Transcript Slide 1

Fighting Hunger, Improving Nutrition:
Progress and Opportunities in the Texas
Legislature
Texas Food Policy Roundtable
Texas State Capitol
Austin, Texas
January 20, 2010
Celia Hagert
Senior Policy Analyst
Overview
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The economic context
Gaps in the nutrition safety net
The policy context in Texas
Work & progress in the Texas
Legislature: 1990-present
The Economic Context:
• Hunger, obesity, poor nutrition are all
symptoms of poverty
• Texas has high rates of poverty, hunger
and child obesity
• Long-term solution must attack the root
causes of poverty
• In the short-term, increasing access to
the federal food programs will help
prevent hunger and improve children’s
nutritional health
Texas Hunger Rate Linked to Poverty
Food Insecurity and Poverty Rates in Texas
17.6%
16.9%
16.6%
16.3%
16.3%
Poverty
16.3%
15.6%
16.4%
16.0%
Food Insecurity
14.8%
14.9%
2002
2003
15.8%
15.9%
14.8%
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Sources: Poverty data are one-year estimates from American Community Survey, U.S. Census Bureau. Food Insecurity data are
Texas 43rd Worst Rate of Total Population in Poverty
TX = 15.8%; U.S. = 13.2%
Source: 2008 American Community Survey, map from KIDS COUNT Data Center, www.kidscount.org/datacenter
Short-Term Solution: Improve
Nutrition Safety Net
• Make sure everyone eligible for food
assistance is getting it
• Make sure everyone who needs food
assistance is getting it
Two Problems
1. Many eligible families aren’t getting
federal food assistance
2. Many needy families don’t qualify for
federal food assistance
(Federal food assistance = SNAP/Food Stamps,
School Lunch/Breakfast, Afterschool/Childcare,
Summer Food, WIC, Commodities)
Many Texans Qualify for Food
Assistance But Do Not Receive It
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WHY?
Limited awareness
Stigma
Inadequate funding
Enrollment barriers (staff shortages, red
tape, outdated rules) make the benefits
hard to access
Source: Bridging the Gaps Project, Center for Economic and Policy Research
Many Texans Qualify for Assistance
But Do Not Receive It
Eligible
Receive Assistance
26%
24%
23%
16%
12%
11%
10%
9%
4%
2%
2%
Housing
1%
Food Stamps
Child Care
Children's
Medicaid/CHIP
TANF
EITC
Source: Bridging the Gaps Project, Center for Economic and Policy Research
Many Needy Families Don’t Qualify for
Food Assistance
WHY?
• The Federal Poverty Measure is flawed
• Poverty = 3 x cost of food per family size
(methodology from the 1960s)
• Fails to take into account today’s cost of living
• Child care
• Medical costs
• Housing
• Unfair rules leave out other populations: legal
immigrants, childless adults, former drug felons
Federal Poverty Guidelines
Family
Size
2
2007
2008
2009
$13,690 $14,000 $14,570
3
17,170
17,600
18,310
4
20,650
21,200
22,050
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Income Limits for Safety Net Programs
Texas Eligibility for Family Support Programs, 2009
Dollar amounts: Annual income levels for a family of three
$42,703
$33,874
$33,874
185% FPL
185% FPL
WIC
Reduced-Price
School Meals
243% FPL
$23,803
$23,803
130% FPL
130% FPL
Free School
Meals
Food Stamps
(SNAP)
Full-time minimum w age: $14,500
per year
(80% of poverty)
$27,465
Max. Child Care
150% FPL
$2,256
12% FPL
Typical Child
Care
TANF Cash
Assistance*
* Income limit show n is for applicants. Once on TANF, some families w ith earnings disregards and other allow ances for w ork-related expenses
can have higher incomes yet continue to receive some cash assistance.
Sources: U.S. Department of Agriculture; Texas Workforce Commission; Texas HHSC
Cost of living is 2-3 times higher than
official poverty measure
Total Monthly Expenses for Families in Austin-Round Rock as
Percentage of the Federal Poverty Level
246%
of FPL
$5,000
253%
of FPL
Monthly Costs
$4,000
207%
of FPL
$3,000
$2,000
197%
of FPL
211%
of FPL
231%
of FPL
223%
of FPL
Other
Necessities
Transportation
Medical Outof-Pocket
Medical
Insurance
Child Care
Food
189%
of FPL
Housing
Poverty
$1,000
$0
1 Adult, No 2 Adults, No 1 Parent, 1
Children
Children
Child
1 Parent, 2
Children
1 Parent, 3 2 Parents, 1 2 Parents, 2 2 Parents, 3
Children
Child
Children
Children
Note: These budgets are for families w here the employer pays 100% of one parent's health insurance and 50% of premium for spouse and/or
dependents. The poverty line is the maximum amount a family can make in a month and still be considered below the 2007 federal poverty level.
