TEFAP Alliance Blog

Foodlinks America - May 12, 2006

In this issue:

· Appropriations Moving though Budget Deadlock Continues
· Farm Bill Future Still Hazy
· Feds to Conduct Farmers’ Market Survey
· Hunger Awareness Day is June 6
· Obesity Round-Up
· WIC Watch
· Asparagus Coming, but Bonus Commodities Still Lacking
· Reports from the Field
· 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.

Appropriations Moving though Budget Deadlock Continues

The stalemate on the 2007 budget resolution continued in the House of Representatives this week, as moderate Republicans insist on additional spending for health and education programs. But that did not stop the Appropriations Committee from passing a fiscal year 2007 appropriations bill for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on May 9, 2006. The bill authorizes a total of about $94 billion next year, including nearly $76 billion in mandatory spending and $18.4 billion in discretionary resources.

The Committee had a little leeway on additional spending due to reduced funding needed for the Food Stamp Program in 2007. Food stamp participation continues to decline as program eligibility ends for victims of last year’s hurricanes, and USDA estimates that caseload will decrease by another 1.1 million people, saving $2.8 billion next year.

Nutrition assistance programs for children were allocated additional funds for modest growth. School and child care meal services were provided $13.3 billion, $685 million above last year. The Committee approved $5.244 billion for the WIC Program, $40 million over fiscal 2006 levels.

Spending amounts for several other key programs were maintained at current levels. The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) was provided $140 million for commodity purchases and $50 million for storage and distribution. The WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) was held at $20 million, while support for the Senior FMNP was maintained at the current $15 million.

In what the Food Research and Action Center in Washington, D.C. called “a resounding victory for anti-hunger advocates,” the Appropriations Committee rejected the Administration’s proposal to eliminate the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) next year. In fact, the CSFP may not only be continued, but expanded. With five states on a waiting list to initiate the program, the Committee provided $118.3 million next year, well above the current year’s $107.2 million appropriation.

The agriculture appropriations bill is the first of 11 annual spending bills to clear the Appropriations Committee. It is scheduled to be considered by the full House during the week of May 15.

Farm Bill Future Still Hazy

Congress is in a quandary about how to proceed on renewing the Farm Bill, a major piece of legislation that is critical for nutrition assistance programs in the U.S. The current Farm Bill, enacted in 2002, authorizes the Food Stamp Program, The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) and the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP), and expires in September 2007.

The major factors affecting the future of the Farm Bill are the federal budget and international trade negotiations, neither of which is close to being resolved.

Congress has been unable to reach agreement on a budget blueprint for 2007 and future years, including projected funds that will be needed to implement the next Farm Bill. The World Trade Organization (WTO) talks in Doha, Qatar – known as the Doha Round – were not completed last month as originally scheduled, and continue to drag on. Consequently, momentum is growing for an extension of the current Farm Bill until these issues are resolved. Earlier this month Representatives Jim Talent (R-MO) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) introduced a bill to extend the 2002 Farm Bill until the Doha Round trade negotiations are complete.

Nutrition assistance programs probably will not be affected directly by the WTO framework, but within the larger context of government agriculture policy, they may need to be tweaked. The outcome of the WTO talks will likely affect domestic farm subsidies as well as international trade, both of which impact the availability of commodities for federal programs.

In the meantime, for farm interests, it’s a waiting game. “It is in our country’s best interest – both economically and from a national security standpoint – that we extend our current agriculture policy until these trade laws can be finalized,” said Representative Lincoln. “We must maintain the current framework until we know the rules of the game,” added Representative Talent.

Feds to Conduct Farmers’ Market Survey

Want to know how important farmers’ markets are as a source of income for farmers? Or what draws customers to farmers’ markets? Answers and trends should be available next year, once the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) compiles results from its 2006 Farmers’ Market Survey. The data collected will show how farmers’ markets have changed since 2001, when USDA last polled market managers.

Responses will also provide information on changes in the mix of goods sold at markets, how markets are administered and promoted, and describe the primary challenges facing the nation’s approximately 3,400 farmers’ market managers. To review the survey, go to: http://www.farmersmarketsurvey.com.

Hunger Awareness Day is June 6

Nationwide and local organizations throughout the country are gearing up to participate in the fifth annual National Hunger Awareness Day on June 6, 2006, to help raise awareness about hunger in America and how to alleviate it. National sponsors of the event range from corporate entities like the Food Marketing Institute to public sector groups such as the U.S. Conference of Mayors and non-profits, like Bread for the World and America’s Second Harvest.

