• Heat and Eat: Using Federal Nutrition Programs to Cushion the Shock of Skyrocketing Heating Bills
New Mexico is experiencing a mild winter so far. Even so, heating fuel costs have been skyrocketing and this will exacerbate the classic heat-or-eat quandary low-income households face in the winter. The federal government expects this winter’s average monthly natural gas heating bill to jump 41 percent, to $173/month, or 19.4 percent of the income from a full-time, minimum wage job. The federal nutrition programs can’t totally solve this problem for low-income families, but they can help. This FRAC publication reviews various strategies in food stamps and child nutrition. We believe this publication will help state and local officials, food stamp and TANF caseworkers, LIHEAP offices, utility executives and offices, community-based organizations, food banks, anti-hunger advocates, and others seeking to help families with this coming winter’s terrible cost crunch for poor families.
• New Mexico Must Take another Bite Out of Hunger
An editorial by Mark Winne from the Albuquerque Journal on the release of the USDA Report on Hunger and Food Insecurity in the United States
• Federal Food Programs in New Mexico a one page profile containing facts and demographics
• 2005 School Breakfast Scorecard
The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) reports that School Breakfast Program performance among the states varied widely. FRAC identified thirteen states ( Oregon, West Virginia, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, New Mexico, Vermont, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, and North Carolina) that had the best results in 2004-2005 in reaching low-income youngsters with school breakfasts – each with more than 50 students in free or reduced price breakfasts for every 100 in free or reduced price lunches. Click here for the Executive Summary.
• Communities in Crisis
Student volunteers, interns and staff with the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness surveyed 900 emergency food and shelter providers in urban, rural, and suburban areas in 32 states and 426 cities and towns. These agencies, run by nearly 45,000 volunteers and 26,000 staff, served 1.3 million clients in the month prior to completing the survey in 2004.
• Obesity, Food Insecurity and the Federal Nutrition Programs: Understanding the Linkages
The paper is a unique analysis of the dual, and simultaneous, impacts of food insecurity and obesity on low-income individuals, households, and communities. It includes information on definitions, prevalence and consequences of these public health problems for low-income people, and a detailed examination of child nutrition program operations and impacts. The paper discusses the current and future positive role that child nutrition programs can play in the prevention of the two public health problems of food insecurity and obesity. The final section on recommended policy approaches includes ideas on local wellness policies, changing competitive foods, improving school meals, implementing physical activity programs and nutrition education, and potential state and national level policy changes. This 33-page paper includes an extensive reference list and is intended to be useful to policymakers, anti-hunger advocates, and organizations and individuals that work on children’s hunger education and health issues.
• Rural Hispanics at a Glance
A major characteristic of New Mexico is the rural and Hispanic nature of much of our population. New Mexico is one of only four states with a majority-minority population. Here is a look at the attributes of this important cultural influence on life in the Land of Enchantment.
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