TEFAP Alliance Blog

Foodlinks America - October 12, 2007

In this issue:

• Senate Farm Bill Still Under Construction
• Ethanol Overproduction Complicates Food vs. Fuel Debate
• EBT Development in WIC Inching Forward
• Farmers’ Market Funds Awarded for Diverse Projects
• Obesity Round-Up
• Saving Community Gardens in New York
• 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.

Senate Farm Bill Still Under Construction

As Congress returns from its Columbus Day recess next week, the Senate is still struggling to reach consensus on provisions of a 2007 Farm Bill that will renew federal agriculture and nutrition programs for the next five years. Billions of dollars for new programs and expansions of existing services are under consideration, along with various means of paying for them under the Democratic majority’s strict “pay-as-you-go” rules.

Senate Agriculture Committee chair Tom Harkin (D-IA) has yet to introduce a bill or publicly release any details of his plan. A mark-up session is tentatively planned for the week of October 22, but no firm date has been set. However, a discussion paper Harkin offered in late September gave a broad outline of his priorities to provide an overall increase of $18.2 billion above current spending, including $4.2 billion in new money for nutrition programs and $900 million for fruit and vegetable purchases, also known as “specialty crops.”

“There has been a lot of progress made this week, but the committee needs to make decisions to allocate scarce budget resources,” said Harkin spokesperson Kate Cyril on October 3, just before the recess. Further progress toward finding the funds to support additional spending came the following day, when the Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Max Baucus (D-MT), approved the Heartland, Habitat, Harvest, and Horticulture Act – or “4-H Bill” – that dedicates over $15 billion in additional funds for agriculture-related programs. The bill passed with bipartisan support on a 17-4 vote.

The Finance Committee would raise revenue for the 4-H Bill by tightening federal laws that allow businesses to avoid paying taxes, measures that are unlikely to receive House concurrence. The bulk of the 4-H funds would be used to create a trust fund to help farmers and ranchers hurt by weather-related crop and livestock losses, convert a number of conservation programs into fully-offset tax credits, and support incentives for rural economic development and energy-related biofuels.

Though the 4-H Bill does not allocate money for food stamps or other nutrition assistance programs in the Farm Bill, it may help them indirectly. “As the Senate edges closer to considering its version of the Farm Bill, this funding comes at an opportune time and gives us some important assistance in the critical Farm Bill investments that are needed now more than ever,” commented Senator Harkin. “We are still facing an extremely tight budget on this Farm Bill and we welcome the help from these added funds,” he stated.

Ethanol Overproduction Complicates Food vs. Fuel Debate

Ethanol, the corn-based biofuel that has been touted as the savior of the Midwest grain belt and the harvest of hope for reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil, may be on the wane. “The end of the ethanol boom is possibly in sight and may already be here,” said Neil Harl, an Iowa State economics professor who also serves as a consultant to the ethanol industry. “This is a dangerous time for people who are making investments.”

A rapid growth in distilleries and the continued lack of distribution outlets has caused a glut, dropping ethanol prices 30 percent since May. Meanwhile, prices of the many foods that include corn sweeteners are rising rapidly as grain production is converted to fuel.

“Higher corn prices are not the only or even, I would argue, the most important factor in the higher prices of certain food items,” claimed acting Agriculture Secretary Chuck Conner at the end of September. Meat and dairy prices have been climbing steadily since last summer, influenced by other circumstances such as poor weather conditions in wheat-growing areas, increased international demand, and the falling value of the dollar. “When we break down what is happening to food prices, we do see a complex set of factors at work. It’s not quite a simple equation of rising ethanol demand equals higher food prices,” said Conner.

Nonetheless, the poorly planned overexpansion of the ethanol industry is affecting corn prices and, consequently, the price of foods, many of which contain corn syrup as a key ingredient. There are 129 ethanol plants in operation today, up from 81 in January 2005. As a result, ethanol production is expected to reach 7.8 billion gallons by the end of this year and 11.5 billion gallons by 2009, far exceeding the congressional mandate of 7.5 billion gallons a year by 2012.

A large part of the problem is the underdeveloped distribution network for ethanol and few outlets for its sale. Corn is grown and processed in the Midwest, but the largest markets for ethanol blended with gasoline for fuel are on the East and West Coasts. Ethanol requires an alternative transportation system; it cannot be shipped via oil pipelines or in regular trucks and rail cars because it is corrosive and soaks up both water and other impurities. Production of these specialized carriers is far behind demand. And there are still only about 1,000 gas pumps around the country (out of some 180,000) where consumers can buy E-85, the fuel blend that is 85 percent gasoline and 15 percent ethanol.

