Healthy Halloween treat!

Speaking of Halloween, check out this recipe for Maple Chili Popcorn!  It sounds like a perfect North Country treat for Halloween!

Gloria

New York maintains heat or eat program

Only 4 states—Michigan, Wisconsin, New Jersey and New Hampshire—are implementing the cuts to the food stamp program that were enacted as part of the 2014 Farm Bill. The new law says that people can't get enhanced SNAP benefits unless they receive more than $20 a year in heating assistance (up from $1 a year), which lawmakers hoped would be too expensive for states to pay. But the governors in 12 of the 16 affected states and the mayor of the District of Columbia have said they will find a way to pay for the increased heating aid. Most will use federal heating assistance dollars. At least one, California, will use its own money.

(Source: Star Tribune, 9/17/14, No SNAP Cuts)

 

 

BRRR...it's getting cold (you know you're from the North Country when you wear a snowsuit under your Halloween costume!)...thank goodness New York State stepped up to the plate and increase heating assistance so that people would not lose SNAP benefits!

 

Gloria

New poll shows that majority of Americans think government should do more to solve hunger

Yesterday, The Hill ran an op-ed by Jim Weill from the Food Research and Action Center and Sara Lilygren, executive vice president of Corporate Affairs at Tyson Foods, titled “Hunger: An issue we can agree on,” which underscores how the majority of Americans polled are looking to government to be part of the solution.

They said, in part:

"Hunger continues to be far too widespread in our nation. Americans recognize that families are running out of food at the end of the month and that children are eating less nutritious and cheaper food so their parents can scrape together money to pay the rent. They realize that seniors are often choosing whether to pay for prescriptions or food. They know that many children go hungry in the summer when school is out. Indeed, 45 percent of Americans say that hunger in the U.S. is a 'serious problem.'

"These are sobering thoughts, but people believe there is a solution and they are looking for the government, in addition to individuals and local communities, to lead. Overwhelmingly, people believe that government should tackle this problem. More than 80 percent of Democrats and 70 percent of Independents believe the federal and local government has responsibility, and 50 percent of Republicans believe that the federal government has responsibility."

Read the full article here and see the full poll results here.

Schools can improve how they help hungry kids

The National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs have been feeding millions of children for decades. On a typical school day in 2013, more than 30 million—nearly three in five — students ate a school lunch. Over 70% of those children — more than 21 million — received a free or reduced-price meal. That means that more than two in five students benefited from free or reduced-price lunches on a typical day last year. But some children who could benefit from free school meals miss out because their school district doesn’t automatically enroll them as required. States can improve their processes for automatically enrolling children for free meals when their family receives SNAP benefits. School districts can make sure they are identifying children who homeless or in foster care so that they begin receiving free meals immediately during a period of family turmoil. And a new policy allows schools to begin feeding low-income children as soon as they receive an application, even if they have a processing backlog.

Source: Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, 9/8/14, School Meals

The "Meal Gap" in St. Lawrence County

This research, from Feeding America, shows data about food insecurity in the state of New York at the top of the graphic and about St. Lawrence County at the bottom of the graphic.  For more information, including an interactive map, go to the Feeding America website.

 

Childhood hunger today hurts tomorrow's workforce

Nearly 16 million children experienced food insecurity in 2013. Food insecure children and twice as likely to be suspended, 1.6 times more likely to miss school days, and 1.4 times more likely to repeat a grade than children who are not food insecure. Absenteeism and school discipline problems are associated with lower academic achievement and increased drop out rates. Children who drop out of school earn less over their lifetimes, contribute less in taxes, and are more likely to become unemployed than graduates.

Source: Council of State Governments, 9/25/14, Hunger Hurts the Workforce

Ogdensburg pantry runs out of food

A report from St. John's in Ogdensburg ...

 

Usually the church has 20-30 families come to the monthly food pantry. Yesterday they had over 50 families, and they ran out of food. With the holidays and cold weather approaching, demand is expected to be even higher!

 

We need to provide food to people in crisis, but we also need to ask ourselves how we shorten the lines at our food pantries!

 

Gloria