Foundation Journal

A discussion about food stamp outreach at Harvesters taught me to remember the difficulty many working poor people face when making ends meet. The trend in the charitable food assistance world shows a steady pattern of people living in poverty and with food insecurity. Many individuals neglect to apply for SNAP benefits even though they are eligible for those benefits. An AmeriCorps worker performing SNAP outreach duties at Harvesters shared how Kansas City, Kansas residents have increasingly applied for food stamps because of the instructions provided to social service workers at El Centro . The outreach worker shared how even immigrants with permanent residency status neglect to apply for these government benefits over fears they could lose their path to citizenship, despite situations which allow non-citizens to receive benefits.

The Interdisciplinary Center for Food Security at the University of Missouri  released a booklet offering "tips and strategies for linking food pantries and community partners to get healthier food onto the shelves of pantries and into the homes of food pantry customers" in January 2015. Download the 24-page PDF document for information on healthy nutritious food options.

A coordinator of the government-sponsored The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) at Harvesters food bank in Kansas City was pleased to learn that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) will be distributing a large quantity of produce. The USDA announced the distribution of $126 million of produce , including tart cherries, blueberries, raisins, fresh tomatoes, among other items. She indicated getting this food in the emergency assistance channel is welcome news, given the "feast or famine" nature of getting quality food to the 50-plus area agencies in Missouri participating in TEFAP throughout the year. What follows is background on TEFAP as an important public poverty relief program. TEFAP is administered through states and benefits unemployed and low-income people. People that receive the food are eligible for TEFAP based on income standards set by the states. The food is distributed in Missouri and Kansas at food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters, predomi...

It's easy to get reports on how the crisis around the Federal government shutdown impacts workers and families in the Kansas City area. Major news outlets have reports that talk about whether this or that agency is shutting down and furloughing workers. Many of these reports feature personal, first-hand accounts of the impact on how workers are making ends meet. KKFI 90.1 FM, the local community radio station, got in on the act this week  with a report from a furloughed USDA worker. What's harder to determine is the impact on programs that provide benefits to poor people or low-income workers. The federally-funded Women, Infants and Children (WIC) feeding program seems to be safe for now, but will lose funding if the government stays closed for long. Thanks to the Springfield News-Leader and St. Joe News-Press for local reporting on the WIC story in Missouri. The story in the News-Leader was inconclusive whether the shutdown would exhaust WIC benefits in Greene County i...

The nation's first non-profit grocery store opened two days ago in St. Joseph , Missouri, narrowly beating Philabundance, the Philadelphia food bank, at selling food at discounted costs to low-income families. Actually, the claim of being the first non-grocery store could be debated, given the success of a mobile grocery store in Minnesota with 27 outlets that offers up to a 40% discount. Let's not quibble as Fresh Start, St. Joe's non-profit grocery store, starts this grand experiment because it's really about placing stores in or near " food deserts ." Putting aside food co-ops and similar ventures, it seems a bit of stretch to think that we had to wait until 2013 before someone came up with the notion of a non-profit grocery store. Shouldn't access to nutritious and affordable food be a basic right to everyone in one of the wealthiest nations of the world? You can bet there's going to be strong opposition to these efforts, especially i...

Participation in the Breakfast in the Classroom , a U.S. Department of Agriculture program for students from low-income families, can reduce behavioral problems in the classroom as reported in a suburban St. Louis school district . I know of a student who had behavioral problems every day in the classroom that have almost stopped since he started getting breakfast in the classroom. He could have just been hungry.

During a workshop at a food bank conference held October 3-5, 2011 in Chicago, David Lee, Director of Government Relations and Advocacy with Feeding America , acknowledged a “perfect storm” is brewing that could have a devastating impact on poor and working families. He was referring to the combination of continued, high unemployment, a significant increase in the need for food assistance, and proposed cuts in Federal support for food assistance programs. David Lee (photo: Feeding America) The proposed cuts to TEFAP (The Emergency Food Assistance Program) in the agriculture appropriations bill for FY2012, which starts October 1,  represent a 43% reduction from the previous year. “This is terrifying stuff,” mentioned Lee . The proposed House of Representatives version of the 2012 Farm Bill “slashed nutrition” by 20%,  he said, adding that this includes a “terrible, terrible cut to WIC,” the popular program available to lower-income pregnant women, breastfeeding women, ...

