Healthy Food, Healthy Children, Healthy Economies Madeleine Levin Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) March 27, 2014

Healthy Food, Healthy Children, Healthy Economies

Madeleine LevinFood Research and Action Center (FRAC)March 27, 2014

What is FRAC? National anti-hunger organization Nonprofit and nonpartisanWhat do we do? Conduct research and policy analysis Serve as a clearinghouse Provide technical assistance Lobby Congress

Hunger inAmerica» Food hardship in U.S.

˃ “Have there been times in the last 12 months when you did not have enough money to buy food that you or your family needed?” (Gallup)

» Households answering yes in 2012: 18.2% nationally 14% Wisconsin

» Lingering Impacts of Recession

http://frac.org/pdf/food_hardship_2012.pdf

Federal Nutrition ProgramsReauthorized Every 5 Years (or so…) in Farm Bill» SNAP (formerly food stamps)

Child Nutrition Reauthorization » School Breakfast Program» National School Lunch Program» Child and Adult Care Food Program

+Afterschool Meal Program» Summer Food Service Program» WIC

Strengths of SNAPNation’s first line of defense against hunger…

• Reduces hunger/food insecurity

• Structural – responsive to economic need

• Targeted:– 91% of benefits households below poverty line– 82% of benefits households with seniors, people with disabilities,

or children– 47% of recipients are children

• Helps working families as well as unemployed (42% of participants are in households with earnings)

Strengths of SNAP - Economic» Stimulates economy: each SNAP $1 produces

$1.73 - $1.79 of economic activity» Counter-cyclical» Creates jobs: $1 billion SNAP 9,800 to 19,800

for FTEs plus PTs » Builds on mainstream commerce» Reduces poverty» Frees up family resources for other basic needs

Strengths of SNAP - Nutrition Impacts• Raises food expenditures; improves nutrient

availability

• Improves child health

• May reduce obesity

• Across broad food categories, little difference between food choices/expenditures of low-income and high-income families

SNAP Benefit Amounts» 46,782,047 SNAP participants (Dec. 2013)

» Maximum $632/month, family of four (Thrifty Food Plan)(Low cost food plan = $825.70/month)

» Average SNAP benefit: $4.20 day/person

» EBT Cards

» Over 94% of benefits redeemed at supermarkets, superstores, grocery stores, specialty food stores, military commissaries (FY 2012)

SNAP Gaps» Nearly 1 in 5 eligible people is missing out on SNAP

benefits; among elderly that is 3 in 5 missing out

» Increasing SNAP allotments is a key part of healthy food/healthy economies agenda

» Basing SNAP calculations on Low Cost Food Plan is one way to address benefit adequacy

Recent Policy Changes Worsen Gaps» Nov. 1, 2013 end to ARRA boost = $5B less in FY 2013 for

SNAP food benefits—affects all HHs ($11B total multi yr impact)

» $11 B multi-yr SNAP cuts = loss of $2.2 B purchases of fruits and vegetables

» Important to mitigate impact, including via deductions for out-of-pocket costs for basics ( e.g. medical and child care expenses)

http://frac.org/federal-foodnutrition-programs/snapfood-stamps/about-the-november-1-snapfood-stamp-benefit-reduction/

Farm Bill - Heat & Eat Cut» 2014 Farm Bill failed to increase SNAP allotments—

instead made $8.6 B in benefit cuts

» Cuts SNAP ten-year spending mainly by setting threshold payment of $20 in LIHEAP to trigger SNAP heat and eat impact (4006)

» 850,000 HHs could lose $90 per month in SNAP benefits

» Hardest hit: CA, CT, DC, ME, MA, MI, MT, NJ, NY, OR, PA, RI, VT, WA, WI

» Affects future option for all states

Heat & Eat Implementation Matters» 98 MOCs ask USDA to exercise authority to help states

coordinate with LIHEAP allocations and promote orderly transition

» http://frac.org/pdf/keg_liheap_heatandeat_letter_to_vilsack.pdf

» States can provide $20 in LIHEAP assistance to safeguard current and future recipients to benefits of heat and eat

» USDA Implementation Memo: http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/LIHEAP_Implementation_Memo.pdf

Heat & Eat Implementation MattersLeveraging funds to fight hunger and support the economy

» Gov. Malloy (CT) invests $1.4M LIHEAP to preserve $66.6M annual SNAP; protects 50K needy HHs

» Gov. Cuomo (NY) invests $6M LIHEAP to preserve $457M annual SNAP; protects 300K needy HHs

» Gov. Corbett (PA) invests $8M LIHEAP to preserve $300M annual SNAP; protects 400K needy HHs

