The 8 immoral ways the government shutdown is hurting the needy

The following post was originally published by The Washington Post yesterday, Oct. 15, 2013. We reprint this Washington Post piece in advance of Sr. Simone Campell's appearance as the keynote speaker next week at Just Harvest's 25th Annual Harvest Celebration Dinner on Tuesday, October 22. Tickets are still available.

Grocery bags loaded with food from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, better known as WIC, sit in a cart before being loaded into a vehicle in Jackson, Miss., Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013. Despite a partial shutdown of the federal government, Mississippi has gotten permission to keep operating WIC through October. WIC helps pregnant, breastfeeding and post-partum women, plus infants and children younger than five and affects more than 94,000 low- to moderate-income women and children. Money to pay for WIC goes through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the state Health Department operates 96 distribution sites for the program. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Many of us have been dismayed by media coverage of the government shutdown, which has too rarely focused on its impact on already struggling families in our nation. Instead, media outlets have chosen easy visuals such as barricades in front of parks and monuments, along with disappointed tourists. Only a tiny percentage of segments broadcast by news outlets the first week of the government shutdown mentioned its effects on people already struggling at the economic margins.

As media obsession with political brinksmanship continues, we must refocus their attention on how real people are being badly hurt. That this is happening in the richest nation on earth is both morally wrong and shameful.

Nutrition Programs
Can anyone justify limiting or eliminating nutrition assistance to low-income women and their young children?
According to a memo from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, if the shutdown continues through October, federal funding for the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) assistance program may not be sufficient to cover all benefits.

We have already heard reports that some states closed WIC offices in response to the federal shutdown, and that in some places, grocery stores refused to honor WIC vouchers, assuming they wouldn’t get paid. On October 9, the Kansas Department of Health Environment ordered local WIC offices to only issue checks for October and to withhold November and December payments.

And though most WIC offices are open, many mothers in need have feared or mistakenly assumed that benefits were cut off.

Head Start
Thousands of poor children are losing their preschool access because of the shutdown, which left more than 20 programs across 11 states without funding on the heels of devastating sequester cuts. This number will grow if the shutdown lingers.

“Government shutdown is one cut atop an already deep wound,” according to the National Head Start Association.

Temporary Assistance For Needy Families
Congress missed the October 1 deadline to reauthorize Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), which is a cash assistance program for needy families. States may be able to extend operations through the end of October, but they have already stopped receiving federal funds. Some states are already announcing that they could soon run out of funds.

Low-income Wage Earners
Many low-wage workers are losing their paychecks or seeing their earnings dwindle even further. Examples include government mailroom clerks, many of whom are people with disabilities, who work for government contractors. Even when federal employees are told they will be paid for the time of the government shutdown, mailroom clerks and many others who work for government contractors receive no such assurance. These employees often live paycheck-to-paycheck and their suffering is real.

Job Training Programs
The lapse in federal funding due to the shutdown may also halt employment and training programs for people who rely on food stamps (SNAP). These programs, known as SNAP E&T, are being left to their own devices during the shutdown, according to a Department of Agriculture (USDA) memo. The amount of cash on hand to cover the loss of funding for these job programs varies from state to state.

SNAP E&T funds not just job training, but also GED classes, work search and placement programs, and other efforts to help food stamp recipients improve their job qualifications and find work that will lift them out of poverty.

Energy Assistance
As cold weather is already affecting parts of our nation, some states are warning that funds for low-income energy assistance programs could run out by November if the shutdown continues.

Child Welfare Services
The Administration for Children and Families announced that certain child welfare programs will not be funded during the shutdown.

Public Housing
HUD expects that the 3,300 Public Housing Authorities may not be able maintain normal operations due to lack of funding. As is true for many other programs, a lack of staffing because of government worker furloughs makes it difficult to administer needed services.

Much more
These are just a few of the more obvious impacts of the shutdown on people at the economic margins. It is clear that ongoing needs will not be met for millions of our fellow Americans. But for pregnant women and mothers who must choose who gets to eat; for children being cared for by neighbors and relatives because their parents need to work and they have no school to attend; for Americans trying to improve their plight through job training…well, for them, the shutdown is causing real pain.

