthly Social Security benefits and a tiny pension from her days as a cafeteria worker. Once a month, like thousands of seniors in the city and around the country, she picks up a supplemental food box packed with canned juices, milk, meat, vegetables, fruit.

“I worked hard all my life to keep off public assistance,” says White. “I never wanted any help from the government. But I need the extra food. What is President Bush trying to do to us? It would really hurt me not to get the extra food.”

San Francisco grandmother Rosa Jones, 62, relies on her food box and that of her daughter to provide food for half the month for her family of five, including her three young grandchildren.

“Two boxes can go a long way,” says Jones. “I make really good meals out of them – I can make leftovers last three days. If they take the program away, I don’t know how I could feed my grandchildren. I will fall to pieces.”

“California already is only able to serve about one-tenth of eligible seniors because of perpetual budget shortfalls,” U.S. Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein said. “Eliminating this program is a big mistake. It would severely impact thousands of seniors who already struggle to afford their monthly grocery bills.”

Telling seniors simply to switch to food stamps is easier said than done, advocates said. They said that for many seniors, food stamps involve too much stigma or red tape.

Additionally, many are not entitled to food stamps, including those on Supplemental Security Income in California, says Paul Ash, executive director of the San Francisco Food Bank, which runs the program in the county. His organization is scrambling to soften the impact of cutbacks on clients.

“It’s really devastating,” Ash said. “This is not a country that can’t afford to feed its seniors. Even with these boxes, a lot of seniors are just eking by. This is a very, very sad comment on the direction of our society.”

• The March 3, 2006 Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer in Owensboro, KY carried the following story:

The shelves at Ruby and Sidney Jackson’s home in Owensboro are replenished once a month with beef stew, peanut butter, canned fruit and vegetables, and their refrigerator is filled with commodity cheese and powdered milk.

The Jacksons are among about 15,000 older Kentuckians receiving a box of groceries each month through a federal commodities program.

Without the $40 box of food, Ruby, 65, and Sidney Jackson, 70, say they would have to let bills go to afford food, or go hungry to buy her $44-a-month breathing treatments.

But that’s exactly the position they could soon find themselves in if the program is eliminated, as is slated in the Bush administration’s 2007 federal budget.

“I sure hope they don’t cut it out, because a lot of people are going to be in trouble,” Ruby Jackson said. “I like our president, don’t get me wrong, but I sure wish he’d change his mind on this one.”

Food Stamp Briefs

· Benefits boost the economy: The Food Stamp Program (FSP) not only provides food for low-income households, it supports work and delivers economic benefits to communities. In its latest effort to promote the program and enroll more eligible people in it, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has developed materials that make “The Business Case for Increasing Food Stamp Participation.” USDA calculates potential economic activity based on its analysis that a food stamp dollar circulates 1.84 times in the community where it is spent.

“The FSP is the only public benefit program which also serves as an economic stimulus, creating an economic boost that ripples throughout the economy when new food stamp benefits are redeemed. By generating business at local grocery stores, new food stamp benefits trigger labor and production demand, ultimately increasing household income and triggering additional spending,” notes USDA. To learn more, go to: http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/outreach/business-case.htm.

· State option possibilities reviewed: FSP laws and regulations provide state agencies with significant flexibility to reduce barriers and improve access for eligible households in order to help meet the nutritional needs of low-income families. In particular, the Farm Bill of 2002 added new opportunities for states to streamline their programs. An updated USDA “State Options Report,” which catalogs state utilization of policy options in effect as of August 2005, is now available on-line.

The report is a primer on possible adjustments to the FSP in such areas as: reporting requirements; transitional benefits; simplified definitions of income and resources; categorical eligibility; simplified housing costs for homeless households; wage supplementation; drug felony disqualifications; and more. To locate the report, go to: http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/rules/Memo/Support/State_Options/fifth/default.htm.
· Vehicle policies examined: One of the most widely used state options in the FSP is a variation from the program statute on the allowable value of a vehicle owned by a food stamp household. States have great flexibility to set food stamp vehicle asset policies to ensure that needy households can get the help they need and still have reliable transportation. Currently, 42 states have used this flexibility to exempt at least one vehicle from consideration in determining food stamp eligibility. However, nine states still limit the value of the cars participants may own, including one state (Idaho) that continues to use the very restrictive federal rule.
A recently updated paper, “States’ Vehicle Asset Policies in the Food Stamp Program,” from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington, D.C. provides information about each state’s policy and which option the state utilized to set its vehicle policy. It can be found at: http://www.cbpp.org/7-30-01fa.htm.
WIC Income Guidelines Updated

