What is FRAC?
 National anti-hunger organization
 Nonprofit and nonpartisan
What do we do?
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Conduct research and policy analysis
Serve as a clearinghouse
Provide technical assistance
Lobby Congress
» Food hardship in U.S.
˃ “Have there been times in the last 12 months when
you did not have enough money to buy food that
you or your family needed?” (Gallup)
» Households answering yes in 2012: 18.2% nationally
14% Wisconsin
» Lingering Impacts of Recession
http://frac.org/pdf/food_hardship_2012.pdf
Reauthorized Every 5 Years (or so…) in Farm Bill
» SNAP (formerly food stamps)
Child Nutrition Reauthorization
» School Breakfast Program
» National School Lunch Program
» Child and Adult Care Food Program
+Afterschool Meal Program
» Summer Food Service Program
» WIC
Nation’s first line of defense against hunger…
• Reduces hunger/food insecurity
• Structural – responsive to economic need
• Targeted:
– 91% of benefits  households below poverty line
– 82% of benefits  households with seniors, people
with disabilities, or children
– 47% of recipients are children
• Helps working families as well as unemployed (42% of
participants are in households with earnings)
» Stimulates economy: each SNAP $1 produces
$1.73 - $1.79 of economic activity
» Counter-cyclical
» Creates jobs: $1 billion SNAP  9,800 to 19,800
for FTEs plus PTs
» Builds on mainstream commerce
» Reduces poverty
» Frees up family resources for other basic needs
• Raises food expenditures; improves nutrient
availability
• Improves child health
• May reduce obesity
• Across broad food categories, little difference
between food choices/expenditures of lowincome and high-income families
» 46,782,047 SNAP participants (Dec. 2013)
» Maximum $632/month, family of four (Thrifty Food Plan)
(Low cost food plan = $825.70/month)
» Average SNAP benefit: $4.20 day/person
» EBT Cards
» Over 94% of benefits redeemed at supermarkets,
superstores, grocery stores, specialty food stores, military
commissaries (FY 2012)
» Nearly 1 in 5 eligible people is missing out on SNAP
benefits; among elderly that is 3 in 5 missing out
» Increasing SNAP allotments is a key part of healthy
food/healthy economies agenda
» Basing SNAP calculations on Low Cost Food Plan is one
way to address benefit adequacy
» Nov. 1, 2013 end to ARRA boost = $5B less in FY 2013 for
SNAP food benefits—affects all HHs ($11B total multi yr
impact)
» $11 B multi-yr SNAP cuts = loss of $2.2 B purchases of
fruits and vegetables
» Important to mitigate impact, including via deductions for
out-of-pocket costs for basics ( e.g. medical and child care
expenses)
http://frac.org/federal-foodnutrition-programs/snapfood-stamps/about-thenovember-1-snapfood-stamp-benefit-reduction/
» 2014 Farm Bill failed to increase SNAP allotments—
instead made $8.6 B in benefit cuts
» Cuts SNAP ten-year spending mainly by setting threshold
payment of $20 in LIHEAP to trigger SNAP heat and eat
impact (4006)
» 850,000 HHs could lose $90 per month in SNAP benefits
» Hardest hit: CA, CT, DC, ME, MA, MI, MT, NJ, NY, OR, PA,
RI, VT, WA, WI
» Affects future option for all states
» 98 MOCs ask USDA to exercise authority to help states
coordinate with LIHEAP allocations and promote orderly
transition
» http://frac.org/pdf/keg_liheap_heatandeat_letter_to_vilsack.pdf
» States can provide $20 in LIHEAP assistance to safeguard
current and future recipients to benefits of heat and eat
» USDA Implementation Memo:
http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/LIHEAP_Implementation_Mem
o.pdf
Leveraging funds to fight hunger and support the economy
» Gov. Malloy (CT) invests $1.4M LIHEAP to preserve $66.6M annual
SNAP; protects 50K needy HHs
» Gov. Cuomo (NY) invests $6M LIHEAP to preserve $457M annual SNAP;
protects 300K needy HHs
» Gov. Corbett (PA) invests $8M LIHEAP to preserve $300M annual SNAP;
protects 400K needy HHs
» Gov. Chafee (RI) invests $1.38M LIHEAP to preserve $69M annual SNAP
» Gov. Bullock (MT) invests $24K LIHEAP to preserve $2M annual SNAP
» Gov. Kitzhaber (OR) invests $2M LIHEAP to preserve $56M annual SNAP
» Gov. Patrick (MA) invests $3M LIHEAP to preserve $142M annual SNAP