People everywhere should be outraged. Today, I am joining an interfaith group of religious leaders visiting the offices of House members, calling on them to vote for “clean” budget and debt ceiling legislation so we can reopen government. I hope people across the nation will demand the same.

Sister Simone Campbell is the executive director of NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, and leader of the “Nuns on the Bus” campaigns for economic justice and immigration reform. 

Mythbusting

I'm going to ask you to do something a little weird. Ready? Ok, close your eyes and try to picture someone on food stamps. What does he or she look like? Where does he or she live? What does he or she do all day? Think about this image for a minute until you have a complete picture, and then open your eyes.

Now let's see how your mental image compares with reality.

Was the person an adult? Because almost half of food stamp recipients are children.

Was it a white person? Most Pennsylvanians on food stamps are white.

Were they in an urban setting, probably in some Northeasetern city like Philly or NYC? Were they spending the day sitting around unemployed, on welfare?

The reality? Only 8% of food stamp recipients receive cash welfare benefits. The overwhelming majority of SNAP recipients who can work, do so. And it's Mississippi that's number one in food stamp enrollment. (Check out food stamp enrollment by state here.)

If the picture on your head was on target – we're glad to hear it. But believe us when we tell you that there are many myths and misconceptions about people on food stamps. You've probably heard some of them: they're on drugs, they're self-indulgent, they're gaming the system – all just bad people living the good life on the public dime.

For these "good life" allegations to sound credible you have to believe all the baloney about what they’re using food stamps to buy – lobster, steak, and trips to the casino. For the "bad people" allegations to sound credible, you have to believe all the baloney about what they're using food stamps to buy – junk food, sweets, alcohol, and cigarettes.

So which is it? They’re living high on the hog with that whopping $4/day, or they’re scarfing down junk food? If you missed it, read this brilliant piece on cash register resentment, and the food people actually buy with their food stamps.

But without the facts it's so much easier to judge, than to feel empathy, isn't it? Which is why the Republican lawmakers that have been arguing the most for cuts to the food stamp program like to trade on these myths and misconceptions, because it helps mask the reality – the thousands of families who will go hungry as a result of their policy decisions.

Lest someone think we have a partisan view of this, there are enemies of hungry people on both sides of the aisle. What's the deal? Are they just mean-spirited? Do they think keeping poor people hungry will teach them a lesson?

The legislators leading the charge against growing food stamp funding claim the program is rife with fraud and abuse, but we know that's not true. The House Republican leadership's decision to split the farm bill in two – an agricultural bill and a nutrition/food stamps bill – was done in the name of "austerity" and reform. If by reform, they meant the rich get richer on taxpayer dollars, well the U.S. seems to be getting pretty expert in that kind of reform.

While leaving food stamps behind, the recent House farms-only farm bill made sure 75 percent of the farm supports go to the biggest 10 percent of farmers. It did so by creating "new special interest carve-outs and unnecessary subsidies that will actually expand the footprint of Washington in agriculture." What's so galling is that they did this despite the fact that "large businesses that benefit from federal agriculture programs are already enjoying record profits," and despite the fact that there is serious fraud and abuse in farm subsidies.

Will they be so generous to food stamp recipients? If only. The $20.5 billion in food stamp cuts the House voted on last time will likely just be a jumping off point. After all, splitting the farm bill in two means they don’t have to limit food stamp cuts in order to win Democratic votes for their farm subsidies – those already passed with the Dems in the minority. And we know there’ll be some cuts, because the Senate has said $4.5 billion in food stamp cuts is fine, and President Obama barely batted an eye at that.

So to sum up where we are with the farm bill and food stamp funding: as Stephen Colbert so aptly put it, "Farm programs cannot wait. We need to grow the food that people can no longer afford to buy."

Whether the final farm bill includes massive gifts to agribusiness at the expense of taxpayers and poor people will be up to us. It’s time to raise our voices and remind our legislators of the cost of hunger and of the price they will pay at the polls next election if they won’t work to help hungry children.

Join us and be a part of this movement.