Nationwide, food prices have risen 3.6 percent in the first eight months of 2007, due in large part to higher prices for corn by-products. Though food price increases are predicted to be in the three to four percent range next year, the market remains volatile. Meanwhile, food manufacturers are scrambling to find ways to reduce their costs and insulate consumers from further price increases. Heinz, for example, is breeding sweeter tomatoes in order to cut down on the use of corn syrup in its ketchup.

EBT Development in WIC Inching Forward

Bringing nutrition assistance programs into the computer age to give them the benefits of modern technology has long been a goal of the federal government. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which began testing electronic benefits transfer (EBT) systems for the Food Stamp Program in the early 1980s, found that EBT provided advantages over paper coupons for state administrators, retailers, and participants alike, in addition to improving program integrity by combating fraud.

Congress authorized EBT as an alternative to paper food stamps in 1990 and mandated that states begin converting their food stamp operations to EBT in 1996. It took a while for disparate systems to be tested, developed, implemented, and made interoperable, but by July 2004, food stamp EBT was in place nationwide.

For the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC Program) however, EBT development has been slower, more complicated, and subject to numerous fits and starts. USDA has supported EBT experimentation for WIC since at least 2000, but only a handful of systems are currently in place.

“For the WIC Program, the challenge is to use EBT to provide food prescriptions and health information in addition to a payment system,” according to USDA. WIC food packages require specific brands and quantities that vary by participant and change over time for children as infants, toddlers, and then pre-schoolers and for women during pregnancy, breastfeeding, and post-partum periods. These circumstances make “smart card” technology (debits cards with a computer chip) more appropriate for WIC than cards with a magnetic stripe.

Efforts to find an EBT solution for WIC have yielded mixed results. A six-state smart card project in New England, in the planning stages for nearly a decade, was terminated in 2006. A pilot project in Dayton, Ohio using smart cards, begun in 2000, reverted to paper coupons in 2005. Another smart card system has been implemented statewide in Wyoming, but requisite equipment at the retail level makes it impractical on a larger scale. Michigan has a magnetic stripe card pilot operating in a single county.

Nonetheless, USDA continues to support WIC EBT experiments and refinements, awarding over $5 million in September 2007 to six states – Kentucky, Michigan, New Mexico, Texas, and Wyoming – that are tackling the technological challenges of WIC EBT. Virginia also received an EBT Pre-Planning Grant to initiate work for an electronic system. For additional information on the status of WIC EBT projects, see: http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/EBT/wicebt.htm.

Farmers’ Market Funds Awarded for Diverse Projects

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced 23 grants to entities in 16 states and the District of Columbia under the Farmers’ Market Promotion Program (FMPP). A total of $900,000 in fiscal year 2007 funds was awarded to aid local governments, non-profit organizations, economic development corporations, and agricultural cooperatives to undertake projects that expand and enhance farmers’ markets and other direct marketing opportunities.

Six of the grants will help further the use of electronic benefits transfer (EBT) technology at market locations. Other awards will help grantees plan for market development, engage in outreach to increase customer traffic, and provide training and technical assistance to market vendors.

Among the awards are the following:

- The Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association (ALBA) in Salinas, CA received $49,275 to develop four new farmers’ markets and four church-based farm stands targeting culturally diverse and health-distressed communities.

- Adelante Mujeres of Forest Grove, OR received $47,236 to purchase and implement EBT, debit, and credit technology, provide training and marketing support to Hispanic and other minority farmers and vendors, and develop a marketing plan to attract low-income and senior citizen customers.

- Top of the Ozarks Resource Conservation & Development, Inc., of Houston, MO was awarded $70,150 to assess the needs of 12 farmers’ markets in ten South Central Missouri counties and determine how to best meet these needs, in addition to improving the visibility of those markets.

- The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) in Washington, D.C. got $41,312 to develop EBT infrastructure for four farmers’ markets in the District, and provide EBT training to farmers’ market staff.

This is only the second year of funding for the very competitive FMPP. The more than 320 applications received for the program this year demonstrate the huge need for more resources to strengthen and promote farmers’ markets. For additional information on the awards, see: http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB/.cmd/ad/.ar/…navid=NEWS_RELEASE#7_2_5JM.