A variety of local activities around the nation, especially at food banks, will highlight the problem of hunger. In Florida, the Annual Jacksonville Food Fight will bring together over 50 restaurants and beverage wholesalers to raise money through food tastings, live entertainment, and an auction of sports memorabilia. The Roadrunner Food Bank in Albuquerque will sponsor the 2006 Food Boxing Olympics, a competition to fill food boxes for low-income seniors.

The Good Shepherd Food Bank in Auburn, ME will stage its third Annual Ride Against Hunger, with bikers riding from Lewiston to Auburn. In Austin, TX, the Capital Area Food Bank will host “A Gift of Produce” – a colorful display of 250,000 pounds of fresh produce along the lakefront downtown – that will be distributed to recipient agencies.

To learn more about Hunger Awareness Day or events in your area, go to: http://www.hungerday.org/content/index.php.

Obesity Round-Up

· School soda sales to be curtailed: With a push from a former President, the nation’s three largest beverage distribution companies announced on May 3 that they would revise their sales policies to eliminate sugary soft drinks from schools over the next three years. Under the new policy, only water, unsweetened juice, and low-fat or non-fat milk will be sold in elementary and middle schools. Diet sodas and sports drinks will still be available in high schools. Serving sizes will also be reduced.

The initiative was brokered by Bill Clinton, on behalf of the William J. Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association, in conjunction with the American Beverage Association, whose biggest members – Cadbury Schweppes, Coca-Cola, and PepsiCo – control 87 percent of the school drink market. “This is a truly bold step forward in the struggle to help 35 million young people lead healthier lives,” stated Clinton, whose foundation has focused on childhood obesity. “This one policy can add years and years and years to the lives of a very large number of young people,” he said.

The new guidelines, however, are voluntary and the industry has not pledged compliance until the 2009-2010 school year. Although The Wall Street Journal stated that the move “represents another retreat by soda companies,” the paper also pointed out that the new policy will affect less than one percent of sales by the big bottlers. “The sale of sugar-carbonated sodas in schools is a tiny, tiny part of their overall volume,” pointed out John Sicher, editor of the trade publication, Beverage Digest. “Financially, on the big companies, it will have virtually no impact,” he said.

· What the students say: At the recent national Young Epidemiology Scholars Competition in Washington, D.C., award-winning high school students were asked what should be done to counter the obesity epidemic among children and youth. Many of the finalists researched obesity and related issues like body image and exercise for the Competition, sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which offered scholarship awards.

A “shock and awe campaign” that shows the consequences of obesity may motivate some to lose weight, suggested Christopher Chen of San Marino, CA, who studied nutrition interventions among Asian-Americans. “People fill voids in their lives with food,” noted Sesha Hanson-Drury of Richmond, WA, who found more obesity among unhappy and insecure high school students in her research.

People need to find a hobby or a passion to fill those voids, said Jasper Sneff Nanni of Philadelphia, who urged mandatory participation in sports during middle school and the first two years of high school to help young people develop lifelong, athletic habits. “They may find they have a tremendous ability that they probably never would have discovered otherwise. There should be the opportunity for everyone to be involved athletically in their school,” he added, with both low-intensity (golf, ping-pong, badminton) and high intensity (football, basketball, tennis) sports at the varsity, intramural, and club team level.

· Another push on industry: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Health and Human Services released a report on May 2, 2006 calling on the food industry to change its practices in regard to food marketing and childhood obesity. The report, based on the outcomes of a national workshop held in the summer of 2005, recommends: the creation of new or the reformulation of existing products to make them lower in calories and more nutritious; control over portion sizes, more informative labeling, and the revision of marketing practices, among other actions. To learn more, go to: http://ftc.gov/opa/2006/05/childhoodobesity.htm.

· Seeing ourselves as others see us?: Most Americans acknowledge that their fellow citizens are fat, but that does not seem to apply to themselves and their friends, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center in Washington, D.C. Nine in ten adults surveyed said most Americans are overweight. But only seven in ten believe this about “the people they know.” Although national statistics show that two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese, only 39 percent said they themselves are. Explore the discrepancies at: http://pewresearch.org/social/pack.php?PackID=8.

WIC Watch

· WIC gets good marks on nutrition: The Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently released a brief that summarizes studies that assess the nutrient intake of WIC children, compared to income-eligible children not participating in the program, and children ineligible for the program. The studies recorded success in delivering the key WIC-targeted nutrients, including a number of vitamins and minerals. However, WIC was not as effective in raising levels of Vitamin E and dietary fiber.