Spreadsheets, Buses, and Automobiles: Ken Tallies What it Takes for the SNAP Challenge

My Food Stamp Challenge prep continues. Sunday comes and I begin to prepare for my second journey. This time no sunglasses, I don't want any collateral damage. Once again I was blessed with fine weather. I did the walk, the Incline, and one bus that let me off 3 blocks from the two stores. I got my goods and returned home. It was uneventful, other than spending 5 bucks on transportation to pick up 4.79 in groceries I was feeling pretty good about my chances of making it. I managed to make it outside of my food desert and nail some healthy foods at reasonable prices.

Here are my prep stats:


What I bought:
Even with my excel spreadsheets and iPhone I had some miscalculations but ended up with $1.34 left over. I was pleased with my take. It did require some preparation. I used my high-speed internet connection to race around the world trying to find the correct balance of nutrition for the price. I even made a trip in my car to get an idea of prices. I know this might be cheating since most people don't price out their food and then come back a couple of days later to buy it but I am a follower of Captain Kirk's philosophy (you know what I mean)*.

For my first night, I had a British dinner: eggs, boiled potatoes, baked beans and slices of tomatoes. Very plain. Sorry Brits.

*For those who don't know Capt. Kirk's guiding philosophy, it is as follows:
Never get into a situation you can't win.

Editor's Note: We realize it is now the last scheduled day of the SNAP/Food Stamp Challenge and all of Ken's posts thus far are about preparing for the challenge rather than actually taking it. It seems figuring out how to make do with less is an undertaking in and of itself, requiring ample research and planning to mitigate the hardship.

Ken Prepares for the SNAP Challenge - Part 2

After getting my groceries I'm standing there waiting for this bus. My back, my knee, my hip are all hurting. I live with chronic pain since the motorcycle accident and take great care not to end up back in the hospital. One wrong move with this sack of goods – my food for the week — could change my life forever.
Now more people are showing up at the bus stop. There's no way I can beat them to the bus to get a seat. I didn't bring my glasses so I can't even see what bus is coming.
It finally arrives and I get a seat. People are jumping on and off the bus with their two bags in hand, proper amount of content in each bag, looking at me like I'm some kind of a rookie. I'm just hoping all my stuff doesn't spill out on this dirty floor.
I get off at Carson and Smithfield to wait for my next bus. Taking the Incline and walking was out of the question. I'm not a religious man but I did take a moment here to kneel down and thank God it wasn't raining or snowing or 20° outside.
A minute seemed like an hour. But it finally came and I got a seat in the front leaving my sack of goods in the middle of the aisle for people to trip over. Then I realized: this bus is going to blow by my street leaving me two extra blocks from my home unless we catch a light and the driver has the mercy to let me off. As luck would have it we got a red light, I jumped up and made my request. "Please let me off."
Without comment the doors opened and I made my getaway. I carried the groceries the final block, neighbors staring at me as I inched my way home. Inside I went straight for the frig with the perishables, grabbed two aspirins for pain and laid down, wondering if I caused any damage to my back.
Then my eyes popped wide open. I have to make the trip again tomorrow, to get everything else on my list. See part 3.

SNAP Challenge 2013: Food Stamp Specialist Ken M. Prepares for 5 Days, 6 Dollars

It was a warm Saturday afternoon in June. I put on my iPhone earbuds, cranked up the music, and headed to the Incline. I was on a journey to buy 30 dollars worth of food that had to last me the entire work week. And according to the challenge rules, no other food allowed: nothing from the cupboard, no sneaking from the fridge at work, and no one buying me anything. Could I hack it for five days? People on food stamps do this for months.

Armed with a spreadsheet and pen I walked along Grandview Avenue dogging tourist questions and counting skyscrapers. The ride down the Mount was great - I paid 3.50 for the ride and two transfers.  I crossed the street to the bus stop and carefully eyed up my fellow travelers.  All seemed well.

I walked along Carson St. looking at the shops and people spending more money on lunch than I could for the whole week.  Inside the store, I pulled out my spreadsheet and iPhone calculator.  It could not have gone better: I was getting my items and saving .29 cents here and there.  I loaded up my cart and headed for checkout.

I took my items out of the cart and the cashier put them back in.  I wheeled my cart to the table and started to pack my bag. This stuff ain’t fitting in my bag.  I turned to the cashier for help.  He was already inpatient with me because I asked for my quarter back that was stuck in the cart.  I interrupted the line anyway.  “I need a bag...”  “There over on the shelf “ he said.  I went to the shelf and see the bags aren't free - the only one that would work costs $1.25.

