Foodlinks America - April 13, 2007
Foodlinks America - April 13, 2007
In this issue:
• Budget Resolution Being Negotiated
• Income Gap Becoming A Chasm
• Proposed Legislation
• Commodity Option for Senior Meals Restored
• Food Stamp Facts
• Obesity Round-Up
• Non-traditional Venues Yield Tons of Food
• Small Bites
Foodlinks America is published 24 times a year by California Emergency Foodlink in Sacramento, CA and distributed by Weinberg & Vauthier Consulting, 6412 CR 116, 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.
Budget Resolution Being Negotiated
Members of the House and Senate Budget Committees will begin meeting shortly in conference to reconcile differences between the fiscal year 2008 budget resolutions passed by the two Houses. The House of Representatives endorsed its budget plan on March 29, 2007 by a close 216-210 vote. Six days earlier, the Senate had approved its resolution by a margin of 52-47.
The final budget resolution has significant implications for federal food assistance efforts. Funding levels for food stamps, commodity distribution programs, and the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program will all be affected by the budget for the Farm Bill, the five-year plan being renewed this year that impacts both agriculture and nutrition policy. Key differences to be resolved stem from House provisions that: make a statement of anti-hunger intentions; provide $5 billion than the Senate figure for a Farm Bill reserve account; and set a higher level for overall of spending on domestic discretionary programs.
Advocates favor the House version. “The House Budget Committee’s fiscal year 2008 budget resolution provides an opportunity to make modest but important progress in the fight against hunger. It rejects cuts to the nutrition safety net proposed by the President’s budget and instead allows for potential new investments vitally needed to improve the adequacy and reach of food stamp benefits,†claimed Jim Weill, president of the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) in Washington, D.C. “We will support its passage even as we continue to seek broader relief for our nation’s hungry people,†he added.
Congressional action on the Farm Bill is expected to begin in May following passage of a final budget resolution.
Income Gap Becoming A Chasm
In 21st Century America, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. The latest analysis of government income data shows that income inequality increased significantly in 2005. For the top one percent of Americans – those with income above $348,000 annually – income rose 14 percent last year, while for the bottom 90 percent of earners, income actually dropped last year by $172 or 0.6 percent.
Gains for the super-rich were even greater. The top one-tenth of one percent, or 300,000 Americans, collectively earned nearly as much as the bottom 150 million people. Income for this upper echelon was 440 times that of the average person in the bottom half, the greatest income inequality since 1929 and a doubling of the gap since 1980.
“If the economy is growing and only a few are enjoying the benefits, it goes to our sense of fairness. It can have important political consequences,†said Emmanuel Saez, a University of California at Berkeley economics professor who, along with his colleague Thomas Piketty, analyzed Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data.
Moreover, the income disparities may be even greater than reported. Saez and Piketty noted that upper income earners tend to file their taxes late, thereby understating the growing inequality, which was based on preliminary data. In addition, although the IRS estimates that it accurately collects 99 percent of wage income data, it only captures about 70 percent of investment and business income, which predominantly accrues to upper-income individuals.
Overall, the progressivity of the U.S. federal tax system has declined dramatically in the past 40 years, raising significant public policy issues. “The nation faces some very tough choices in the coming years,†said Robert Greenstein, executive director of the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington, D.C. “That such a large share of the income gains are going to the very top, at a minimum, raises serious questions abut continuing to provide tax cuts averaging over $150,000 a year to people making more than a million dollars a year, while saying we do not have enough money†to meet the basic needs of low-income people, such as health insurance.