“It appears that of the original nutrients targeted by WIC, protein, calcium, vitamin A, and vitamin C are no longer lacking in the diets of preschool children in the United States,” the brief concluded, though “overconsumption of energy may be a problem for both WIC and non-WIC children.” For details, see: http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/EB8/.

· Getting the most out of infant formula rebates: Savings from infant formula rebates in recent years have allowed the WIC Program to serve an additional two million participants annually. But those funds may be in jeopardy if formula prices follow recent trends and begin to rise. That was the conclusion of the General Accounting Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress, in a report released in March 2006.

The report, which examines WIC rebate levels for fiscal years 1999 to 2004, found that in the latter year, states paid an average of 20 cents for a can of formula with a wholesale price of up to $3.57. “But if recent increases in the average price states pay per can of infant formula continue, the number of participants that can be served with rebate savings is likely to fall,” the GAO concluded. The report urges federal and state WIC agencies to continue efforts to maintain the rebates. To learn more, go to: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/…directory=/diskb/wais/data/gao.

Asparagus Coming, but Bonus Commodities Still Lacking

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on May 9, 2006 that it will purchase up to two million pounds of canned asparagus and two million pounds of frozen asparagus to be donated to child nutrition and other domestic food assistance programs, including The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP).

The asparagus will help feed hungry Americans, but overall USDA purchases of price-supported and surplus (or “bonus”) commodities continues to lag behind recent years. For example, the asparagus purchase is only 82 percent of the asparagus USDA provided to child nutrition and food distribution programs last year, when it bought a total of 4.9 million pounds. And the fiscal year 2006 total is only 56 percent of the more than seven million pounds of asparagus that USDA bought in fiscal year 2004.

The reduced government supplies are getting media attention. “Food pantries around the state [of New Hampshire] are struggling to keep their shelves stocked, due to cutbacks in the amount of federal surplus foods,” the Associated Press reported on May 8, 2006. The article goes on to explain that USDA provides “entitlement” commodities to every state.

“However, ‘bonus commodities’ beyond the entitlement amount have been cut drastically this year. Last year, bonus foods comprised nearly three-quarters of what the USDA sent to the state – 43 truckloads, said Randy Emerson. This year, Emerson hopes to get 25 truckloads. He works for Community Action Program Belknap-Merrimack Counties, which contracts with the state to deliver USDA commodities.”

“On paper, we’re not being cut because funding for the entitlement isn’t being cut. But there’s less surplus being purchased,” he said. “The end result is that we’re getting less food.”

Reports from the Field

· An article published in the April 23, 2006 Times Herald-Record in Middletown, NY, under the headline of “The high cost of low wages,” gave new meaning to the term “counterculture:”

Not so long ago here, retail jobs belonged to part-timers, to teenagers, to moms working for spending cash, to retired people looking to stay busy.

Today, while housing prices hover around $300,000, one-third of the workforce in Orange County [New York] stands behind counters, making change.

They say they’re overworked, underpaid and unhappy.

Call it the counter culture. It’s the largest and fastest-growing segment of private industry employees in the country and our region.

Toiling in it are the region’s lowest-paid workers. They can’t afford to buy homes, pay for college or rent decent apartments. Only about half have health insurance. And around them, beneath their feet, the chasm between the haves and have-nots is widening.

The members of this counter culture are stressed-out staffers like Anine Harrison, who works the cash register, doles out lottery tickets and serves up everything from kielbasa to ice cream at Stewart’s in Monticello.

She makes $10.25 per hour - $2 or $3 more than the rest of the mostly part-time workers at her store. “If I didn’t have a husband, I’d be on welfare,” Harrison says, “because I’d make more money that way.”

This region’s transformation into a suburb of New York City contributes to the retail trend, says Orange County Planning Commissioner David Church. As more people who can afford those $300,000 homes move here, bringing their New York City incomes with them, they demand more. So more stores and restaurants open in a fiercely competitive market. And they need low-paid workers.

Talk to those workers, and you hear the quiet despair of a woman who’s spent 14 years behind the cosmetics counter at Filene’s at the Galleria - including eight days in a row recently - and must get an additional job to pay the bills. “I’m so tired,” says Janet Dolson, sitting in front of rows of everything from anti-aging cream to Juicy Rouge lipstick.

