healthy food - MODERNIZING SNAP BENEFITS - SIBEJO

SNAP  benefit levels are �based on increasingly outdated assumptions, including unreasonable expectations about households� availability of time to prepare food, and need to be modernized,� a new paper explains. It calls for a 20% benefit increase in the short term and more research to modernize the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) � the estimate of a bare-bones, nutritionally adequate diet that USDA uses to calculate SNAP benefits.  The cost of the TFP, which hasn�t been updated to reflect changes in dietary recommendations since the 1970s, �assumes that low-income households can spend an unlimited amount of time preparing food from scratch and has consequently shifted toward the food items that are lowest cost but most time-intensive,� according to the paper.

Source: Center for Budget & Policy Priorities, 5/25/16, SNAP

healthy food - SNAP fraud by state employees denies people benefits - SIBEJO

New Mexico is supposed to grant people in dire financial situations expedited SNAP benefits within seven days, rather than the 30 it takes to process regular applications. But  thousands of New Mexico residents may have been cheated out of those benefits, according to new allegations that claim SNAP administrators in the Human Services Department tampered with applications to disqualify people from the program. Nine former and current HSD employees have testified that if the department hadn�t met the required seven-day processing deadline, they were told to give the case file to a supervisor. When the files were handed back to them, they say, the data on the application had been altered. Assets were added and the applicant no longer qualified for the emergency benefits. The practice, which may have been going on since 2003, allows HSD to take the longer, 30-day timeline to process the application. That way, the delay doesn�t count against its court-ordered efforts to comply with regulations.

Source: Think Progress, 5/25/16, SNAP Fraud @ the Top

healthy food - The Impact of Minimum Wage Increases on Agriculture - SIBEJO

This is such a complicated issue and I have not waded into it yet as a result.  I found this piece on Local Harvest and thought it addressed the issues involved quite well and so just wanted to point GardenShare friends to it.

Gloria

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LocalHarvest Newsletter, May 27, 2016
The Fight for Living Wages

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Photo by: Wrecking Barn Farm

Welcome back to the LocalHarvest newsletter.

I need to preface this discussion by pointing out my - and LocalHarvest's - longstanding commitment to social justice, fair trade, and living wages. Yet, as a recovering farmer who had a business large enough to have employees, I also understand the invisible math that most people never get to see. In the December newsletter we spoke to some of the challenges that US farmers face when competing with cheaper, imported food. If a retailer or a consumer can get a cheaper organic tomato grown for a 10th of the labor costs as a US organic tomato, they just might do that. Now imagine if those US labor costs were to go up 50%?

Continue reading

healthy food - FDA UPDATES NUTRITION LABELS - SIBEJO

The Food and Drug Administration finalized a rule last week to update Nutritional Fact Labels on food products. The updates include a new design for the label that highlights  calories and serving sizes, as well as new serving sizes that more closely reflect the amount of food people actually eat. The update will include two columns that list both �per serving� and �per package� calorie and nutrition information for certain products consumed in one or multiple sittings like a pint of ice cream or 3-ounce bag of chips. The rule also includes a provision that forces food producers to list the grams and a percent daily value for added sugar, that is ingredients like high fructose corn syrup they add to a product�s natural sugars. Other changes to the label include a requirement for products like a 20 ounce soda that�s consumed in one sitting to be labeled as one serving and removing from labels �calories from fat,� but �Total Fat,� �Saturated Fat� and �Trans Fat� will remain. Food groups up in arms over the new requirement have accused the Food and Drug Administration of pushing forward without the proper science to back it up.

Source: The Hill, 5/20/16, Food Label Update

healthy food - GardenShare annual dinner and auction coming up in June! - SIBEJO

GardenShare will hold its seventh annual fundraising dinner and auction on June 14, 2016 at Jake's on the Water in Hannawa Falls.  There will be a cash bar cocktail hour at 5:30 and dinner will be served at 6:30.  The event will feature a locally-sourced, fresh, seasonal menu prepared especially for GardenShare by Jake's head chef, Josh Taillon.  Tickets are $75 each.

 

All proceeds from this fundraiser support GardenShare's efforts to make healthy, sustainable food choices available to everyone in the region.

 

The dinner is sponsored by presenting sponsors St. Lawrence Health System and Stauffer Farms; partnership sponsors County Seat Realty, Green Hammer Construction, and North Country Savings Bank; and friend sponsors Coakley Ace Hardware Stores, Community Bank, Conboy Law Firm, Glow Skincare and Spa, and Save-a-Lot.

 

A silent auction at the event will also support GardenShare.  Early donations of auction items have been received from Brewer Book Store, Coakley's Ace Hardware Stores, First Crush, Inlay Design, MH Studio, Northwind Farm Day Camp, Orebed Sugar Shack, Potsdam Food Co-op, and Potsdam Town and Country Club.

 

Additional information about tickets, sponsorship opportunities, or auction donations is available at www.gardenshare.org or by calling GardenShare at 315-261-8054.

healthy food - Young Farmers & Ranchers Award Applications Are Available! - SIBEJO

The New York Farm Bureau State Young Farmers & Ranchers Program is excited to announce the 2016 Young Farmers & Ranchers Awards: Achievement and Excellence in Agriculture.  These competitive events allow young farmers to be recognized for their involvement, achievement & leadership in agriculture, Farm Bureau, and their community as well as their understanding of agricultural issues.
Young Farmers applying for the Achievement Award or the Excellence in Agriculture Award must submit their applications to NYFB by August 15, 2016.  These contests are for farmers who are 18-35 years old as of 1/31/17.  For eligibility requirements and applications visit the Young Farmers & Ranchers page on the New York Farm Bureau website or contact NYFB at 1-800-342-4143. 

The NYFB state winner of each of these competitive events receive a cash prize and trip to the American Farm Bureau Annual Convention held in Phoenix, AZ in January 2017. In addition to these prizes, the winner of the Achievement Awards wins use of a Kubota Tractor/Compact Track Loader/Skid Steer Loader and the Excellence in Agriculture Award winner receives a STIHL MS251 18� Chainsaw, Chainsaw Carrycase, Chaps, Hearing Protector & Protective Glasses (see contest information sheets and applications on NYFB website for more details).

Young Farmers be sure to submit your award applications NOW!


If you would like to nominate a young farmer to receive an application to apply for one of these awards, please contact NYFB at 1-800-342-4143 by July 1 so that the pertinent application and information can be sent to the young farmer.

healthy food - BEST PRACTICES FOR AN EQUITABLE & SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEM - SIBEJO

A new report outlines the state of food insecurity in the United States and highlights successful tools to bring healthy and sustainable food sources to underserved communities. The reportnotes that people of color, low-income communities, and families with children are most likely to live in �food deserts� with limited or no access to consistent sources of healthy food. The authors illustrate successful policies and approaches to address food insecurity through case studies of programs to (1) create healthy corner and nonprofit grocery stores and food cooperatives; (2) develop farm-to-school networks; and (3) use and improve state and local governments procurement policies, land use ordinances, and permitting processes to improve residents� diets and bring more local, fresh, and unprocessed food into low-income neighborhoods.

Source: Center for American Progress, 5/12/16, Best Practices