By Triada Stampas,

Right now, Congress is considering legislation that would cut off a critical source of support provided by the Child Tax Credit to our most vulnerable working families.

At a time when one in five children relies on soup kitchens and food pantries in NYC, this legislation would

Cash refunds received by tax-paying immigrants through the Child Tax Credit help some of our most vulnerable families keep food no the table. Act now >

deny cash refunds that the Child Tax Credit provides to working immigrants who file taxes with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) instead of Social Security Numbers. Cutting the credit means increasing taxes on millions of struggling, working families across the country.

More than half of low-income households with children in New York City struggle to afford food. Last year, ITIN filers who accessed the Food Bank’s Free Income Tax Services had an average household income of $10,800 and received, on average, $1,160 in Child Tax Credits — a significant boost for low-income working people struggling to raise children in New York City.

Simply put, the Child Tax Credit helps keep food on the table for working families. The decision is now in the hands of a Congressional “conference committee” of House and Senate members — and their decision is expected soon! 

Tell Congress: Protect the Child Tax Credit. Protect our most vulnerable children.

By Triada Stampas,

In his State of the State address, Governor Andrew Cuomo called for New York City to end the practice of finger-imaging for food stamps — a practice that stigmatizes the program and acts as a barrier to participation.

Throughout the U.S., only New York City and the state of Arizona continue to require finger-imaging, as other cost-effective, reliable fraud detection and prevention methods are in use in New York State and across the country.

With such great need in New York — nearly three million people struggle to afford food in NYC alone — and with alternate measures readily available, our neighbors cannot wait any longer for this stigmatizing and burdensome requirement to end.

With the Governor's recent statements, an end to this practice is finally in sight. We hope you will join us in our call to Albany: Let's end finger-imaging for all food stamp applicants NOW! Please act today!
 

Newt Gingrich's labeling of President Barack Obama as the "best food stamp president in American history" drew a sharp rebuke from the White House this week, underscoring how the federal food assistance program has again become a flashpoint in national politics. The New York State food stamp program received a boost from Governor Cuomo, whose executive budget would increase funding for food stamp outreach by $1 million, consistent his pledge to eliminate barriers to access. Also this week: Congress returned to session and prepared to discuss the yearlong extension of the payroll tax cut, with both parties hoping to avoid the partisan squabbles that marked the end of 2011. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released data showing that obesity levels remain unchanged over the past decade, a finding that suggests national efforts at promoting healthful eating and exercise are having little effect on the overweight.

Campaign Renews Scrutiny of Growing Food-Stamp Program, Wall Street Journal, 1/17
Newt Gingrich continued his attack on the White House and SNAP, saying President Obama had boosted the rolls by opposing "American jobs" and failing to spur economic growth. The program's supporters say SNAP is efficient and effective. Kevin Concannon, the USDA's undersecretary for food, nutrition and consumer services, said the program has grown, as it was supposed to, because of the economic downturn, not because the Obama administration had adopted policies to expand its rolls, as Mr. Gingrich has suggested. 

The 311 on Food Stamps: What You Need To Know, MetroFocus, 1/18
It's an undeniable fact that millions of New Yorkers are hungry and need assistance to feed their families. More than 3 million a month, to be exact. But just how to help is a contentious issue. Here's what you should know about Food Stamps in New York.

Parties Confident of Extending Payroll Tax Cut, New York Times, 1/17
Republicans and Democrats say passage of a yearlong extension should go smoothly, and they vowed not to have another 11th-hour crisis before the temporary extension expires at the end of February. "We feel all the concessions going forward need to come from them," said one senior Senate Democratic official.

Obesity Rates Stall, But No Decline, New York Times, 1/17
After two decades of steady increases, obesity rates in adults and children in the United States have remained largely unchanged during the past 12 years, signaling that the country will be dealing with the health consequences of obesity for years to come.

Farmers want agriculture bill to keep safety net: Reuters survey, Reuters, 1/13
Farmers think Congress should seek cuts in agricultural spending but protect growers from volatile prices and low yields by retaining a safety net when it writes a new farm law this year, a Reuters survey released on Wednesday found. Almost half of the survey participants supported shifting the emphasis of the farm program to protecting farms from revenue loss rather than setting prices.