You hear the frustration of working in a field where half the workers didn’t get raises last year and two-thirds say their workload increased. “This sucks,” says an assistant manager in a sneaker shop at the Galleria, who makes the same $9 an hour she made last year. She can’t pay for college on that salary. She can’t afford an apartment. So the woman in her 20s lives at home with her parents. And sees no easy way out.

The pay issue works to create what Annette Bernhardt of New York University’s Brennan Center of Justice calls “a two-tiered society.” Or, as Dolson, who works at Filene’s, says:
“There’s only rich and poor.”

The discrepancies are becoming increasingly visible in our communities. An $8-an-hour job pays $320 for a 40-hour week, before taxes. The average one-bedroom rent in Orange County last year was $815 a month, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. That would leave only about $400 a month for taxes, food, gasoline, car payment, insurance, heat, electric, phone and clothing. According to the Coalition, a person would need to earn $19.19 an hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment and still have money for living expenses such as food and transportation.

For all of us, the implications of this counter culture, where more people work for less money, range far beyond economics.

When people spend more time trying to make ends meet, our communities suffer, says Melissa Everett of Sustainable Hudson Valley. Workers have less time to join volunteer fire departments or planning boards, attend town board meetings or stay in with their families. “You lose a say in your community because you’re too busy working,” says Everett. “With raising kids and working, who has time for anything else?” asks Harrison, the Stewart’s worker, who has two children.

Plus, when more people make less money and work harder, we all pay. Counter culture workers are twice as likely to receive government benefits like Medicaid or food stamps as are other workers.

In the next eight years, the counter culture will see the largest job growth of any segment of workers in the country, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. That means the chances of these workers finding jobs in other fields will be even slimmer.

· Some among the “counter culture” may not be poor, but close to it. Other people in the “near poor” economic strata are increasingly at economic risk, as noted in an article in The New York Times on May 8, 2006:

Americans on the lower rungs of the economic ladder have always been exposed to sudden ruin. But in recent years, with the soaring costs of housing and medical care and a decline in low-end wages and benefits, tens of millions are living on even shakier ground than before, according to studies of what some scholars call the “near poor.”

“There’s strong evidence that over the past five years, record numbers of lower-income Americans find themselves in a more precarious economic position than at any time in recent memory,” said Mark R. Rank, a sociologist at Washington University in St. Louis and the author of “One Nation, Underprivileged: Why American Poverty Affects Us All.”

In a rare study of vulnerability to poverty, Mr. Rank and his colleagues found that the risk of a plummet of at least a year below the official poverty line rose sharply in the 1990’s, compared with the two previous decades. By all signs, he said, such insecurity has continued to worsen.

For all age groups except those 70 and older, the odds of a temporary spell of poverty doubled in the 1990’s, Mr. Rank reported in a 2004 paper [he co-authored] titled, “The Increase of Poverty Risk and Income Insecurity in the U.S. Since the 1970s.” For example, during the 1980’s, around 13 percent of Americans in their 40’s spent at least one year below the poverty line; in the 1990’s, 36 percent of people in their 40’s did, according to the analysis.

Comparable figures for this decade will not be available for several years, but other indicators — a climbing poverty rate and rising levels of family debt — suggest a deepening insecurity, poverty experts and economists say. More people work in jobs without health coverage, including temporary or contract jobs that may offer no benefits or even access to unemployment insurance. Medicaid is offered to fewer adults (though to more children). Cash welfare benefits are harder to secure, and their real value has eroded.

About 37 million Americans lived below the federal poverty line in 2004, set at $19,157 a year for a family of four. But far more people, another 54 million, were in households earning between the poverty line and double the poverty line. “We don’t track this group of people, and they are very vulnerable,” said Katherine S. Newman, a Princeton University sociologist.

Small Bites

The plow or the hoosegow? Fewer Americans are full-time farmers (less than one percent of the population) than are full-time prisoners.

Busy as a bee: To make one kilo of honey, bees must visit four million flowers, traveling a distance equal to four times around the earth.

Getting back in range: In the 1950s, some 80 percent of chickens in the U.S. and Europe were free-range. By 1980, that dropped to one percent, but has climbed back to 13 percent today.

Building obesity: It takes 3,500 calories to make a pound of fat.

Unless you eat rabbit food: Carrots have zero fat content.

Just not all at once: The average person eats almost 1,500 pounds of food a year.

mvauthier :: May.12.2006 :: Foodlinks America :: No Comments »:: Print This Post

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