» Farm Bill has other provisions affecting SNAP eligibility,
recruitment, and where and how participants use their
EBT cards to purchase food – for example, limits on SNAP
recruitment and USDA ad buys (Sec. 4018)
» Implementation will matter for access and equity,
including regarding any particular impact on vulnerable
populations, such as elderly persons, homeless persons,
and residents of food deserts
» SNAP purchases at CSAs (4012)
» Reinvestment of performance bonus
awards to improve SNAP technology,
administration and integrity (4021)
» Increased food access for homebound
seniors and people w/ disabilities (4003)
» Mobile tech & online pilots (4011)
» Study to assess feasibility of tribal
organizations to administer more federal
food programs (beyond FDPIR)(4004)
“SNAP benefits and SNAP nutrition education spending now
have been cut four times in three and a half years. The result
is harm to health, early childhood development,
productivity, and learning. Fixing the problem of inadequate
SNAP benefits is essential to the nation’s social, economic
and fiscal policies.”
--FRAC President Jim Weill, 2/4/14
http://frac.org/farm-bill-means-less-food-for-struggling-households/
Children who eat breakfast at
school:
» Increase their math and
reading scores
» Perform better on
standardized tests
» Improve their speed and
memory in cognitive tests
» School breakfast improves
student behavior and
reduces tardiness and
absenteeism
» A healthy breakfast each
day helps prevent obesity
» Children who eat school
breakfast eat more fruits,
drink more milk, and eat a
wider variety of foods
» Children who eat breakfast tend to have more
adequate nutrient intakes than children who do not:
 vitamins
 minerals such as calcium,
 dietary fiber,
 folate and
 Protein
» A higher percentage of children who skip breakfast do
not meet two-thirds of the Recommended Dietary
Allowance for vitamins A, E, D, and B6
» Teens who eat breakfast tend to have a lower body
mass index (BMI)
» Adolescents with one or two obese parents who
eat breakfast every day are more likely to have
BMIs within a healthy range than those who tend
to skip breakfast.
» Low-income elementary school girls who
participate in the School Breakfast, School Lunch,
or Food Stamp Programs, or any combination of
these programs, have significantly less risk of being
overweight.
» Children who eat a complete breakfast, versus a
partial one, make fewer mistakes and work faster in
math and number checking tests.
» Children who eat breakfast at school – closer to
class and test-taking time – perform better on
standardized tests than those who skip breakfast or
eat breakfast at home.
» Providing breakfast to mildly undernourished
students at school improves their speed and
memory in cognitive tests
» 44 low-income students eat breakfast for every
100 that eat lunch (national rate is 51.9)
» 74% schools offer breakfast (national rate is
89.8%)
» WI ranks 43 out of 51 states (and DC) for
student participation and 49th for school
participation
» Implementation of alternative models – breakfast in
the classroom, grab and go, morning nutrition breaks
» State legislation:
˃ Require all schools to have a breakfast program
˃ Require high poverty schools to offer breakfast
to all at no charge
» Grants to support start-up and expansion
» Continue to expand breakfast by making it
accessible to all students as part of the school
day
» Partner with community organizations: antihunger, children’s health, afterschool providers
» Help spread the word to colleagues that aren’t
here: All students should have the opportunity
to eat school breakfast
» Early in the process will likely take a while…
» Invite your Members of Congress to visit child
nutrition programs
» Promote expansion of what’s working
» Possible areas for improvements ˃ Broaden direct certification
˃ Eliminate reduced-price for breakfast
˃ Provide additional equipment grants for school
kitchens
˃ Enhance severe need funding for breakfast
Follow developments on FRAC website
– http://frac.org
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– facebook.com/foodresearchandactioncenter
Follow FRAC on Twitter
– twitter.com/#!/fractweets
Madeleine Levin, MPH
mlevin@frac.org
202-986-2200 x3004