» Gov. Chafee (RI) invests $1.38M LIHEAP to preserve $69M annual SNAP

» Gov. Bullock (MT) invests $24K LIHEAP to preserve $2M annual SNAP

» Gov. Kitzhaber (OR) invests $2M LIHEAP to preserve $56M annual SNAP

» Gov. Patrick (MA) invests $3M LIHEAP to preserve $142M annual SNAP

Other Farm Bill SNAP Implementation Issues » Farm Bill has other provisions affecting SNAP eligibility,

recruitment, and where and how participants use their EBT cards to purchase food – for example, limits on SNAP recruitment and USDA ad buys (Sec. 4018)

» Implementation will matter for access and equity, including regarding any particular impact on vulnerable populations, such as elderly persons, homeless persons, and residents of food deserts

SNAP Nutrition Access Opportunities» SNAP purchases at CSAs (4012)» Reinvestment of performance bonus

awards to improve SNAP technology, administration and integrity (4021)

» Increased food access for homebound seniors and people w/ disabilities (4003)

» Mobile tech & online pilots (4011)» Study to assess feasibility of tribal

organizations to administer more federal food programs (beyond FDPIR)(4004)

Future Focus on Adequate SNAP Benefits

“SNAP benefits and SNAP nutrition education spending now have been cut four times in three and a half years. The result is harm to health, early childhood development, productivity, and learning. Fixing the problem of inadequate SNAP benefits is essential to the nation’s social, economic and fiscal policies.”

--FRAC President Jim Weill, 2/4/14http://frac.org/farm-bill-means-less-food-for-struggling-households/

School Breakfast and AchievementChildren who eat breakfast

at school:» Increase their math and

reading scores» Perform better on

standardized tests» Improve their speed and

memory in cognitive tests

Health Benefits» School breakfast improves

student behavior and reduces tardiness and absenteeism

» A healthy breakfast each day helps prevent obesity

» Children who eat school

breakfast eat more fruits, drink more milk, and eat a wider variety of foods

Improves Children’s Diets

» Children who eat breakfast tend to have more adequate nutrient intakes than children who do not: vitamins minerals such as calcium, dietary fiber, folate and Protein

» A higher percentage of children who skip breakfast do not meet two-thirds of the Recommended Dietary Allowance for vitamins A, E, D, and B6

May Reduce Risk of Obesity» Teens who eat breakfast tend to have a lower body

mass index (BMI)

» Adolescents with one or two obese parents who eat breakfast every day are more likely to have BMIs within a healthy range than those who tend to skip breakfast.

» Low-income elementary school girls who participate in the School Breakfast, School Lunch, or Food Stamp Programs, or any combination of these programs, have significantly less risk of being overweight.

Boosts School Achievement» Children who eat a complete breakfast, versus a partial

one, make fewer mistakes and work faster in math and number checking tests.

» Children who eat breakfast at school – closer to class and test-taking time – perform better on standardized tests than those who skip breakfast or eat breakfast at home.

» Providing breakfast to mildly undernourished students at school improves their speed and memory in cognitive tests

SBP Participation in WI 2012-13 SY» 44 low-income students eat breakfast for every

100 that eat lunch (national rate is 51.9)

» 74% schools offer breakfast (national rate is 89.8%)

» WI ranks 43 out of 51 states (and DC) for student participation and 49th for school participation

Effective Expansion Practices» Implementation of alternative models – breakfast in the

classroom, grab and go, morning nutrition breaks

» State legislation:˃ Require all schools to have a breakfast program˃ Require high poverty schools to offer breakfast to all at no charge

» Grants to support start-up and expansion

What Can We Do?» Continue to expand breakfast by making it

accessible to all students as part of the school day

» Partner with community organizations: anti-hunger, children’s health, afterschool providers

» Help spread the word to colleagues that aren’t here: All students should have the opportunity to eat school breakfast

Looking ahead to Child Nutrition Reauthorization» Early in the process will likely take a while…» Invite your Members of Congress to visit child

nutrition programs» Promote expansion of what’s working » Possible areas for improvements -

˃ Broaden direct certification˃ Eliminate reduced-price for breakfast ˃ Provide additional equipment grants for school kitchens˃ Enhance severe need funding for breakfast

Learn More…Follow developments on FRAC website – http://frac.orgSign up for FRAC alerts

Follow FRAC on Facebook – facebook.com/foodresearchandactioncenter

Follow FRAC on Twitter – twitter.com/#!/fractweets

Thank You!Madeleine Levin, [email protected] x3004