Federal Cuts Challenge Local Food Programs

Accessing aid

In 2013, 83 percent of students at Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) qualified for free or reduced-priced meals through the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, enacted in 2010. Prior to the start of the 2014-2015 school year, CEP required Wisconsin parents to fill out an application that documented their participation in FoodShare. The application process was a hurdle that often deterred students from receiving free lunches.

Today, the district participates in the National School Lunch Program and parents are no longer required to fill out the free meal application. Statewide, nearly 750 schools qualified for CEP and 355 enrolled.

“Having every student come to school well nourished and ready to learn is absolutely critical to students’ well-being — and it’s critical to our work to improve student outcomes,” said Darienne Driver, MPS superintendent, in a news release.

While expansion of CEP made it easier for Wisconsin students to get free meals at school, the recent cuts in FoodShare benefits diminish the gains.

Leanne Drives and Kevin Buss, employees of Northwestern Mutual, volunteer at Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin. (Photo by Molly Rippinger)

“Those cuts affect food banks,” said Gina Styer, communications manager at Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin. “It puts a larger demand on our supply.” Typically, there are about 2 million pounds of food in the Feeding America warehouse at 1700 W. Fond du Lac Ave. and the group distributes 70,000 pounds each day to nine Wisconsin counties.

In 2014, Milwaukee County received the most FoodShare benefits of all Wisconsin counties, nearly 38 percent of the roughly $1.1 billion total aid distributed statewide.

Another federal program affected by the Farm Bill is The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), which is a USDA program that provides federal commodities to food pantries and hot meal programs. Nationwide, the Farm Bill will increase TEFAP funding by $205 million through 2023.

The Hunger Task Force administers TEFAP in Milwaukee County. In 2010, the supplemental commodities accounted for 35 percent of the total food it distributed. The commodities also help fill the Hunger Task Force’s Stockbox program, which delivers a box of healthy foods to about 9,000 low-income senior citizens each month.

Program directors at food-based charities are finding that many clients qualify for more help than they are receiving. Research conducted by the Hunger Task Force found that up to 90 percent of pantry clients are eligible for FoodShare, but less than half participate. The studies also found that many qualified applicants are not applying for other aid programs such as Medicaid, tax credits and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC).

“We want our pantries to talk to people about their conditions so that they can use the federal programs,” said Tussler. For example, she mentioned that schools could provide 15 of a child’s 21 weekly meals. Then food stamps could more adequately cover the weekly grocery bill.

“We teach our pantry coordinators all of this stuff about how these programs work so that they can encourage and help and support [people] so that we don’t create a generation of people who think the church is a store,” Tussler noted.

For Tussler, the key to making significant changes and reducing the reliance on food-based charities is community advocacy. “Why don’t we do something about the poverty in the neighborhood? Why don’t we deal with systemic issues? Why don’t we vote differently?”

This story was originally published by Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service, where you can find other stories reporting on fifteen city neighborhoods in Milwaukee.

Article Continues - Pages: 1 2