Proposed Legislation
Among bills recently introduced in the 110th session of the U.S. Congress are the following:
• House Resolution (H.R.) 1551: Introduced by Representative Ron Kind (D-WI) and 86 bipartisan co-sponsors, the Healthy Farms, Foods, and Fuels Act would provide for increased funding and other changes for a number of nutrition assistance programs and initiatives. Provisions of the bill would: reauthorize, increase funding for, reduce matching requirements, and lengthen the duration of Community Food Projects grants; expand the fresh fruit and vegetable program to all elementary and secondary schools; increase funding for farm-to-cafeteria activities under the National School Lunch Program; extend the WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program and increase funding to $75 million annually by fiscal year 2012; reauthorize the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program and increase funding to $75 million annually by fiscal year 2012; increase funding for the Farmers’ Market Promotion Program (FMPP) to $25 million a year, with $5 million earmarked to support electronic benefits transfer (EBT) at farmers’ markets; establish a fruit and vegetable nutrition promotion program for eligible trade organizations; support the purchase of at least $400 million annually in specialty crops (fruits, vegetables, and tree nuts) for domestic food assistance programs; augment food stamp nutrition education efforts; and provide $10 million a year for five years to support a food stamp fruit and vegetable EBT pilot project.
• H.R. 1600: Introduced by Representative Dennis Cardoza (D-CA) and 78 bipartisan co-sponsors, the Equitable Agriculture Today (EAT) Healthy America Act would focus on support for specialty crop growers by increasing market access, encouraging consumption, and aiding family farmers. The bill has a number of provisions included in H.R. 1551 (above), including those affecting the fresh fruit and vegetable program, specialty crop purchases, WIC and Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Programs (FMNPs), food stamp nutrition education, and food stamp EBT pilot project, but also includes provisions for a school food preference study, an independent evaluation of federal commodity purchase procedures, and a decennial evaluation of WIC food packages.
• H.R. 1740: Introduced by Representative Maurice Hinchey and three bipartisan co-sponsors, this bill would amend federal law governing the Summer Food Service Program to allow simplified program requirements to be carried out in all states and by all program sponsors.
• Senate (S.) 541: Introduced by Senator Russell Feingold (D-WI), the Rural Opportunities Act would support local and regional sustainable bioenergy and biobased product use and production, including allowing schools to purchase locally produced foods for their food service and fruit and vegetable programs. The legislation would also increase funding for the WIC and Senior FMNPs and the FMPP.
• S. 919: Introduced by Senator Robert Menendez and four co-sponsors, the Healthy Farms, Foods, and Fuels Act is a companion bill to H.R. 1551 (above) and contains identical provisions.
• S. 1031: Introduced by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), the School Food Fresh Act would provide coordination and direction for commodity programs by establishing a multi-agency task force within the U.S. Department of Agriculture, offering grants for the development of product specifications for commodity food products, and increasing funds for the purchase of specialty crops.
For bill summary and status information, along with the text of legislation, visit: http://thomas.loc.gov and enter the bill number.
Commodity Option for Senior Meals Restored
Congress has taken action to allow states once again to receive government commodities to help prepare meals for elderly Americans. Under the Nutrition Services Incentive Program (NSIP), approximately $147 million annually is appropriated to the Administration on Aging within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to support congregate and home-delivered meal services to seniors. The NSIP supplements Nutrition Program for the Elderly (NPE) funding provided under the Older Americans Act (OAA).
In 2006, during the OAA reauthorization, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which was supplying commodities to some states under the NSIP, asked Congress to make a change in the program. It was not made clear at the time, however, that this change would not allow the seven states that were getting commodities to continue receiving them through USDA. Consequently, Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA), in conjunction with Senators Michael Enzi (R-WY) and Pat Roberts (R-KS), introduced legislation (S. 1002) last month to fix the problem.
“Without this correction,†said Senator Kennedy, “thousands of seniors in Massachusetts and a number of other states will be affected. Department of Agriculture commodities are much less expensive than what states can purchase on the commercial market and are of higher quality. The state distributing agency in Massachusetts has calculated that purchasing similar commodities would cost $1 million more a year, which would lead to 500,000 fewer meals served,†Kennedy added.
The bill faced no opposition and was rapidly enacted as a technical amendment to the OAA on March 28, 2007 and sent to the President for signature. The legislation will take effect in fiscal year 2008. Nonetheless, states will miss out on getting their commodities not only this year but maybe next year, too. The USDA cycle for ordering commodities for fiscal year 2008 is already underway, potentially delaying delivery of commodities to aging programs until well into calendar year 2009.