Food banks traditionally have operated under the premise of providing temporary food assistance to low-income and working poor families. The economic crisis, which started in 2007, caused a significant increase in families and individuals seeking food assistance from job loss and foreclosure. Food pantries served by Harvesters, the Kansas City area food bank, saw a 40% increase in food distribution. This dire situation has evolved into a chronic condition with as much as 25% of people in communities seeking food assistance from various sources like pantries, soup kitchens, and Food Stamps/SNAP benefits. The economic crisis has shifted the need from extremely poor to working poor people. If a chronic condition of hunger in the U.S. is not enough to convince people to change their perception of the growing need for food assistance, then a devastating tornado season may help people understand the need for government assistance. A recent account by a USDA public relations worker sha...

Realm of the report is on a definition of food security based on the number of postitive responses to indicators of frequency of food consumption, affordability, quality, and quantity. Report reflects well-known demographics, specifically much higher prevalence of food insecurity among single women head of households (with children), Blacks, Hispanics, and in southern states. Statistics sometimes mask a true understanding by removing personal stories. USDA report taken with Feeding American's Hunger Study show common characteristics. Missouri rank in food insecurity has drastically increased in recent years, as has Kansas. This despite Missouri leading place of those applications for SNAP that are elgible. Immersed in Feeding America statistics showing 3 billion pounds of food distributed per year through the network of 200 US food banks. USDA shows 2.88 bill pounds distributed in 2000. TEFAP commondity accounts for 14% of food distributed through pantries. SNAP assists...

While enjoying a bluegrass/rockabilly musical performance with friends Saturday evening, I had a conversation with a friendly couple from Putnam County in north Missouri. It did not take long before the woman outlined how the federal government was responsible for the downturn in the US economy, as well as for over-regulating farming. In short, she blamed the federal government for all the ills of society. The outspoken woman described the couple's difficulty in maintaining a trucking business, mentioning the economic conditions and excessive government regulations as the cause of their troubles. They also discussed the economic conditions for residents in Unionville, Missouri, a rural town with a population of 3000. I shared how my wife's family had relied on income from a small diary farm and row crops, while both her parents worked full-time jobs in meat-packing and state mental health facilities. They quickly blamed the federal government for programs that prevented farme...

The US Department of Agriculture will release a report on hunger on Monday, November 15. The report will feature statistics on 2009, a normal lag in reporting statistics, and will likely show an increase in food insecurity throughout the U.S. Last year's report covering 2008 showed 49 million people living at risk of hunger, a huge 11% increase from the previous reporting year. Chart on food insecurity from last year's USDA report.

Rhonda Perry (photo: Mo. Rural Crisis Center) One Montana newspaper described the rancher response to proposed USDA rules as a "David vs. Goliath movement on to take action for fair market prices against corporate concentration." Missouri Rural Crisis Center's own Rhonda Perry added that "Missouri lost 90 percent of hog farmers since 1985. They (corporations) came in and said this was the wave of the future...." Perry attributed the drastic decline in locally owned farms and ranches to corporate consolidation, adding that consumer prices have increased. In an unusual display of supporting the "little guy," twenty-one US senators, including Missouri's Claire McCaskill, have signed on to a letter advocating for changes to USDA livestock rules [PDF] that will be the "first step towards leveling the playing field between producers and the packers." The list of senators includes 19 Democrats, 1 Republican, and 1 independent, though ano...

Aid groups agree: climate change driving most hunger-related catastrophes Several hundred conference participants from over 20 countries listened to four panelists deliver reports about the world's largest food aid providers during the annual International Food Aid & Development Conference held in Kansas City on August 2, 2010. The panelists acknowledged the dire conditions for poor with the number of people in hunger rising to one billion people . Food Aid Symposium panelists (from left): Ann Tutwiler (not shown), Allan Jury, Jay Sjerven, David Del Conte, and Dale Skoric. Jay Sjerven with the Kansas City chapter of the UN Association introduced the four panelists and gave a sober assessment of the difficulty of reaching the Millenium Development Goal (MDG) on hunger. Allan Jury with the UN World Food Program, noted that while only one MDG is directly focused on hunger, all goals impact food security. He also pointed out that addressing food nutrition is key to overcom...