I carefully packed the bag I brought.  It was so heavy I thought for sure the straps were going to break.  I carried the bag in one hand and two loaves of bread in the other.  I made it about a half a block and had to stop.  I made it another 30 feet and had to stop.  I quickly became entertainment for the people eating lunch outside.  I gave them the stink eye.

I made it to the first bus stop and that was it.  My stuff was falling out on the sidewalk.  People started to inch away from me.  I stepped on any ants that got too close to my food.

Then a thought crossed my mind: It's over 80 degrees out and the bus may be a long time coming. What if everything spoils?! I'd be ruined. No milk, chicken, or eggs for the rest of the week. I'd be living on carbs and canned goods and even less calories. I move the bag into the shade. See part 2.

Food Stamp Application #5,000: A Bittersweet Milestone

This past November, Just Harvest observed a bittersweet milestone. We completed our 5,000th food stamp application since our contract with the Department of Public Welfare began in 2007, illustrating the continuing need as more and more county residents turn to public assistance in the throes of the stagnating economy.

Just Harvest’s contract with the Department of Public Welfare charges us to complete 500 applications for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known - but still referred to around our office - as food stamps) per year; for the past two years, we have completed over three times that amount.  Over 165,000 people in Allegheny County participate in the food stamp program, and recent figures from the USDA place nationwide participation at nearly 46.5 million.

Co-Director Ken Regal told the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, “It’s a sad day when we ‘celebrate’ Just Harvest’s 5,000th food stamp application. This number sends a powerful message to those who are cutting budgets, stereotyping poor people, and putting new bureaucratic barriers in the way of people who are just trying to keep food on the table.”

So how did we (and how do we continue to) do it?

Just Harvest's food stamp specialists respond to 40-plus inquiries per week that we receive from people in need. Once a potential client contacts us, a specialist conducts a preliminary screening right over the phone to evaluate whether the household is likely to be eligible, and if so, calculates a rough estimate of the benefits they might receive. We ask questions about income, family size, and some key expenses like rent and utility payments to help us make an estimate.

The client may then apply over the phone with the help of the specialist, who submits the application via the Department of Public Welfare’s COMPASS website. Once the initial online application is submitted, our specialist creates an informational packet for the client, including documents that must be signed and returned to DPW, an explanation of how DPW works, and what the next steps are in the process – typically a phone interview with a caseworker.

In order to ensure that the process is moving along, we keep tabs on open cases through a series of follow-up calls with the client at 10-, 20- and 30-day intervals. The aim of the calls is to both troubleshoot along the way and to make sure that the client has submitted all their documents, has completed a DPW interview, and – after 30 days – to verify whether he or she has received a determination from DPW. In case of problems, we work with clients on a case-by-case basis to first help them to resolve the issue, stepping in with DPW staff when necessary.

Sometimes – through no fault of the client’s – it can be a challenge to get from start to finish, but our services have earned us solidly positive customer satisfaction reviews. “Most people are very pleased at how easy we make the process,” says former Food Stamp Specialist (now Volunteer Coordinator) Ann Sanders. “We know what questions to ask that are specific to the program, and can help them to get through an otherwise cumbersome and long application.”

* (This blog post was originally a newsletter article that went unused in our last issue - we've published it here since it's still interesting news!)

Our 'Video Harvest' - Send us your stories!

We all know a picture is worth a thousand words – just maybe, a video can be worth millions of dollars.

There’s trouble brewing on both the state and federal budget and policy fronts as it relates to programs that help out the poor, hungry and needy in our communities. We’ve heard from many of you already who have shared with us your concerns, your personal experiences, and your frustrations with the repeated affronts our elected officials have launched against our public safety net. Whether it’s using funding earmarked for welfare programs as a slush fund to balance state or federal budgets, or proposing policy changes that would make it more difficult for low-income Pennsylvanians to apply for Food Stamps or other public assistance. Our lawmakers and the media - as well as our clients and the general public - need to hear from you.

Here’s how to help:

Record (using any kind of equipment – a digital camera or cellular phone will do) your own thoughts on the following issues:

1) Threats to the already under-funded and overworked Department of Public Welfare’s funding in the state budget.

