Foodlinks America - December 4, 2009
Foodlinks America - December 4, 2009
In this issue:
• Obama Administration Responds to Hunger Numbers
• SNAP Shots
• Proposed Legislation
• Study Finds Food Waste Increasing in the U.S.
• TEFAP Tidbits
• Obesity Round-Up
• Reports from the Field – Roseburg, OR
• 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, submit story ideas, or unsubscribe, contact Barbara Vauthier at: bvauthier@tefapalliance.org.
Obama Administration Responds to Hunger Numbers
The mid-November release of national food security figures by the federal government was sobering for most Americans, but no surprise to the nearly 50 million people who struggled to get adequate food on a daily basis last year. The fact that almost one in four children lived in “food insecure” households in 2008 generated both concern and calls to action.
President Barack Obama reacted to the data by renewing his pledge to turn the situation around. “As American families prepare to gather for Thanksgiving,” said Obama, “we received an unsettling report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA] that found that hunger rose significantly last year. This trend was already painfully clear in many communities across our nation, where food stamp applications are surging and food pantry shelves are emptying.”
“My Administration is committed to reversing the trend of rising hunger,” the Chief Executive emphasized. Economic recovery is a major element of the plan to reverse the tide. “The first task is to restore job growth, which will help relieve the economic pressures that make it difficult for parents to put a square meal on the table each day,” Obama stated.
The Administration’s hunger response will focus on feeding children and bolstering the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps. “It is particularly troubling,” the President continued, “that there were more than 500,000 families in which a child experienced hunger multiple times over the course of the year. Our children’s ability to grow, learn, and meet their full potential – and therefore our future competitiveness as a nation – depends on regular access to healthy meals.”
“[USDA] Secretary Vilsack is working hard to make sure eligible families are able to access those benefits as well as the School Lunch and Breakfast Program,” Obama noted. “In addition, a bill I signed into law last month invests $85 million in new strategies to prevent children from experiencing hunger in the summer.”
“But we are also taking targeted steps to prevent Americans from experiencing hunger,” said the President, whose household received food stamps during his childhood. “Earlier this year, we extended help to those hit hardest by this economic downturn by boosting SNAP benefits.” The Administration’s food stamp policy is also trying to tackle the “complex and difficult enrollment process” that characterizes the SNAP program and has kept an estimated one-third of potential eligibles from accessing food stamp benefits.
In a November 20, 2009 letter to SNAP state administrators, USDA Deputy Under Secretary Kevin Concannon said that complicated food stamp rules “have not served our clients or our taxpayers well” and that well-operated food stamp programs “are essential to good nutrition and well-being, especially in tough economic times.” Concannon was particularly critical of state efforts to outsource food stamp enrollment and eligibility processing to private for-profit firms. “We believe that the outsourcing of key processing duties to for-profit organizations is an unwise use of state and federal resources that undermines program accountability,” he commented. Outsourcing contracts in Texas and Indiana in recent years have been dismal failures.
Instead, Concannon urged states to explore available food stamp options, such as employing non-profit groups to conduct outreach, lifting asset limits, and expanding the use of technology by improving call centers, online applications, and electronic case filings. “Hunger is a problem that we can solve together and – and help keep America competitive in the decades to come,” summed up President Obama.
SNAP Shots
Caseload growth pervasive across the country: More than one in eight Americans now receives benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps, and the rolls are increasing by about 20,000 people per day as the recession drags on. In the meantime, however, SNAP is keeping local economies from sinking even further. According to recent news reports, there are 239 counties in the U.S. where at least a quarter of the population receives food stamps. In over 750 counties, SNAP is helping to feed one-third of African Americans.
Children are being aided substantially by food stamps. In more than 800 counties nationwide, one in three children is getting this critical nutrition assistance. In the mid-American cities of St. Louis, Memphis, and New Orleans, half the children get food stamp benefits. Even in Peoria, Illinois – the proverbial Everytown, USA – the figure is 40 percent. In the Bronx, 46 percent of children are on food stamps. In East Carroll Parish, Louisiana, SNAP helps three in four children.