The Food Bank released its annual research report this week, NYC Hunger Experience 2011: Support and Sacrifice, which revealed a startling increase in the number of middle-income and college-educated New Yorkers struggling to afford food. “The fact that education is no longer a buffer against poverty and hunger is antithetical to conventional wisdom and a blow to everything we’ve ever been told,” Food Bank President and CEO Margarette Purvis said. In other news, the mayor and the governor disagreed on finger-imaging of food stamp applicants and the NYC Health Department launched a new campaign to warn New Yorkers against super-sized portions.

More College-Educated NYers Struggle To Afford Food, Report Finds, NY1, 1/11
The Food Bank's NYC Hunger Experience 2011 report finds that between 2010 and 2011 the number of college-educated New Yorkers concerned about affording food or needing assistance getting food increased by 25 percent. The Food Bank says the study shows that higher levels of education don't always provide a safety net against hunger.

NY Gov. Cuomo sets aggressive agenda for 2nd year, Associated Press, 1/5
While outlining an aggressive agenda to boost New York's economy during his second year in office, Gov. Andrew Cuomo advocated several measures to help the poor and dispossessed, such as better access to food stamps. He said 30 percent of New Yorkers eligible for food stamps, about 1.4 million people, don't get them — leaving more than $1 billion in federal funds unclaimed annually. The state should help remove barriers and stigma and end fingerprinting as a requirement, he said.

Bloomberg Says He Will Fight for Fingerprinting Rule, New York Times, City Room, 1/5
A day after Gov. Andrew Cuomo vowed to end New York City’s policy of requiring food stamp applicants to be electronically fingerprinted, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg defended the policy and said he would try to convince the governor to keep it in place.

In New Ads, Health Department Offers Super-Sized Warnings, New York Times, City Room, 1/10
In a new set of posters in English and Spanish, the health department depicts the steady increase in sizes of soda cups and French fry sleeves against backdrops of unhealthy people, including a diabetic man who is missing most of one leg. The ads, which began appearing in the subway system on Monday, warn that obesity and diabetes have become more common as the average size of food servings has risen.

Break‘fat’ club, New York Post, 1/8
A study led by Department of Health official Gretchen Van Wye compared kids who ate breakfast in class with kids in control schools where breakfast is served only in the cafeteria. It found that about one in five kids who ate in class were eating breakfast twice. “Special care should be taken to ensure that children are not inadvertently taking in excess calories by eating in multiple locations,” she writes in the research paper. Some of her colleagues fear that the controversial study could lay the groundwork for scrapping part or all of city’s free breakfast program.

By Triada Stampas,

This past Wednesday, Governor Andrew Cuomo delivered his second State of the State address. After a year when critical anti-hunger programs have been under threat at the national level, I was overjoyed to hear the governor highlight child hunger and speak out forcefully for expanding access to the food stamp program (SNAP) by removing barriers to participation and eliminating stigma — including ending the practice of finger-imaging.

In New York City, 76 percent of all households with children struggle to afford food.

Since I couldn’t say it better myself, here is what the governor said:

“For all of our progress, there are still basic wrongs to right. There is never an excuse for letting any child in New York go to bed hungry. Statewide, 1 in 6 children live in homes without enough food on the table. Yet 30 percent of New Yorkers eligible for food stamps — over 1.4 million people — do not receive them, leaving over $1 billion in federal funds unclaimed every year.

“We must increase participation in the food stamp program, remove barriers to participation and eliminate the stigma associated with this program. And we must stop fingerprinting for food. No child should go hungry in the great State of New York and we will do all that we can to prevent it.”

In addition, Governor Cuomo called for a number of other initiatives that will help those we serve, including:

• improving food access in food deserts;
• foreclosure relief and tenant protection;
• setting up a health insurance exchange to provide more New Yorkers with insurance and lessen healthcare costs; and
• reducing (or, for some, eliminating) the state income tax burden on low-income New Yorkers.

