Muskegon Chronicle (12/14/08) "Fitter not Fatter" Article

Chronicle Reporter Teresa Taylor Williams' December 14, 2008 article about  the challenge school meals pose to Muskegon County kids, educators, parents, and community members provides an excellent glimpse of the school food crisis we face here. I linked the article below. If you have feedback or ideas contact her directly at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

http://www.mlive.com/news/chronicle/index.ssf?/base/news-15/1229195713194750.xml&coll=8 

US Food Policy Blogspot

This blog has multiple postings dealing with the cutting edge of the nutrition debate within the American Dietetic Association. The struggle to overcome the dominance of industrial food can be followed here. Many of these blog postings are very relevant to our work in Muskegon. Check them out.

http://usfoodpolicy.blogspot.com/

Hunger Fact Sheet

America's Second Harvest -- The Nation's Food Bank Network is now named Feeding America secures and distributes nearly 2 billion pounds of donated food and grocery products annually. Our efforts support approximately 63,000 local charitable agencies operating more than 70,000 programs including food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, after-school programs, and Kids Cafes.

The Feeding America Network provides emergency food assistance to more than 25 million Americans in need every year.
Ethnic Background of Clients
    •    40%are white
    •     38% are African American
    •    17% are Hispanic
    •    5% are American Indian or Alaskan Native
    •    0.5% are native Hawaiian or orther Pacific Islander
    •    1.0% are Asian

Poverty
    •    According to our most recent hunger study, 66% of all Feeding America client households have annual household incomes at or beneath the poverty line. (Hunger in America 2006; Table 5.8.4.1)
    •    17.5% of all client households have annual incomes between 100% and 185% of the federal poverty level. (Hunger in America 2006; Table 5.8.4.1)
    •    6.2% have annual incomes of 186% of poverty or more. (Hunger in America 2006; Table 5.8.4.1)
    •    The number of people below the poverty threshold numbered 36.5 million in 2006, a rate of 12.3% of all Americans.  (U.S. Census Bureau,  Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006)
    •    The average annual income in 2004 among client households served by the Feeding America Network was $11,210. (Hunger in America 2006; Table 5.8.4.1 )
Food Insecurity
    •    An estimated 35.5 million Americans are food insecure; meaning their access to enough food is limited by a lack of money and other resources.  (USDA/ERS, Household Food Security in the United States: 2006)
    •    41.5% of all client households served by the Feeding America Network reported having to choose between buying food and paying for utilities or heat within the previous 12 months. (Hunger in America 2006; Table 6.5.1)
    •    More than one-third (35%) of client households reported having to choose between paying for food and paying their rent or mortgage. (Hunger in America 2006; Table 6.5.1)
    •    Nearly one-third (31.6%) of client households reported having to choose between paying for food and paying for medicine or medical care. (Hunger in America 2006; Table 6.5.1)
    •    5.9% of households with seniors (1.59 million households) were food insecure. (USDA/ERS, Household Food Security in the United States: 2006)

Children
    •    Over 9 million children are estimated to be served by the Feeding America Network, over 2 million of which are ages 5 and under, representing nearly 13% of all children under age 18 in the United States and over 72% of all children in poverty. (Hunger in America 2006; Table 5.3.2N)
    •    According to the USDA, an estimated 12.6 million children lived in food insecure households in 2006.  (USDA/ERS, Household Food Security in the United States: 2006)
    •    Proper nutrition is vital to the growth and development of children, particularly for low-income children. 62% of all client households with children under the age of 18 participated in a school lunch program, but only 13% participated in a summer feeding program that provides free food when school is out. (Hunger in America 2006; Table 7.4.1 )
    •    51% of client households with children under the age of 3 participated in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). (Hunger in America 2006; Table 7.4.1)
    •    Nearly 41% of emergency food providers in the Feeding America Network reported "many more children in the summer" being served by their programs. (Hunger in America 2006; Table 10.9.1)
    •    Emergency food assistance plays a vital role in the lives of low-income families. In 2002, over half of the nonelderly families that accessed a food pantry at least once during the year had children under the age of 18. (Urban Institute, Many Families Turn to Food Pantries for Help, November 2003)
Seniors
    •    The Feeding America Network serves nearly 3 million seniors age 65 and over each year, 2 out of every 10 households served by our network contains at least one member age 65 and over (Hunger in America 2006; Table 5.3.2N).
    •    83.3% of all households with seniors served by the Feeding America Network have annual incomes below 130% of the federal poverty level. (Hunger in America 2006; Table 15.3.5)
    •    30.8% of client households with seniors had to choose between buying food and paying for utilities and heating fuel. (Hunger in America 2006; Table 15.5.2)
    •    Among client households with seniors, nearly 30% have had to choose between paying for food and paying for medical care. (Hunger in America 2006; Table 15.5.2)
    •    Among client households with at least one senior member, 27.4% are served at program sites located in center cities, 25% are served at program sites located in suburban areas, and 18.1% are served at program sites located in rural areas. (Hunger in America 2006; Table 15.4.3)
Working Poor
    •    Nearly half of all non-elderly low-income families that used a food pantry in 2001 consisted of working families with children. (Urban Institute, Many Families Turn to Food Pantries for Help, November 2003)
    •    36% of client households served by the Feeding America Network include at least one employed adult. (Hunger in America 2006; Table 5.7.1)
    •    The average monthly income of client households in 2005 was $860, or 75% of the federal poverty level. Overall, clients indicated that a job was the main source of income for their households for the previous month. (Hunger in America 2006; Table 5.8.2.1 and Table 5.8.3.1)
    •    66% of all client households served by the Feeding America Network have annual incomes below the federal poverty line for 2004.
    •    46% of client’s households do not have access to a working car. (Hunger in America 2006; Table 5.9.2.1)
Rural Hunger
    •    42.6% of adult clients served by programs in the Feeding America Network reside in suburban or rural areas. (Hunger in America 2006; Table 5.2.1)
    •    28.5% of client households served in nonmetropolitan areas reported that their children often or sometimes did not eat enough during the past year because there was not enough money to buy food. (Hunger in America 2006; Table 15.4.1)
    •    12% of rural households are food insecure (low food security and very low food security), an estimated 2.3 million households.  (USDA/ERS, Household Food Security in the United States: 2006)
    •    17.5% of all rural households with children are food insecure (low food security and very low food security), an estimated over 1 million children.  (USDA/ERS, Household Food Security in the United States: 2006)
    •    According to ERS, more than one out of every three persons living in nonmetro families that are headed by a female is poor. The highest poverty rate by type of family is for female-headed, nonmetro families. (USDA/ERS, Rural Income, Poverty and Welfare)
    •    Counties with disproportionately high rates of persistent poverty are often rural, with 340 of 386 persistent poverty counties primarily rural. (USDA/ERS, Rural Income, Poverty and Welfare)
     
Food Facts
The Feeding America Network of over 200 food banks and food rescue organizations distributed nearly 2 billions pounds of food and grocery products in 2005.
    •    529 million pounds from national product donors
    •    478 million pounds from US Government programs
    •    904 million pounds from local product donors
    •    206 million pounds from purchase programs
The USDA estimates 96 billion pounds of food are wasted each year in the United States.