“This is the most urgent time for our feeding programs in our lifetime, with the exception of the Depression,” noted Kevin Concannon, the Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). “It’s time to face up to the fact that in this country of plenty, there are hungry people.”
Participation rates analyzed: Although SNAP usage is rising rapidly, approximately one in three people potentially eligible for the program do not receive benefits, according to an analysis of participation rates in 2007 recently released by USDA. In that year, nearly 100 percent of eligible people in Missouri took advantage of the program, followed by Maine at 91 percent and Michigan at 89 percent. On the other end of the scale, Wyoming enrolled only an estimated 47 percent of the eligible caseload. California served 48 percent of eligibles and Idaho just half. Overall, participation was highest in the Midwest and Mountain Plains regions and lowest in the West and Southwest. For more particulars, go to: http://www.fns.usda.gov/cga/PressReleases/2009/PR-0589.htm.
Application wording on expenses clarified: Clarification on the treatment of unreported and unverified expenses on state SNAP applications is the subject of a November 18, 2009 memorandum from USDA. States develop their own SNAP applications without approval from USDA. And though state agencies are responsible for ensuring that all eligible households receive the benefits to which they are entitled, a household cannot be held responsible for failing to report information, or for not verifying information, if the household is not aware of the requirement.
As an example, USDA notes that, “there is a wide range of deductible medical expenses that are not readily apparent to clients, such as transportation costs.” However, many state applications warn clients that, “Failure to report or verify any of the above expenses will be seen as a statement by your household that you do not want to receive a deduction for the unreported expense.” In the memo, USDA provides guidance to states on six issues arising from the inclusion of such wording on their applications. For further discussion, see: http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/whats_new.htm and click on item number five for fiscal year 2010.
Unemployment payments excluded: A November 19, 2009 USDA memo notes that due to a recent change in law, $25 supplemental weekly unemployment compensation payments that some people have been receiving should no longer be counted as income or resources for SNAP purposes. Link to item number six for fiscal year 2010 at http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/whats_new.htm for more information.
Proposed Legislation
Among bills recently introduced in the 111th session of the U.S. Congress are the following:
House Resolution (H.R.) 4148: Introduced by Representative David Loebsack (D-IA) and 13 bipartisan co-sponsors, the Hunger Free School Act would improve and expand direct certification procedures for the national school lunch and breakfast programs.
H.R. 4163: Introduced by Representative Joe Baca (D-CA) and one co-sponsor, the Feed All Struggling Americans Act would amend the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to exclude from income unemployment benefits received for a continuous period exceeding 26 weeks.
Senate (S.) 2805: Introduced by Senator Arlen Spector (D-PA), this bill would increase to $500 million the amount made available to purchase commodities for The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) in fiscal year 2010.
For bill summary and status information, along with the text of legislation, visit: http://thomas.loc.gov/ and enter the bill number.
Study Finds Food Waste Increasing in the U.S.
An estimated 40 percent of all food produced in America is discarded, a figure that has increased by half over the past 25 years, according to a new federal report. Each day, every American puts about 1,400 calories worth of food in the garbage, according to researchers at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), who published their findings in the November 25, 2009 issue of the journal PLoS ONE.
Food waste has increased 50 percent since previous estimates were made in 1974 and now totals some 150 trillion calories per year. The NIDDK figures are also about 25 percent higher than other food waste calculations made in recent years. Food waste occurs at the manufacturing level and during distribution, but researchers note that more than half of the waste results from inefficient use and spoilage at the household level.
Following up on recent reports that millions of Americans experience “food insecurity,” the NIDDDK findings again emphasize that there is plenty of food available to feed hungry people in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world, the problem is that it is not distributed where it is needed most.