It will take a lot of work to make all of this happen. But the fact that these issues all made it into this year’s address means that these are the items Governor Cuomo has pledged to prioritize and devote resources to seeing done.

We don’t see this happen every day, and we will be doing everything we can in the coming months and year to help make sure that true progress is made.

Last week, the Super-committee failed to reach agreement on a deficit reduction plan, which will result in over one trillion dollars in federal budget cuts across-the-board, including an estimated five billion dollars out of the New York State budget over the next ten years. Although substantial components of the hunger safety net will be exempt, deep cuts in other areas are likely to increase the need for emergency food. With emergency food organizations already struggling to meet need this holiday season, Governor Cuomo announced $1 million in grants to New York State’s food banks and launched a state-wide initiative urging businesses to give directly to food banks during the holidays. The New York City Council held its annual oversight hearing on hunger in New York City, focusing on finger-imaging for food-stamp applicants, which only New York City and the state of Arizona require. And the Census Bureau released sobering statistics indicating one in five U.S. children now live in poverty.

For Deficit Panel, Failure Cuts Two Ways, The New York Times, 11/21
The latest Congressional failure to agree on a plan for balancing the government’s books could yield a surprising result: a sharp reduction in annual federal deficits, larger than anything contemplated by the special panel that reached its fruitless finale on Monday. But the absence of an agreement also threatens to significantly slow growth in an already ailing economy by raising taxes on almost everyone while reducing government spending on almost everything.

Soup Kitchens and Pantries Struggle to Feed Hungry New Yorkers, DNA Info, 11/21
Many soup kitchens and food pantries across the city have been struggling to meet expanding demands while their budgets are shrinking. They’re bracing for the possibility of more cuts on the horizon. The Food Bank for New York, which distributes food to a network of roughly 1,000 local programs citywide, said this summer saw several emergency food providers having to temporarily close their doors. The organization is worried that food assistance could be slashed even more by a special Congressional committee on deficit reduction, which is supposed to vote Wednesday on ways to cut $1.2 trillion from the federal government over 10 years.

NY launches food bank funding drive, Associated Press, 11/24
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is launching "Help Your Neighbor," a statewide initiative to urge businesses and New Yorkers to give directly to regional food banks this holiday season. Cuomo also says $1 million in grants will be given to eight food banks across the state and an additional $620,000 in grants for emergency food relief organizations in communities hit by recent flooding and storms. The "Help Your Neighbor" initiative encourages New Yorkers and businesses to donate resources to help restock and fill the shelves of food banks. As a result of bad weather this year, some New York farms have struggled to provide to food banks. Additionally, Cuomo says, some donors have scaled back their giving due to tough economic conditions.

The city defends a finger-imaging requirement for food-stamp applicants, Capital NY,11/22
The Bloomberg administration's practice of requiring food-stamp applicants to be fingerprinted isn't a common one. The only other jurisdiction in America that imposes the same requirement, at the moment, is the state of Arizona. The application process for food stamps In New York City isn't terribly simple to begin with. And the finger-imaging requirement is being imposed as the need for food stamps increases, with one in five New Yorkers, and one in three children, now living in poverty.

More than 1 in 5 U.S. children poor, Census says, Reuters, 11/18
The number of children in the United States considered poor rose by 1 million in 2010, the U.S. Census said on Thursday, with more than one in five of the youngest Americans now living in poverty. "Children who live in poverty, especially young children, are more likely than their peers to have cognitive and behavioral difficulties, to complete fewer years of education, and, as they grow up, to experience more years of unemployment," the Census said.

This week in New York City, the Food Bank For New York City released a poll revealing that one-fourth of households with a military veteran in our city are struggling to put food on the table while Congress deliberated over whether to pass legislation to help veterans find employment. Despite higher numbers of job openings, job competition remains fierce for veterans and non-veterans alike. While Mayor Bloomberg sent his recommendations to the deficit-cutting Super-committee in Congress, reports of partisan divisions among the members raise questions about whether they will be able to reach a deal.