Improving the Nutrition Safety Net
Overarching Goals:
• Make sure everyone eligible for food assistance
is getting it
– Less than half of eligible population gets SNAP
– Fewer than one in five eligible children get free
summer meals
• Make sure everyone who needs food assistance
is getting it
– Since eligibility is tied to the official poverty measure,
many needy families don’t qualify for federal food
assistance
– Need to revise poverty measure or income limits for
food programs
The Texas Context
• Historically conservative policy
environment
• Distrust, hostility toward government
programs
• Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps
mentality
• Limited funding for public services
– Revenue system fails to raise enough money
– Budget/Policy choices
Fighting the uphill battle
• Educate legislators about the causes &
consequences of hunger
– Cost of hunger = $9 billion annually for U.S.
– Hunger, poor nutrition affects ability to learn
– Educated workforce critical to Texas
competitiveness
• Present realistic solutions:
– Maximize federal food dollars (i.e., summer
food program)
Fighting the uphill battle
• Know your legislators
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Get to know your local representatives
Leadership (Gov., Lt. Gov., Speaker)
Budget committees
Health & Human Services/Agriculture Committees
• Understand the process/opportunities
– Legislative
– Budgetary
• Interim charges
– Hearings
– Report (recommendations for 2011 legislation)
A Timeline of Progress:
Anti-Hunger Victories
• Established a mandate that requires lowincome school districts to offer breakfast
programs (1995)
– 99% of schools offer breakfast
– Texas has among the best breakfast
participation rates in the nation
• Increased access to WIC by expanding
clinic hours (1997)
– Approx. 90% of eligible women, infants and
children participate
A Timeline of Progress:
Anti-Hunger Victories
• Established a mandate that requires low-income
school districts to offer summer food programs
(1997)
– The number of summer food sponsors has increased
60%
– The number of children who participate has more
than quadrupled over the last decade
– The number of meals served increased 78 percent.
• Established line item in state budget that
provides $2 million in funding for food programs
outreach (1999)
– Today, $4 million in state/federal funds support a
strong network of outreach providers who also
provide application assistance
A Timeline of Progress:
Anti-Hunger Victories
• Increased access to food stamps by
revising asset limits and authorizing phone
interviews (2001)
– From 2000 to 2005, enrollment in SNAP
increased 65%
• Provided $300,000 to support food bank
efforts to provide fresh produce to hungry
families (2001)
– Today, the Texas Food Bank Network receives
$2 million to purchase and distribute surplus
agricultural products from Texas farms.
A Timeline of Progress:
Anti-Hunger Victories
• Improved automatic enrollment of
children on Food Stamps for school
meals (2005)
– Reduced administrative costs for
schools, enrollment barriers for families
• Mandated a study on ways to expand
school breakfast (2007)
• Increased funding for Food Stamp
eligibility workers (2007, 2009)
A Timeline of Progress:
Nutrition/Anti-Obesity Victories
• CATCH: Mandated school district participation
in a coordinated school health program by 2007
(2001)
• SHACs: Mandated the establishment of School
Health Advisory Committees in every district to
provide leadership in the identification and
dissemination of school health best practices
and resources for school policymakers (2005)
• Established grant programs at TDA to promote
school-based and early childhood nutrition
education programs (2009)
A Timeline of Progress:
Nutrition/Anti-Obesity Victories
• Created an advisory committee to study the
availability of healthy foods in underserved
areas of Texas (2009)
• Established a farm-to-school task force to
promote the availability of locally grown fresh
foods in public schools (2009)
• Created the Early Childhood Health and
Nutrition Interagency Council to develop a
plan for increasing physical activity and healthy
nutrition in early childhood care settings (2009)
A Timeline of Progress:
Nutrition/Anti-Obesity Victories
• Made P.E. requirements consistent with
national standards (2009)
• Allowed specialty license plate fees to fund the
Safe Routes to School Program (2009)
• Allocated $20 million for the Texas Education
Agency to make grants to low-income middle
schools to support physical education and
fitness programs (2009)
• Appropriated $4.7 million to support evidencebased obesity-prevention initiatives (2009)
Contact Information
Celia Hagert
[email protected]
(512) 320-0222 ext. 110
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