There are huge implications for tackling the food waste problem. “Addressing the oversupply of food energy in the U.S. may help curb the obesity epidemic as well as decrease food waste, which has profound environmental consequences,” claim the NIDDK researchers, since “Food waste contributes to excess consumption of freshwater and fossil fuels which, along with methane and CO2 [carbon dioxide] emissions from decomposing food, impacts global climate change.”
For further information, go to: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0007940.
TEFAP Tidbits
Farm Bill amendments finalized: The U.S. Department of Agriculture published final rules in the November 30, 2009 Federal Register to implement changes in The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) made by the 2008 Farm Bill. In particular, the new regulations make state plans permanent, an action which is intended to reduce the administrative burden on states. In addition, the rule explicitly designates the processing of donated wild game as an allowable use of TEFAP administrative funds, which is intended to increase the amount and variety of protein-rich foods available to program participants. For further details, see the Federal Register notice at: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-28611.htm.
Obesity Round-Up
Health-related costs projected to skyrocket: Warning of “a worrisome escalation in preventable diseases that will significantly increase costs in an already unaffordable medical care delivery system,” the national group America’s Health Rankings (AHR) said in its latest annual report that “Obesity is growing faster than any previous chronic health issue our nation has faced.” Obesity has grown nearly 130 percent in the past 20 years.
If current trends hold, AHR predicts that 103 million American adults, an estimated 43 percent of the population, will be obese by 2018. Moreover, direct obesity-related health care costs will total $344 billion in 2018, equaling more than 21 percent of all such spending. To learn more, go to: http://www.americashealthrankings.org/Obesity.aspx and click on “full report.
Obesity rates by county publicized: Obesity reports on a state-by-state level can now be dissected even further – down to the county level. Research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), released in November 2009, found that “wide sections of the Southeast, Appalachia, and some tribal lands in the West and Northern Plains have the nation’s highest rates of obesity and diabetes. In many counties in those regions, rates of diagnosed diabetes exceed 10 percent and obesity prevalence is more than 30 percent.”
The highest obesity rates in 2007 among the nation’s approximately 3,000 counties were in Greene and Dallas Counties in Alabama and Holmes, Humphreys, and Jefferson Counties in Mississippi. Counties with the lowest rates for both obesity and diabetes were out West – Boulder County, CO, Santa Fe County, NM, and Summit County, UT. Obesity in those counties was about 13 percent.
Obesity experts claim the more specific data is important. “In the end, it comes down to those that have to direct resources at the local level,” said Dr. Miriam Vos, a professor of pediatrics at Emory School of Medicine in Atlanta. “It’s not something that can change easily at the federal level,” she added. For further information, see: http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html#County.
Pass on the movie popcorn: Cinema lovers know that movie theater popcorn is laden with fat and salt and is offered in huge serving sizes. The damage such fare can do to a diet was detailed recently by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) in Washington, D.C. CSPI analyzed popcorn at three movie theater chains – AMC, Cinemark, and Regal – and found all samples to be excessive.
“The issue here is quantity,” remarked Dr. Marion Nestle, a nutrition professor at New York University. “One of those large tubs is three-fourths of a day’s calories. If you were eating just a cup or two, it wouldn’t matter much.” But the amounts are so excessive, said Nestle, “You could share a tub of popcorn with 10 friends. Or, what a concept, watch the movie without eating anything.”
Reports from the Field – Roseburg, OR
The huge surge nationwide in applications for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamps, has made the job of state eligibility worker much harder for those on the front lines, as the following article by Kathy Korengel from the November 8, 2009 edition of the Roseburg, Oregon News-Review describes:
Joyce Pusch used to have two spare drawers in her filing cabinet at her Oregon Department of Human Services office in Roseburg. But in the past few years, the eligibility worker’s caseload has grown so quickly her filing cabinet is filled to the brim with folders of information on families needing help. And another three boxes full of folders have piled up under her desk.
Pusch, who has worked for the state-funded social service agency for a decade, shared the anecdote in a recent interview to illustrate how the need for social services has soared since 2006 in Douglas County. Pusch and Jenny Boyle, the self-sufficiency program manager at the Harvard Avenue office, say the uptick is an indicator of the county’s sagging economy.
