wfn.org | [ENS] Friday Forum: Food Stamps: Action urged to protect children's

["Matthew Davies" <mdavies@episcopalchurch.org>]

Daybook, from Episcopal News Service
July 29, 2005 -- Friday Forum

Food Stamps: Action urged to protect children's nutrition

Public Policy Network asks Episcopalians to contact lawmakers

[ENS] -- Noting that more than half of U.S. Food Stamp recipients are
children, the Episcopal
Public Policy Network (EPPN) is calling on Americans to urge lawmakers
to
protect this
program in the face of upcoming federal budget cuts.

The Congressional Budget Resolution for Fiscal Year 2006 passed in May
requires the House
and Senate Agriculture Committees to cut $3 billion from programs under
their jurisdiction
by September 16, EPPN reports. Food Stamps is one of those programs.

Maureen Shea, director of the Episcopal Church's Office of Government
Relations in
Washington, D.C., met July 28 with Senators and religious and other
groups
concerned about
social safety net issues in the budget, including TANF (Temporary
Assistance
for Needy
Families), Medicaid and Food Stamps.

At the meeting, Episcopal Bishop John Chane of Washington called for
increased public
awareness and advocacy around the issues. "It is important we get
information to the public
about the impact of this budget and the justice and moral issues
involved,"
Chane said.
"There should be no cuts in Food Stamps."

EPPN identifies the Food Stamp program as "the nation's single most
effective federal effort
to reduce and prevent hunger in the United States."

EPPN further cites a recent federal measurement showing "that 11.2
percent
of all U.S.
households, including 13.3 million children, do not have enough to eat.
More
than half of all
Food Stamp recipients are children.

"Community food banks are already stretched to their limits. People of
faith
through their
houses of worship are doing their part. Government must be a full
partner in
the effort to
eradicate hunger in America."

In a July 21 "action alert," EPPN asked Episcopalians to begin
contacting
Senators and
Representatives and urge them to oppose cuts in funding for the Food
Stamp
Program.
Further information, including online registration for regular EPPN
action
alerts, is posted at
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/eppn .

Following is an additional fact sheet provided through EPPN and the
Office
of Government
Relations.

Food Stamps Facts and Statistics

Prior to the enactment of the Federal Food Stamp Program, hunger and
severe
malnutrition
were common in many low-income communities in the United States; thanks
to
the program,
severe hunger in America is now rare.

* According to the most recent federal government measurement of food
insecurity and
hunger, 36.3 million people in our nation, including 13.3 million
children,
live in households
that experience food insecurity. That represents 11.2 percent of all
U.S.
households.

* Cuts in basic nutrition for children make it harder for them to learn
in
school and grow up
to become healthy, productive members of society. Community food banks
are
already
stretched to their limits. People of faith through their houses of
worship
are doing their part.
Government must be a partner in the effort to eradicate hunger in
America.

* Millions of families in America lack the money to buy enough food at
all
times for healthy
living. Medical research shows that children in such families are more
likely to get sick or
have impaired development. Food stamps can prevent children from
suffering
ill health and
slow growth. Cutting this essential benefit is simply wrong.

* The Food Stamp Program is well managed, well targeted, and it has a
low
error rate. More
than 95 percent of food stamp benefits go to households with incomes
below
the poverty
line, while many of the remaining beneficiaries are near-poor elderly or
disabled persons.

* More than 36 million people are hungry or at risk of hunger; fewer
than 26
million
participate in the Food Stamp Program.

* Food stamps allow more than 25 million low-income Americans to afford
an
adequate diet

* On average, food stamp benefits equal $1 per person per meal

* Elderly or disabled people make up about 1/3 of all food stamp
recipients;
Over 1/2 of all
food stamp recipients are children, and roughly 80 percent of all food
stamp
recipients live
in households with children

* Roughly 70% of all food stamp participants are female

* Ninety percent of households that receive food stamps have incomes
below
the poverty
line; 1/3 of all households receiving food stamps have incomes below
half
the poverty line *
Households receiving food stamps have an average gross income of less
than
$700 a month

* Approximately 1/2 of people eligible for the Food Stamp Program are
not
receiving benefits

* By responding to increased need, food stamps help to maintain overall
food
demand,
thereby offering protection to the local and national economy in times
of
economic
downturn; food stamps, therefore, benefit not only the people who
receive
them, but also
farmers and store owners.

Sources:

* Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. (2000). Food Nutrition
Programs:
Reducing Hunger,
Bolstering Nutrition. Washington, DC: Dorothy Rosenblum and Zoe
Neuberger.

* U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. Office of
Analysis, Nutrition and
Evaluation. (2004). Characteristics of Food Stamp Households: Fiscal
Year
2003, FSP-04-
CHAR. Alexandria, VA: Karen Cunnyngham and Beth Brown. Project Officer,
Kate
Fink.