Obesity Round-Up

Food assistance does not contribute to obesity: A recently-released government study concludes that participation in food and nutrition programs does not affect the national problems of overweight and obesity. In Food and Nutrition Assistance Programs and Obesity: 1976-2002, published in September 2007, researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service investigated the extent to which overweight and obesity have increased over time for food and nutrition assistance recipients, and the degree to which increases mirror national trends.

The results show almost no relationship between food stamp participation and weight status. In fact, a striking shift over time occurred for non-Hispanic white women who were benefit recipients. Data from 1976-1980 showed that food stamp participants had a greater body mass index (BMI) and were more likely to be overweight and obese than non-participants. But data from 1999-2002 showed no differences between food stamp participants and income-eligible non-participants in that group. For other age, sex, and race/ethnicity groups, an inconsistent relationship between food stamp participation and weight measures was found. For details, see: http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/ERR48/.

Children challenged to maintain weight loss: Overweight children who lose weight do better keeping the pounds off through weight maintenance and follow-up than those who receive no additional treatment. Washington University School of Medicine researchers in St. Louis, MO examined the short-term and long-term efficacy of two different weight maintenance approaches versus no follow-up for a group of 150 children, ages seven to 12, over a two-year period. Their results were published in the October 10, 2007 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

“We know from the adult field that the biggest challenge is not losing weight – it’s keeping it off in the long term,” said lead researcher Denise Wilfley. Children face the same trials, Wilfley reported, noting the best outcomes were for socially adept children who modified their playmate networks. To learn more, go to: http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/298/14/1661?maxtoshow=&HITS…1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HWCIT.

Children’s blood pressure and obesity rising in tandem: After decades of decline, blood pressure levels among children and adolescents are increasing, paralleling the growing prevalence of overweight and obesity, according to a new study conducted by researchers at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, GA. The results are based on an analysis of national health surveys conducted between 1963 and 2002.

Each one centimeter increase in waist circumference raised the likelihood of high blood pressure by 10 percent and the likelihood of pre-high blood pressure by five percent, said Dr. Rebecca Din-Dzietham, lead author of the study. “This is a major public health problem,” she emphasized in calling for a strong response to the problem. “Unless this upward trend in high blood pressure is reversed, we could be facing an explosion of new cardiovascular disease cases in young adults and adults. To reverse the upward trend at the beginning is good, and that’s why we need to act now.” For further information, visit: http://www.msm.edu/News/News_Index/August_7,_2007.htm.

Getting the skinny on a society’s weight loss: Cuba has faced an economic crisis for most of the latter half of the 20th century due to U.S. sanctions. But it appears the hard times have had a silver lining, with researchers reporting a decrease in obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. These outcomes are not surprising, since average daily intake dropped from 2,899 calories in 1989 to 1,863 calories in 2002. Cubans have also exercised more, walking and bicycling since cars and gasoline are in perpetual short supply. The nationwide prevalence of obesity dropped from 14 percent to seven percent during this period.

“Cuba’s economic crisis of 1989–2000 resulted in reduced energy intake, increased physical activity, and sustained population-wide weight loss,” noted Dr. Manuel Franco of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, lead author of a study reported in the September 19, 2007 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology. “No one is recommending an economic crisis as a health measure,” said Franco. “What we are saying is that changes at the population level designed to reduce caloric intake and increase physical activity might be best suited to prevent obesity and its related conditions.”

To view the study, see: http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/…1&FIRSTINDEX=0&sortspec=relevance&resourcetype=HWCIT.

Saving Community Gardens in New York

(Editor’s note: The following article was written by Andy Fisher, executive director of the Community Food Security Coalition, as one of eight case studies on land use planning and food security that may be viewed in the Food Security Learning Center of World Hunger Year’s web site at: http://worldhungeryear.org/fslc/faqs2/ria_809.asp?section=18&click=3#1.)

The bulldozers came two days before New Year’s Day 1998. They tore out the neat rows where vegetables had grown the summer before. They razed the “casitas” which had served as haunted houses during Halloween. They wiped out the brick patio, the rabbit and chicken hutches. Perhaps most importantly, the bulldozers erased a community gathering place, site of weddings and birthday parties, where the neighbors had recreated a slice of Puerto Rico in the Big Apple.

