WIC WORKS AT FARMERS MARKETS

WIC participants can redeem two types of WIC benefits at farmers’ markets for fruits and vegetables. The Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) provides eligible participants between $10-30 per year in benefits that can be spent exclusively at farmers’ markets. In addition, WIC participants receive paper cash or electronic vouchers that they can use to buy fruit and vegetables at stores authorized to accept WIC benefits, and, in 28 states, at authorized farmers’ markets.  Vouchers are worth $11 per month for pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women, and $8 per month for children. But the vast majority of vouchers are redeemed at stores, not farmers’ markets. Researchers in California—the largest State WIC program in the Nation— found that 80% of farmers’ market managers surveyed agreed that getting authorization from the state WIC agency to accept vouchers is far more difficult than obtaining FMNP authorization. Farmers also complained about how hard it is to get  reimbursement for vouchers from the state.

Source: USDA, 7/3/17, WIC at Farmers Markets

ANTI-”SHAMING” LEGISLATION PROPOSED

Congresswoman Rosa Delauro (D-CT) added a provision to a bill funding FY 2018 discretionary programs for USDA and other agencies that would direct USDA to prevent school-lunch staff from "shaming" a student who does not have enough money for school lunches. DeLauro’s action came as the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies advanced the bill to the full Appropriations Committee. The bill calls for cutting USDA by about $1 billion, which is significantly less than President Trump's  $3.7 billion proposed cut.

Source: DTNPF, 7/3/17, Lunch Shaming

New refrigerator for the team at GardenShare

The team at GardenShare is really thrilled with the donation of a new refrigerator, microwave, and water filter through the St. Lawrence Health Initative's healthy workplaces program.  This equipment lets our employees and volunteers pack healthy lunches from home and drink more water.  Thanks to everyone at the Health Initiative for making this possible!

CAMPUS FOOD PANTRIES EASE HUNGER

A significant number of college students today truly struggle with getting enough food to survive. A spring 2016 survey of 3,765 colleges in 12 states found that 48% of students reported food insecurity, with 22% reporting having “very low” levels of food security. It also found that food insecurity happens in both community colleges and four-year colleges and universities, with 25% of community college students and 20% of four-year college and university students qualifying as having very low food security. Today, over 500 colleges are either starting a food pantry or have had one for several years. And a national organization, the College and University Food Bank Alliance (CUFBA), has been established to provide information and resources to their growing numbers, including partnering with local hunger relief organizations.

Source: USA Today College, 6/28/17, College Food Pantries

FUNDING WILL DROP FOR NEXT FARM BILL

Agriculture lawmakers are on track to have about $130 billion less in funding for the next farm bill than they did when they wrote the last law. The Congressional Budget Office predicts that farm and nutrition programs would cost about $822 billion over a decade, or $679 billion for SNAP and $143 billion for commodity subsidies, crop insurance, conservation and other ag programs. In 2014, the CBO estimated that the final version of the farm bill would cost $956 billion over a decade. Some of the prospective cuts are based on actual program spending results since 2014.

SNAP, for example, cost about $359 billion over the past 5 years, or nearly $32 billion less than originally estimated by the CBO just before the 2014 farm bill was passed.

Source: Politico, 7/5/17, Farm Bill Cuts

Farmer Friday- The Orebed Sugar Shack

Maple syrup is a family tradition for Jeff and Lori Jenness, of The Orebed Sugar Shack, in DeKalb, New York, even the shack itself was built by the Jenness' themselves. 

For years, generations of family connected to the Jenness' would come together to help gather sap from buckets and assist with the production. However as the Jenness’ daughters, who were vital workers to production, began to approach college, it became apparent that the extra help needed to gather from the amount from trees tapped on their property would disappear. Faced to make a decision, to get smaller or grow bigger, the Jenness’ settled on the latter. This decision led to progression from the traditional sap buckets and instead focused on incorporating pipelines. Now there are over 20 miles of these lines webbing together all of the sap from the property, and transporting the liquid right outside of The Orebed Sugar Shack.  