Have you ever tried to call the DPW’s County Assistance Offices? How long does it take for you to get through to a caseworker on the phone? How long do you have to wait in line to be seen by a caseworker at the CAO? Have you ever missed an appointment because they failed to notify you?

These problems could get worse if the DPW funding is cut any further under the new state budget!

2) The WelFAIR reform bills currently under discussion by the state government. Congressional supporters of these bills cite the need to fight widespread ‘waste, fraud and abuse’ in the welfare system. But, these bills would create obstacles of time, bureaucracy, and legal hurdles that can interfere with the timely receipt of benefits that low-income Pennsylvanians are legally entitled to. Moreover, these bills would make it more difficult for low-income individuals to move from welfare to work by limiting what are called “Special Allowance” payments used to pay schooling or job training.

Other bills under discussion call for photo IDs to be printed on the ACCESS cards used to make purchases (and possibly, fingerprinting for cash assistance and food stamp applicants), and periodic drug testing for certain applicants who have been convicted of drug crimes – regardless of whether they are taking steps toward recovery.

Can you tell us how you or one of your loved ones has relied upon these programs currently or in the past?

Can you tell us a story about how difficult it was to apply for and eventually receive your benefits? And how additional requirements could create additional problems?

How would you feel about being forced to submit to photographing or fingerprinting before receiving benefits that you are legally eligible for?

3) The 2012 budget budget as proposed by the House Budget Committee. This budget slashes the SNAP/Food Stamp funding and creates radical reforms to its structure. So far, it calls for a $1.27 billion cut to SNAP/Food Stamps over 10 years, and conversion of the program into a block grant arrangement, where fixed sums would be given to states, meaning that food stamp allotments could literally run dry given heavy demand.

Can you tell us how much of a difference Food Stamps make to you and your family? How would a cut to the program affect you or your children?

We'd like to include all videos that we receive in a special playlist on our Youtube channel. This will make it easy for elected officials, media and other advocates to hear your stories, insights and opinions on these vital issues. Please also include your own contact information with your video so that Just Harvest can get in touch!

Send your videos to: justharvestblog@gmail.com.

Councilwoman Natalia Rudiak takes the SNAP/Food Stamp Challenge

Pittsburgh City Council’s Natalia Rudiak will be putting conspicuously less of her money where her mouth is starting December 6.

For five days (Dec. 6 – 10), Ms. Rudiak will be taking part in the SNAP Challenge, a poverty simulation exercise coordinated by Just Harvest, a Southside-based anti-hunger organization and created by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) in Washington D.C.

The challenge is named for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps), upon which a record 42 million Americans depend to put meals on the table. In Allegheny County alone, over 150,000 households and individuals receive SNAP benefits.

For the first three days of the challenge, Rudiak will be allotted the total benefit amount per day for a SNAP recipient who reports no income – this amounts to $6.67 per day total. On Thursday and Friday, this benefit amount will be reduced by 50 cents to reflect a cut to SNAP benefits passed by Congress on Dec. 2 in order to fund the ‘Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act,’ aimed at improving child nutrition programs in schools. Starting in 2013, SNAP benefits will be reduced by $2.2. billion under the act. Benefits for a family of four would drop by $59 per month, according to FRAC.

The 'Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act' had been roundly criticized by child nutrition advocates across the country who contend that by subsidizing school meal programs with SNAP benefit funds, it effectively increases the risk of hunger for children and low-income families. Advocacy efforts have now turned to lobbying Congress to restore the SNAP cuts by some means before the close of the ‘lame duck’ session.

Rudiak has pledged to document her experience eating under the SNAP constraint via Facebook and Twitter updates (twitter.com/nataliarudiak), as well as here on Just Harvest’s blog, so watch this space for updates!

“We’re thrilled that Councilwoman Rudiak is taking on the SNAP challenge, as we feel her high profile will bring due public attention to the hardships that so many of our neighbors face in trying to maintain a healthful diet on a fixed allotment,” said Tara Marks, Just Harvest Co-Director.

Just Harvest invites others in our region to take part in the SNAP Challenge! If you are interested, send an e-mail to adamm@justharvest.org for guidelines and details.