Nicknamed Little Puerto Rico, the garden, located on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, was the product of the collective effort of the neighbors to kick out the crack addicts, and clear the space of abandoned cars and twelve dumpster loads of garbage. That was in the late ‘80s. By 1999, Little Puerto Rico had become four-story townhouses, a victim of the economic boom and the Giuliani administration’s antipathy towards community gardens.

Little Puerto Rico, like hundreds of other gardens in New York City, was provided assistance under the City’s Green Thumb program. Established in 1978 as part of the City’s Park Department, Green Thumb assists over 600 community gardens and nearly 10,000 garden members by providing educational workshops, technical support, and gardening supplies, primarily in low-income communities.

Little Puerto Rico was not an isolated case. In the mid 1990s, six hundred of New York City’s community gardens were on the chopping block, as City Hall sought to auction off the land on which they stood for housing or other development (at the height of community gardening in NYC, there were some 800 gardens, with their rows stretching the 67-mile round trip of the “A” train). In many cases, these gardens were the victim of their own success: having revitalized deteriorating neighborhoods they made them attractive for new development, which in turn threatened the very existence of the gardens.

The gardens were threatened for development despite being identified for preservation in the State’s 1995 Open Space Plan, which noted that: “Lands which in an urban area can be used for community gardens or neighborhood parks and open spaces, are as significant to the environmental health of city residents as areas in pristine environmental condition are to people in rural areas.”

In the 1997 update to the Plan, the provision of open space in underserved areas was prioritized: “Continue partnerships … to achieve neighborhood, citywide and regional open space conservation goals, including the purchase of community park land and other open space resources such as community gardens in densely populated underserved neighborhoods.”

After various failed lawsuits by advocates to halt the sale of community gardens across the city, New York State Attorney General Spitzer entered the fray in 1999 with a suit against Mayor Giuliani claiming that the city failed to follow proper environmental procedure in auctioning off the gardens. Later that year, the Trust for Public Land and another organization founded by actress Bette Midler, bought over 160 gardens, and placed them into community land trusts.

In 2002, the Attorney General and Mayor Bloomberg’s office settled the suit. The principal provisions of the suit include a mandated review of any development of community gardens through New York City land use and New York State environmental laws; the set aside of nearly 200 gardens to the Parks Department or to community land trusts for preservation; the designation of over 100 gardens for sale; and a public Garden Review Process which allows prior notification to the community of any proposals to develop a garden.

As a result of these actions and a massive public mobilization campaign, an impressive 400 gardens are now permanently preserved, when only about 20 were before the auction attempt. There is also much wider awareness of the importance of planning for the long-term management and protection of community gardens as an integral part of the city, rather than seeing them as interim land use.

One of the more interesting outcomes of this process has been the transformation of the city’s Department of Housing, Preservation, and Development (HPD). During the period of conflict in the 90s, the HPD had been a key player in pushing forward the development of gardens for housing. Since the Spitzer suit settlement in 2002, HPD has been taking a broad perspective, identifying what is needed to create a healthy neighborhood, including access to healthy food. The Department has been proactive in identifying land not suited for housing but usable for urban farming projects, and sharing this information with Green Thumb.

A recent example is the newly formed Hands & Hearts Garden in East New York, Brooklyn. This 20,000 square-foot parcel of land was transferred by HPD to Green Thumb in April, 2007, and is now the site of a vibrant new community farm featuring a variety of vegetables and flowers. Referring to this new positive turn being taken by the city government, Susan Fields, former Deputy Director of Green Thumb, says, “This sounds like just good, basic urban planning, and it is, but it’s rather revolutionary.”

Small Bites

A growing world: Between 1980 and 2000, the world population increased from 4.4 billion people to 6.1 billion, while food production increased by 50 percent.

Future challenges: To keep pace with increasing human population, more food will have to be produced worldwide in the next 50 years than the total production of all of the past 10,000 years combined.

With fewer there to grow it: It is predicted that in 2008, for the first time in history, more that half of the world’s population will be living in towns and cities.

A man’s job?: Eighty percent of women workers in the U.S. are concentrated in 20 of 440 Bureau of Labor Standard’s occupational titles, including some of the lowest paying service and clerical jobs.

The underpaid sex: The lifetime earning gap for women versus men is 62 percent; over a 15-year period, women earn only 38 percent of what men do.

Work an hour to access your money: At least one major U.S. bank has increased its automated teller machine (ATM) fee for non-customers to $3.00 per transaction. With fees added from a customer’s own bank, getting ATM cash will cost Americans almost as much as an hour of work at a minimum wage job.

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