Poll: Veterans Looking for Food Help, The Wall Street Journal, 11/10
About one in four New York City households with military veterans has trouble putting food on the table, according to the Food Bank For New York City's latest research report. Veterans in such households are eating less frequently and choosing to pay other living expenses — rent, utilities, medical care and transportation — over food, which they get more frequently from food pantries and via government assistance, according to the poll by the Marist Institute for Public Opinion.

Senate Acts on 2 Pieces of Proposal on Hiring, The New York Times, 11/7
The Senate on Monday cleared the way for a measure that would repeal a tax withholding program on government contractors and provide tax incentives for companies that hire veterans, making them the first pieces of President Obama’s jobs plan to gain some momentum in Congress. The Senate voted 94 to 1 to take up the bill to end a new tax withholding program on government contractors after the House easily passed the measure last month.

Job openings rose to three-year high in September, but competition for each job remains fierce, Associated Press, 11/8
Employers advertised more jobs in September than at any other point in the past three years. The increase suggests hiring could pick up in the next few months. Competition for jobs is fierce. And many employers aren’t rushing to fill some because they are worried about the strength of the economy. Still, most economists say the increase in openings is a reassuring sign. Nearly 3.4 million jobs were posted in September, the Labor Department said Tuesday. That’s the most since August 2008, one month before the financial crisis intensified.

Mayor Bloomberg Outlines Plan To Balance United States Budget, Associated Press, 11/8
Congress' deficit-fighting "supercommittee" must take bold action to balance the budget, and both parties must be willing to compromise to get it done, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Tuesday. "For too long, Washington has operated on the 'something for nothing' principle," Bloomberg said in speech in Washington. "Both parties have promised their constituents the world — and given them debt and a sluggish economy and anemic job growth." Bloomberg, a billionaire entrepreneur, said U.S. business leaders won't invest or hire workers until they know how Washington intends to grapple with the deficit.

Supercommittee members: panel shy of deficit compromise, Associated Press, 11/14
Despite prodding from President Barack Obama, members of Congress’ supercommittee concede no deal is in sight to meet their goal of $1.2 trillion or more in deficit savings over the next decade. Instead, with only 10 days remaining until a Nov. 23 deadline, the panel is divided along partisan lines and Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C. said Sunday the six committee members of his own party “have not coalesced around a plan.” Despite the difficulties, Clyburn and Republicans on the deficit panel all said they haven’t given up hope of a deal by the deadline.

This week, Food Bank CEO Margarette Purvis talked about our city's childhood obesity problem in the Huffington Post, census data showed a record high percentage of Americans are now living in poverty, and President Obama continues to strategize passing his jobs proposals — all while the deficit “supercommittee” in Washington attempts to resolve our nation’s budget deficit. Under the threat of federal funding cuts, local organizations like Food Bank network member Project Hospitality in Staten Island are already struggling to keep pantry shelves full for neighbors in need. One bright spot, however: nutrition education programs like the Food Bank’s CookShop are empowering low-income children and families in New York City to make healthy food choices.

Beyond the Grocery Store...Teaching Children Where Their Food Comes From, The Huffington Post, 11/1
It's no secret that New York City has a major problem with childhood obesity. On the national stage, Michelle Obama's Let's Move initiative, Rachael Ray's Yum-o! and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation are all shining a light on the nation's alarmingly high rates of childhood obesity while advocating for nutrition education as a way to empowering kids to make healthier choices. And right here in New York City, nutrition education programs like the Food Bank's CookShop and Hunger Solutions New York are taking the fight locally.

Poorest poor in US hits new record: 1 in 15 people, Associated Press, 11/3
The ranks of America's poorest poor have climbed to a record high — 1 in 15 people — spread widely across metropolitan areas as the housing bust pushed many inner-city poor into suburbs and other outlying places and shriveled jobs and income. New census data paint a stark portrait of the nation's haves and have-nots at a time when unemployment remains persistently high.

Deficit Committee Could Seek More Time, a Top Democrat Says, The New York Times, 11/2
A top House Democrat said Wednesday that a bipartisan committee seeking ways to slash the budget deficit could seek an extension if it was unable to meet its deadline, just three weeks away.
With no visible signs of progress, 6 of the 12 committee members have begun meeting privately in hopes of overcoming what appears to be the biggest obstacle to agreement: a deadlock over whether tax increases should be part of a deficit-reduction deal.

