School Food Support Initiative

Chef Ann Foundation is currently accepting applications for an 18-month technical assistance program, which can help districts improve their meal programs and transition to scratch cook operations. Their goal is to provide up to seven school districts with technical assistance, strategic planning and funding opportunities to improve their operations. Applications will be accepted through November 30, 2016 and more details about program services and eligibility criteria, as well as a link to the online application can be found on the School Food Support Initiative Webpage. 

Safer® Brand School Garden Grant

Safer® Brand is starting an annual school garden grant to help kids build healthy habits through gardening. The $500 grant will be awarded to a school in the United States to start a school garden in 2017. Applications are due December 1. Learn more here. 

Watertown schools poised to offer free breakfast and lunch to all students

According to WWNY-TV, the Watertown School System has applied to take advantage of the community eligibility provision, which will allow them to serve free breakfast and lunch to all students, regardless of parent's income.

While there is sometimes pushback on these programs, the reality can be that it's cheaper to just serve everyone than to do the administrative work required to separate paid from free and collect the funds from those families who are expected to pay.

Providing meals to all also takes away any stigma attached to free meals and helps ensure that the children who really do need this assistance are getting it.

Many schools in the North Country have high poverty rates and could consider doing the same.

FOOD PRICES RISE FASTER THAN OTHER GOODS

The average American household allocates 12.6% of its spending on food, both at home and away from home, making food the third largest expenditure category behind housing and transportation. Typically, food prices rise in the same direction as economy-wide inflation, but their magnitudes may vary. But food price inflation has outpaced economy-wide inflation in 7 of the last 9 years. In 2015, food prices increased 1.9% percent, a smaller rise than the 2.4% increase the year before. Declining prices for pork, dairy, fats and oils, and fresh fruit helped ease food price inflation this year. But economy-wide inflation measured just 0.1% in 2015, in large part due to a 7.8% drop in transportation prices as a result of lower oil prices.

Source: USDA, 10/3/13, Food Prices Rise

SUMMARIZING THE NEW NUMBERS ON HUNGER

In recent weeks, a cascade of research has been released on the number of Americans struggling against hunger and poverty. Here’s a brief summary.

• The Census Bureau’s annual report on income and poverty shows that the national poverty rate decreased from the recession high of 15.1% in 2010 to 13.5% in 2015. Mirroring this decline, USDA national food insecurity research reveals that the national rate of individuals living in food insecure households dropped significantly from 15.4% in 2014 to 13.4% in 2015.
• According to the Food Research and Action Council’s latest report, 1 in 5 families with children could not afford adequate food at some points in 2015. If it weren’t for federal nutrition programs, these numbers would be even worse.
• USDA’s food security report shows single-parent families with children were significantly more likely to be food insecure when headed by a woman than by a man (30.3 to 22.4%). Economically, the poverty rate for single mothers is 28.2%, nearly nine percentage points higher than for single fathers.

Source: Food Research & Action Center, 10/20/16, Hunger Data

New Resource Available - Reduce Wasted Food Household Tip Sheet

It’s estimated that Americans throw out about one quarter of all their food purchases.  Wasting food increases the amount of trash we create, and increases our costs for food purchases and for managing waste.  To address this issue, the Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) has created a tip sheet for households with easy-to-adopt strategies for reducing and eliminating food waste at home. 

The Reduce Wasted Food Tip Sheet for Residents provides valuable information about what can be done on daily and weekly schedules to manage food that’s already in the refrigerator.  Information included provide the following tips and more: how to use your fridge to help you with optimal storing of food; how to arrange what’s in the fridge so you know what to eat first and what you need to buy; numerous food facts; links to recipes; and preserving and canning foods. The Reduce Wasted Food Tip Sheet also includes apps for making shopping lists, smart food storage, and where to find more information on reducing food waste. 

Grants available to support new farmers

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced $1 million in funding is available to assist new and early-stage farmers through the New York State New Farmers Grant Fund. Now in its third year, the program builds upon the success of 2015 when more than $743,000 was awarded to 25 early-stage farms across the state to support the continued growth of New York’s agriculture industry. To date, nearly $1.4 million has been provided to 41 farms throughout New York State to expand their operations and improve their profitability.

The $1 million New Farmers Grant Fund will provide grants of up to $50,000 to assist with up to 50 percent of eligible project costs, with the remaining 50 percent being matched by the recipient. All owners of eligible farms must be within the first ten years of ownership and the farm must have a minimum of $10,000 in income from sales of products grown or raised on the farm. Eligible project costs include the purchase of farm machinery, supplies and equipment, and construction or improvement of farm structures. Empire State Development, in consultation with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, administers the fund.

This year, the program has eliminated the 150 acres or less requirement and is now accepting farm applicants of all sizes. The application and guidelines for the New York State New Farmers Grant Fund are available online. The deadline for submission is January 27, 2017.