Revised income eligibility levels for use in the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) supplemental nutrition program were published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) last month. The eligibility guidelines, updated for inflation, are effective July 1, 2006. They may be viewed in the March 16, 2006 Federal Register at: http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/…pdf/06-2526.pdf.

Obesity Round-Up

• Still rounding up: Most Americans – especially men and children and adolescents – continued to gain weight between 1999 and 2004, according to a recent analysis of some of the best national data on the subject. A third of U.S. children and teenagers and two-thirds of adults are either overweight or obese, noted the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), based on results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (HANES), which includes actual height and weight measurements of nearly 8,400 people.

Survey results found that overweight in children rose from 28.2 percent in 1999 to 33.6 percent in 2004. Obesity among men jumped from 27.5 to 31.1 percent over the same period. The HANES data also revealed distinct differences between the races, with 45 percent of African American adults and 36.8 percent of Hispanic adults found to be overweight or obese, compared to 30.6 percent of White adults.

The only bright spot in the findings was that the percentage of overweight women remained unchanged. “Women are the early adopters of new health behaviors,” said William Deitz, head of the nutrition and physical activity division at the Centers for Disease Control, of which the NCHS is a part. “Íf this is truly a plateau, it may represent the first step toward turning the corner on this epidemic,” added Deitz, noting that women still do most family grocery shopping and food preparation, and when they make changes, it can influence the entire family.

The HANES results were reported in the April 5, 2006 Journal of the American Medical Association at: http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/295/13/1549.

• Too big to ride: Researchers have found that many young children are too heavy for standard car safety seats. “There are substantial numbers of children who weigh more than the upper weight limit for most currently available child safety seats,” said safety experts from Ohio State University and Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in an article in the April 2006 issue of the journal Pediatrics. They estimate that nationwide over 283,000 children, ages one to six, weigh more than the 40 pounds regular safety seats are designed to accommodate.

“While we await reductions in the childhood obesity epidemic, options for maximizing the protection of obese children in automobiles must be identified,” the study, at: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/117/4/1197, concluded.

• Ads targeted to Blacks may contribute to obesity: There are significantly more advertisements for snacks and fast food on Black-oriented television that on other channels, according to results from a survey done last year and written up in the April 2006 issue of the Journal of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. Researchers examined a week’s worth of children’s television programming in July 2005 on three cable channels – Black Entertainment Television (BET), Warner Brothers, and the Disney Channel – for ads with health-related content (HRC) and physical activity-related content (PARC).

Of nearly 1,100 ads recorded, almost half were for fast food, candy, and soda. Over 80 percent of the advertisements for drinks and about two-thirds of the ads for fast food were on BET. Fewer than 10 percent of the ads carried HRC or PARC messages.

“African American children are overexposed to numerous types of food and beverage advertisements,” concluded lead researcher Corliss Wilson Outley of the University of Minnesota. “These advertisements do not provide an adequate level of positive HRC and PARC messages. Consequently, the messages that are portrayed may undermine efforts to teach African American children about the importance of healthy living and physical activity.” To learn more, see: http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/160/4/432.

Small Bites

- Not by bread alone: A person can live for a month without food, but only about a week without water.

- A drop in the bucket: Less than one percent of fresh water, equaling only 0.01 percent of the total water on earth, is usable.

- A drip in the bucket: It takes up to 40 percent more water to grow a tomato using traditional irrigation systems than using drip systems.

- A growing problem: Today, 70 percent of the world’s water is used for crop irrigation.

- Corn by the gallon: It takes between 100 and 250 gallons of water to grow a pound of corn.

- Steak by the gallon: It may take as much 8,500 gallons of water to grow the grain to produce a pound of beef.

mvauthier :: Apr.14.2006 :: Foodlinks America :: No Comments »:: Print This Post

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