Obama, Top Democrats Meet to Plot Jobs Strategy, Reuters, 11/1
President Barack Obama will meet top Democrats from the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday to plot strategy on how to advance his jobs proposals that are stalled in Congress amid Republican resistance. The White House talks follow a series of unilateral steps by Obama over the past week aimed at seizing the initiative from his Republican foes and showing voters he is serious about tackling high unemployment and a sluggish economy.

The cupboard is bare at Staten Island's food pantries, Staten Island Live, 11/4
Indeed, there is a crisis at the Project Hospitality Food Pantry, at its main location on Bay Street and the 21 mobile food pantries in churches and other sites the not-for-profit serves in every part of the borough: Donations from food drives and private individuals that usually pour in at this time of year have virtually dried up. Add in cuts in the federal, state and city food assistance programs serving the hungry and the result is chilling insecurity for the borough's thousands of hungry families.

By Triada Stampas

Last week, the Food Bank kicked off the 18th year of our signature nutrition education program with a day-long conference, training teachers and educators to bring our CookShop program to students and parents in public schools throughout New York City.

USDA Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services Kevin Concannon

A testament to the Food Bank’s continued commitment to nutrition education, CookShop will now be bringing the knowledge and tools to adopt a healthy diet on a limited budget to more than 135,000 low-income children, teens and adults through interactive workshops and peer-led social marketing.

This year, the Food Bank was proud to introduce important updates to CookShop. The CookShop Classroom for Elementary School curriculum, for example, now links nutrition education lessons directly to core subjects like math, language arts and science, and, importantly, to the school meals children have access to every day. CookShop for Families not only engages parents and guardians in workshops that complement the Classroom curriculum, it now also incorporates important skills like budgeting and meal planning.

United Federation of Teachers (UFT) President Mike Mulgrew

This year’s keynote speakers – USDA Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services Kevin Concannon and United Federation of Teachers (UFT) President Mike Mulgrew – joined Food Bank President and CEO Margarette Purvis at the conference, showing their support and appreciation for the teachers, parent coordinators and school staff who make CookShop a reality.

“We live in challenging times, and teachers can play such a vital role, not only in ensuring that children won’t go hungry, but that they also eat healthy foods,” said Under Secretary Concannon.

Michael Mulgrew told us that he still makes the recipe he learned to prepare during his visit to a CookShop for Families workshop in the Bronx. The UFT President further praised the hands-on CookShop curriculum for making learning accessible to all students, including those in special education.

Teachers participated in hands-on workshops.

Perhaps best of all, the conference gives us a great opportunity to hear from the CookShop teachers and educators directly about what they most value in the program.

”This is an excellent idea - to link [the lessons] to math, science and language arts,” said six-year CookShop veteran Millie Peguero, referring to recent updates to the curricula she will be implementing in her Manhattan kindergarten class. “We’ve already noticed that the apple lesson, for example, coincided with a science lesson on fruits of the season, so we use that as the science lesson that day.”

By Triada Stampas, 

Click here to enlarge

As budget and deficit reduction negotiations continue in Washington, the future of critical safety-net programs like food stamps (SNAP) and emergency food (TEFAP) remains uncertain — recent proposals threaten deep cuts.

Just a few weeks ago, a few of our community-based member organizations kicked off a paper plate campaign to help share the voices and the stories of the 1.4 million New York City residents who rely on food pantries and soup kitchens with our members of Congress. Their messages, written on paper plates, are a powerful reminder of the struggles so many New Yorkers face just to keep food on the table.

The Food Bank has sent 1,000 paper plates to Washington so far, and the campaign is still going! Paper plates collected between now and the end of October will be hand-delivered to Congress Members’ offices in early November. Food Bank member organizations that participate will receive a supply of paper plates and an easy-to-follow guide for engaging clients, volunteers, staff and board members in the campaign.

If you are at a Food Bank member or partner organization and would like to join the campaign, please contact Community Outreach Manager Roxanne Henry.