A report on poverty in large U.S. cities conducted by the Brookings Institute shows that Columbus had the 10th largest increase since 1999. Rates of childhood poverty also increased in Columbus from 19% in 1999 to 27% in 2005. Mark Real of KidsOhio.org says that the increase in childhood poverty is mirrored by the increase in students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. In Columbus City School District the percentage of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch increased from 55% in 2000 to 75% in 2005.

The article also details the parallel increase in poverty in the suburbs of Columbus. Childhood poverty in Columbus’ surrounding areas increased from 1 in 13 children in 1999 to 1 in 10 children in 2005. Scott Marier, who is the executive director of the Westerville Area Resource Ministry (WARM) which serves the Columbus suburb, says that although Westerville is, in general, prosperous, there is still a lot of need among its citizens. He estimates that nearly 1 in 5 of the area’s students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch and also says that WARM will serve 6,500 people food this year, a 32% increase from last year.

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Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) announced that the Senate has passed the Hunger Free Communities Act. The act is designed to increase mechanisms for analyzing domestic hunger and also to increase local efforts to address hunger by establishing competitive grants for hunger-related organizations. The act also allows farmers and small business owners to receive a tax deduction for food given to food banks, food pantries and homeless shelters from January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2007.

Lugar, who has been a prominent hunger advocate in Congress for many years, says that growing demands on food banks prompted this legislation. He hopes the new legislation will “help alleviate the increased burden by allowing food banks to identify unique ways to serve their communities with federal assistance.”

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The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) recently issued a report detailing the prevalence of School Breakfast Programs in each state. The report, which is entitled “School Breakfast Scorecard 2006,” compares the participation rates for school breakfast against the more widely utilized National School Lunch Program. Nationwide, there are currently 44.6 low-income children who receive breakfast compared to 100 eating lunch. This is a large increase from 31.5 for every 100, which was the statistic when FRAC started the report in 1991.

In 2006, there were 41.6 Ohio children receiving free or reduced-price breakfast for 100 served lunch. This is an increase from 40.5 for every 100 during the 2004-2005 school year. Ohio is currently ranked 28th in the nation for participation in the School Breakfast Program. While participation growth is a positive sign, there is still much progress to be made. Increased participation will not only benefit the children receiving the meals but also the local economy. If Ohio increased participation to 60 students receiving breakfast for every 100 eating lunch, over $20.5 million would be generated in the local economy.

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An elementary school in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood is testing a pilot program called The Organic School Project. The program teaches children about proper nutrition and gardening. The students learn about different kinds of food, how food is grown, and have even started a garden at their school. Greg Christian, who founded the program, says that teaching children where food comes from helps them make healthier decisions. He says, “If we want to reconnect kids with the food source, they have to grow it.”

Plans are also being made to add organic food to the school cafeteria menu. While the menu would not be completely revamped more whole-grain products, fruits, and vegetables would be offered. Even though the official changes in the school food have not taken place, the students have already altered their thinking thanks to the program. One of the teachers at the school says that her students are consistently making healthy choices when snacks are present in the classroom.

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The Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services (SRS) received a bonus award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for excellence in the Food Stamp Program. Kansas received the award because the state had one of the nation’s lowest payment error rates for fiscal year 2005. Kansas also received an award in 2004 for the most improved payment error rate. The rate decreased from 10.45% in 2003 to 5.11% in 2004.

The award was presented by Clarence Carter who is the deputy administrator for Family Nutrition Programs for the USDA. When the award was presented, it was noted how rare it is for a state to receive an award from the USDA two years in a row. The spokesperson for the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services said, “Kansas SRS has achieved this remarkable performance for the second year in a row through the dedication of field staff and supervisors who are committed to providing accurate and timely food stamp benefits.”

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In 2006, Washington became the first state to eliminate the reduced-price category for school breakfast thereby providing all low-income children with a free meal before school. Low-income children fitting into the reduced-price category would have previously paid $0.30 for breakfast. Now, thanks to $1 million from the state legislature, children fitting into this category across the state eat breakfast for free.

The elimination of reduced-price was implemented in September. A recent survey of 48 school districts around the state reported a 39% increase in the number of breakfasts served to students qualifying for reduced-price meals. That means many children who may have otherwise missed breakfast are now eating for free. The author of the editorial believes that the money the legislature gave the schools was well spent and notes that there may now be a push to eliminate the reduced-price category for lunch.

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