healthy food - THE POOR PAY MORE - SIBEJO

Prices for everyday purchases at grocery and drug stores are increasing faster for low-income Americans than their wealthy counterparts, according to new research from Harvard University. Researchers found that retail prices are increasing by more than 2% per year for goods purchased by consumers with incomes below $30,000, but just 1.4% per year for those with incomes above $100,000. Most of the price discrepancy can be attributed to wealthy consumers� habit of buying premium brands, which tend to have more stable prices over time, according to the study. While apparently small, if that divergence continues it would become hugely important in a relatively short period of time. After 20 years, for example, every dollar in the pocket of a poor consumer would be worth just 88 cents compared to what a wealthier consumer would be able to buy with it at the grocery store, given the differences in inflation and in both consumers' preferences.

Source: Washington Post, 5/20/16, Poor Pay More

healthy food - POVERTY IS TOXIC TO CHILDREN�S BRAINS - SIBEJO

Mounting evidence shows that children who grow up poor are more likely to be subjected to stresses like hunger and neglect that act like toxins and hijack the developing brain. In small doses, stress is normal, even helpful. But repeated exposures to adverse childhood experiences remake the architecture of a child�s developing brain, particularly in the prefrontal cortex, which is in charge of executive function and differentiating between good and bad, and the hippocampus, which handles memories and learning. Toxic stress can interact with other toxins like air pollution with consequences including cognitive deficits and emotional disorders, which in turn, help perpetuate disadvantage. There is evidence that children aren�t only affected by stress they experience directly, but by traumas experienced by their parents and grandparents. Some researchers have found evidence that these traumas are passed from parent to child.

Source: Mailman School of Public Health, 5/10/16, Toxic Stress

healthy food - 10 FACTS ABOUT FOOD INSECURITY & SNAP - SIBEJO

1. One in seven households was food insecure in 2014�meaning that at some time during the year they had difficulty providing enough food for all of their members. 
2. 15 million children live in food-insecure households. 
3. Even more troubling, in 2014 almost 7 million households suffered one or more periods during which food intake of household members was reduced and normal eating patterns were disrupted because the household lacked money and other resources for food. 
4. Food insecurity is distinct from poverty. 
5. In 30 states and the District of Columbia the rate of food insecurity is higher than the rate of poverty. 
6. Two-thirds of food-insecure households have annual incomes above the federal poverty level. 
7. And because many households may be food secure one year but not the next, an even larger share of households has had some experience with food insecurity than any single-year snapshot suggests.
8. SNAP is highly effective, lifting millions of people out of poverty and increasing the resources they have available to purchase food. 
9. Furthermore, several studies have found that SNAP reduces the likelihood that a household will experience food insecurity or very low food security. 
10. Recent studies have shown that SNAP improves health outcomes and households� financial well-being, and even improves the later-life outcomes of individuals who had access to the program as children.

Source:  Brookings Institution, 4/21/16, SNAP & Food Insecurity

healthy food - FRAC Focus: Obesity and Poverty - SIBEJO

The Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) is pleased to release this new issue of FRAC Focus: Obesity and Poverty. This periodical e-newsletter focuses on obesity and low-income children and adults, looking at the intersection of obesity, low income, food insecurity, the federal nutrition programs, and federal food and nutrition policy.

This issue first features a summary of the Aspen Institute�s Advancing Health through Food Security: A Multi-Sector Approach to Address the Disease Burden and Costs of U.S. Food Insecurity on our Health System. The report explores our current understanding of the short- and long-term impacts of food insecurity on healthcare costs as well as potential solutions to address food insecurity and its health implications. 

April 2016
Online Version

healthy food - WHY POOR WORKING MOTHERS CAN�T GET AHEAD - SIBEJO

Single mothers comprise more than 85% of welfare recipients, which is why child care support was a key focus of welfare reform legislation in 1996, which boosted federal funding for child care and streamlined it into the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), the main source of funding states can use to provide child care subsidies for poor families.  The problem is that once welfare recipients get a toehold in the job market, they may end up losing child care help just as they are transitioning out of welfare.  And while CCDBG child care subsidies are supposed to help pick up the slack, only a tiny fraction of the children eligible for that help are getting it.  Research shows that access to child care help from the CCDBG program are at a 16-year low, with only 13% of all eligible children currently receiving child care assistance.

Source: Center for Law and Social Policy, 3/15/16, Child Care Subsidies