From October 2006 to October of this year, the number of families applying for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly called the Food Stamp Program, has shot up from 8,388 families to 12,097 families, a 44 percent increase. Families applying for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, previously known as welfare, has risen too in the same time period – from 669 to 857 families, a 28 percent spike.
“Usually they’ve been laid off due to a plant closure or a lack of work,” Pusch said of the newcomers. Pusch and Boyle said the economic downturn has changed the demographics of those who show up at DHS’s door as well. “There’s more people that have never been on assistance or that it’s been a long time since they’ve been on assistance,” Pusch said.
She’s also been seeing more two-parent households, “moms and dads and kids and single adults with degrees,” she said. “I mean, they have degrees and they can’t get work.” Boyle said eligibility workers also have noticed more homeowners among those who seek the department’s help. “A lot of them are struggling to keep their mortgages,” she said. “They’re worried they’re going to lose their homes.” “It’s real hard for them to come in and a lot of them wait,” sometimes maxing out their credit cards before they turn to DHS for help, Pusch added.
As many of the new faces at DHS are receiving unemployment, they don’t qualify for TANF. So, mainly they are seeking help through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, or for help with paying medical bills, because they and their children have lost their medical insurance, Pusch said.
As the ranks of the needy have swelled, those needing help have sometimes had to wait up to two weeks to get appointments to receive services, Boyle said. In response, DHS recently revamped how it does its job, slashing that wait time, Boyle said. “Most often they’ll be seen within 30 minutes … although not always,” she said.
The biggest change has been how workers help people who walk through the door for the first time. In the past, eligibility workers spent the majority of their day helping people who had made appointments. Now, all workers have to be available to help people who just walk into the office. “If you’re here and at work, you have to be available to see a client coming in the door,” Boyle said.
Another major change meant to address the greater need is in the works. The local office is in the process of hiring 15 more staff members – eight eligibility workers, six clerical support staff and an operations manager to supervise the new staff members. “It will really give us some relief,” Boyle said, while noting the new staff members won’t be trained until June, so those who go to the office will not see an influx of new eligibility workers right away.
The office, and other offices statewide, are working on other ways to improve service to clients, from implementing electronic appointment scheduling to streamlining how eligibility workers keep track of cases. Like others outside the DHS office, DHS staff members are starting to see glimmers of a slightly rosier economy on the horizon.
This month, only 28 additional families applied for SNAP over last month – the lowest increase Boyle has seen in awhile, she said. The number of families applying for TANF actually dropped by 21 from the previous month. “I was excited,” Boyle said. She added, however, it’s unclear if the number of families seeking help has dropped because they’ve found work or because they’ve moved out of the area in search of greener employment pastures.
Pusch is even more cautious about what the future holds. “Next month it could make a flip-flop,” she said. Meeting residents’ immediate needs is what she focuses on. And although she realizes it may be hard for those who have lost a job to seek help from DHS, she encourages them to try. “If they’re having a hard time and struggling, we may be able to supplement them,” Pusch said. “They are the people we’re here for. If they’re having a hard time, then we can help them get over the bump.”
Small Bites
Soda sells: Carbonated beverages are the top selling grocery item in U.S. supermarkets, with consumers spending $12 billion on them last year.
“Cow juice” comes in at number two: At $11.2 billion, milk was the second biggest item sold in supermarkets, though sales have been declining in recent years.
Our daily bread: In the number three position for supermarket sales was the $9.57 billion spent on fresh bread and rolls.
Suds and chips are popular: Beer was the fourth largest grocery sales item, followed by salty snacks.
Favorite foods: Natural cheeses occupied the number six spot for supermarket sales, followed by frozen dinners and entrees at number seven and cold cereal at number eight.
Sippin’ and smokin’: Rounding out the supermarket sales top ten were wine at number nine and cigarettes at number 10.
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