             “We aren’t in it for the money,” Jeff explains amidst laughter. The more you want to get bigger and better, he explains, the more you are willing to spend money on it. “It’s a disease.”

            The Orebed Sugar Shack hosts a maple weekend twice a year where they encourage families to learn about each step that is involved in the creation of maple products. The maple weekends are free of charge and include horse drawn wagons, face paint, an opportunity to see maple syrup created the old fashioned way, coloring contests, chain saw carvings, and free samples. “We sugar everybody up,” explains Jeff. These events aim to teach the behind the scenes of maple production, every step from start to finish, and there is a clear emphasis on children’s education on the process.

Stocked shelves in The Orebed Sugar Shack

             “We’re for the kids, to educate the kids. Cause that’s your future in the business.”  Introducing younger generations to the woods that collect sap is much more than just a learning experience about maple syrup.The exposure encourages kids to learn about native insects, identify tracks left by various animals of the area, and discover how to classify trees.  

            The Jenness’ created these weekends to share their knowledge and products in hopes to ignite interest to help carry on their tradition. When asked what sparked the idea for maple weekends, Lori quickly answers, “to share it.” Many people aren’t aware exactly how much work goes into the process to make pure maple syrup, or how many gallons of sap are required to make one gallon of syrup. “We don’t hide any of it, if they want to know, we’ll show 'em.”

            Even in the off season you can find a variety of maple products stocked in the Sugar Shack. People from everywhere have come to visit, from chemical engineers at NASA interested in the details of production to people from England and the south who are curious about maple syrup production.

The traditional method to make maple syrup shown during Maple Weekends

            Outside of making maple syrup, the Jenness’ are extremely self sufficient. On the property they have no electric bill, due to their 98 solar panels and backup generator, and have a garden that provides them with fresh berries and vegetables. The Jenness’ emphasize that they try to process all their own food and continue to hunt for their own meat. With the occasional run to the store to buy pork or chicken, Jeff recalls that the last time they bought beef was in 2002.

            If you want to know more about The Orebed Sugar Shack, or where to buy their product, you can check out http://orebedmaplesugarshack.com/


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A note from Gloria:

In the spirit of full disclosure, I wanted to let you know that Lori Jenness is my cousin!  So, when intern Jenna picked the Orebed Sugar Shack out of the Local Food Guide as someone she wanted to profile for Farmer Friday, I kind of chuckled, but then thought, "why not?"

Lori's dad and my dad were brothers and along with a couple of other family members owned Crystal Rock Maple Producers in Fowler when we were kids.  So Lori and I grew up the maple business, back in the days when we were not only collecting sap in buckets, but at least some of time, doing it with a horse-drawn gathering wagon.  (Yes, I really am that old.  But Lori is younger!)

It's a joy to celebrate this family tradition with Lori and Jeff every year during the Maple Weekends and to share it with all of you via my work at GardenShare!

Gloria McAdam

            

New book: Big Hunger

To most Americans, the food bank is revered on both the political left and right for its steady work helping to feed the roughly 40 million people who wonder where their next meal will come from. But longtime anti-hunger activist Andy Fisher tells a different story in his new book Big Hunger: The Unholy Alliance Between Corporate America and Anti-Hunger Groups. Fisher writes that food banks and other anti-hunger organizations (as well as federal programs) are far too cozy with big corporations. He suggests that USDA, anti-hunger organizations, and the food industry comprise an “anti-hunger industrial complex” in which anti-hunger groups lobby for federal nutrition aid that USDA distributes so recipients can buy products the food industry sells  (one-sixth of Kraft’s sales are SNAP-related). Fisher also criticizes food banks for their failure to address the root causes of hunger and to perpetuate the problem through just treating its symptoms.

Source: Citylab, 6/13/17, Inescapable Hunger Cycle