Food Stamp Facts
Participation dips down: National participation in the Food Stamp Program in January 2007 declined slightly – by 23,859 persons – from December 2006. In spite of the modest reduction, over 26.3 million Americans, nearly nine percent of the U.S. population, continued to receive food stamp benefits that month.
Food plan updated: The Thrifty Food Plan (TFP), the government’s basis for figuring food stamp benefits, has been revised by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The TFP “provides a representative healthful and minimal cost meal plan that shows how a nutritious diet may be achieved with limited resources,†according to USDA.
The TFP was last revised in 1999. The updated Thrifty Food Plan, 2006, presented in a 64-page report, has been based on the new dietary guidelines, adjusted for food consumption and nutrient content data, keyed to food prices, and re-tooled to require somewhat less food preparation from scratch than previous plans. To review the report, go to: http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/FoodPlans/misc%20pubs/TFP2006Report.pdf.
Pre-screening tool revised: A basic calculation for people to find out if they are eligible for food stamps and how much they might receive has been updated by USDA. The Stand Alone version of the “Step 1†pre-screening tool can be used to conduct outreach and predict eligibility using a personal computer in locations where no Internet connection is available. The tool is available in English and Spanish. To learn more, see: http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/outreach/stand-alone.htm.
Obesity Round-Up
Child obesity and the boob tube: Television advertising contributes to childhood obesity, with youth assaulted by thousands of TV ads annually for unhealthy foods, according to a report released on March 28, 2007 by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The Kaiser study found that eight to 12-year-olds see the most food commercials – an average of 21 per day or 7,600 per year. Children in the 13-17-year-old range see 17 daily, and the youngest group, ages two to seven, see 12 food ads per day.
“Food is the number one product advertised to kids,†said Vicky Rideout, a Kaiser Foundation vice president. “In this era when we are so concerned about childhood obesity, it’s surprising that food advertisements aimed at children are so overwhelmingly on the side of foods that kids should be eating less of, not more of,†she added. The study found that most of the food ads were for candy, snacks, cereals, and fast foods. No commercials viewed promoted fruit or vegetables.
“Food marketing aimed at kids is as bad as ever,†commented Margo Wootan of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington, D.C. consumer group. “There’s a lot of it, and it’s for unhealthy foods. If any parent tried to talk to their kids 10 or 20 times a day about healthy eating, they’d be considered the biggest nag ever, and yet that’s how many bad food messages kids are seeing on TV every day,†she said. To view the Kaiser report, go to: http://www.kff.org/entmedia/entmedia032807pkg.cfm.
Johnson Foundation to support child obesity initiative: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation announced on April 3, 2007 that it would spend more than $500 million over the next 10 years to fund anti-obesity activities directed at children. “This is an epidemic that is going to cost the country in terms of morbidity and mortality and economically,†said Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Monrey, the foundation’s president. “The younger generation is going to live sicker and die younger than their parents because of obesity. We’re going to try and change that,†she noted.
The foundation plans to support projects that will improve access to healthy food, encourage development of safe play spaces, increase research on obesity, and address public policy matters that impact obesity, such as the lack of supermarkets in low-income neighborhoods. This is the largest commitment any foundation has made to combat childhood obesity. To learn more, visit: http://www.rwjf.org/newsroom/featureDetail.jsp?featureID=2276&type=3.
Baby fat: Being overweight or obese can affect fertility. A study following more than 47,000 Danish couples trying to conceive found that if both partners were obese, they were almost three times more likely than normal-weight couples to need a year or more to conceive a child. When both partners were overweight (but not obese), they were 1.4 times more likely than normal-weight couples to take a year or more to conceive. Results were reported in the March 7, 2007 issue of Human Reproduction at: http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/dem035v1.
Hip complications: Technology advancements have made artificial hips stronger and longer-lasting and replacement a safer and more effective procedure. However, being obese affects the incidence of complications (infection, dislocation, and the need for revised surgery), especially for women, according to an article published in the March 2007 issue of Arthritis Care & Research. Obese women were twice as likely as normal-weight people to experience dislocations and infections, sometimes requiring a second surgery. For additional details, see: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/114131728/ABSTRACT.
Non-traditional Venues Yield Tons of Food
Not many people attend a rock concert thinking about food donations for the hungry. But in December 1990, such matters were on the mind of Syd Mandelbaum, a scientist by training, who was serving at the time on the board of directors of Long Island Cares, a regional food bank in New York. Mandelbaum met that month with Sandy Chapin, the widow of singer Harry Chapin, who also served on the food bank board, about ways to expand donations.
Ms. Chapin said they should talk with concert promoter Ron Delsener, who had worked with Harry Chapin, about leftover food from caterers who supplied entertainers and their entourages during concert tours. Mandelbaum and Delsener agreed to test the concept on a pilot basis in June 1991, with Mandelbaum picking up food after a concert and delivering it to a local soup kitchen in Queens. And Rock and Wrap It Up! (RWU) was born. Since then, the non-profit has secured over 20 million pounds of food for homeless and hungry people around the nation.
RWU’s two main donation engines are musicians and professional sports teams. “Working with the music industry, we teach band management how to use riders and contracts as harvesting tools,†said Mandelbaum. “High quality, leftover backstage food can be recovered in the majority of cities that bands play and tour. Food is picked up during the show and delivered immediately to a shelter of need,†he noted. RWU connects the performers with local volunteer groups who transport the food. Mandlebaum explained that bands sign certificates of appreciation for students who start programs in their school community and for supporters of the organization, valuable and often personalized autographs for appreciative fans.
A list of participating bands reads like a who’s who of the recording industry: The Allman Brothers Band, Beastie Boys, Goo Goo Dolls, Grateful Dead, Jimmy Buffet, Neil Diamond, Ozzy Osbourne, Phish, Rolling Stones, Sheryl Crow, U2, and The Who are among the more than 150 acts contributing through RWU.
Over the past two years, RWU has developed its Sports Wrap! program, in which sports franchises – baseball, football, basketball, and hockey – arrange to have their stadium-generated leftover concession food made available to feed the hungry. The New York Giants were the first to sign on, and they have now been joined by 19 other teams, including the New York Yankees, Mets, Jets, Nets, and Islanders, Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Atlanta Braves, and Detroit Tigers.
Other innovative approaches piloted by RWU are:
College Wrap! which teaches students to recover food from school cafeterias which is prepared but not served and to deliver the food to places of need. Additionally, during the school year, students coordinate major collections of clothing, baby items, toiletries, and book bags.
Mayors Initiative! works with elected officials to alter city contracts and permits for conventions, vending machines in public buildings, and events in city parks to generate food donations for local feeding agencies.
Everyone Wins on Election Night! where, every congressional election year, both political parties include RWU in their memos to state leaders to recover food from election night events.
Mandelbaum is the son of two Holocaust survivors from German concentration camps in World War II who emigrated to the U.S. and taught their son the ethic of not wasting any edible food. Though RWU’s primary mission is hunger relief, Mandelbaum said told the audience at the March 30, 2007 American Commodity Distribution Association conference in Orlando, FL, that he views the international charitable organization as a “think tank†dedicated to developing tactics and strategies to end poverty. “Food donations free up funds to put toward other, essential anti-poverty services, such as tutoring and job training,†he added.
To learn more, visit the RWU website at: http://www.rockandwrapitup.org/.
Small Bites
The five-second rule rules: Seventy percent of women and 56 percent of men familiar with the “five-second rule†for dropped food use it to make decisions on picking up a tasty morsel that may have slipped through their fingers.
And women favor it: Women are more likely than men to eat food that that has fallen on the floor.
How sweet it is: Candy and cookies are substantially more likely to be retrieved and eaten than vegetables like broccoli or cauliflower.
The rule should be overruled: Food dropped on a floor that contains microorganisms can become contaminated in less than five seconds.
Where you work: The average office desk has about 400 times more bacteria than the average toilet seat (and probably is cleaned less often).
And where you learn: Teachers’ desks have even more bacteria than the average office workspace.
mvauthier :: Apr.13.2007 :: Foodlinks America :: No Comments »:: Print This Post
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