healthy food - NEW YORK EXPANDS ACCESS TO SNAP - SIBEJO

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo�s decision to increase eligibility for SNAP benefits goes into effect this month. The state raised the income limit for working households from 130% of the poverty line to 150%, which will make thousands of New Yorkers eligible for nutrition assistance. For a family of three, that's the difference between $2,177 a month and $2,512 a month. The eligibility change was one of several recommended by an anti-hunger task force convened by Cuomo. The revised limit is expected to yield as much as $688.5 million in additional federally funded SNAP benefits for as many as 750,000 people. The change is not expected to trigger an additional direct cost to state government.

Source: Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, 7/7/16, NY SNAP

healthy food - SELLING KIDS ON VEGETABLES - SIBEJO

The same marketing techniques used to convince children to eat junk food are highly effective in promoting fruits and vegetables, a new study has found. Researchers assigned 10 elementary schools to one of four groups. In the first, they posted vinyl banners around the salad bar depicting cartoon vegetable characters with �super powers.� In the second, they showed television cartoons of the characters. The third got both cartoons and banners, and a control group got no intervention. Compared to control schools, TV segments alone produced a statistically insignificant increase in vegetable consumption. But in schools decorated with the banners alone, 90.5% more students took vegetables. And where both the banners and the TV advertisements were used, the number of students taking vegetables increased by 239.2%.

Source: New York Times, 7/5/16, Kids & Vegetables

healthy food - INCENTIVES HELP SNAP PARTICIPANTS EAT HEALTHIER - SIBEJO

Financial incentives can help SNAP families eat healthier foods. According to a randomized controlled trial, a 30% rebate on fruits and vegetables increased their daily consumption by 26%. The trial evaluated USDA's Healthy Incentives Pilot program, which offered a 30% rebate for 1 year on certain fruits and vegetables purchased at participating retailers using SNAP benefits. The rebate was offered for fresh, canned, frozen, and dried fruits and vegetables without added sugars, fats, oils, or salt. White potatoes, dried beans and peas, and 100% fruit juice were not eligible for the rebates.

Source: MedPage Today, 6/28/16, SNAP Incentives Work

healthy food - Farmer Friday: J & W Orchards - SIBEJO

The beauty of fruit trees in pristinely mowed rows struck me as I pulled into the driveway of J & W Orchards in Norfolk. Escorting me to the front door was a stone path lined with immaculate perennial gardens, completely weed free and in full blossom. Angie Conger opened the door to freshly mopped floors, but she immediately discredited her hard-work as she encouraged me to enter her home with shoes still tied to my feet. Here I met Fred, her husband, who also works as a full-time mechanic.

Up until last August, this dream plot of eight acres belonged to the late Walter Shine. The 800 fruit trees behind the house were the result of his life-long dream to cultivate 1000 trees- a feat Walt achieved over the course of forty years. When he passed away, the land was turned over to his daughter, Angie, who has helped on the orchard for many years now. �Helping compared to fully operating are two extremely different things�my father could name an apple tree by sight, but I�m just beginning to learn,� Angie said, expressing how difficult the turnover has been in the past year.

This is now Angie and Fred�s second year tending the plums, apples, pears, grapes, and raspberries. Last year, a hard late frost damaged a large portion of the crops. This year they are seeing the remaining repercussions of the late freeze coupled with this summer�s drought; the foliage on the trees thirsts for water, evident by yellowing edges, and the fruits themselves are below average size for this time of year.

While orchards are a great way to conserve farmland for future generations, a fact mentioned in David Rice�s profile, they certainly require constant attention, effort and a backup savings account. How much work is poured into each tree is a point Fred stressed. If a tree isn�t bearing fruit, then it also isn�t yielding profit. As we walked through the orchard, Fred pointed out which trees he planned to pull this season and replace this season. Each tree roughly cost $25, depending on the variety. Typically, an apple tree produces 3-4 bushels per season. At $20 a bushel for a �fresh� apple, which roughly figures into $60-80 a tree, the net revenue is approximately $35-55, not allowing for other costs.

To keep the tress producing, Fred sprays either Captain 15 or Boron every 10-14 days with a 100-gallon sprayer that attaches to his tractor. The two pesticides combat insects and other pests in ways that Fred simply does not have the manpower to do himself. Already he paints the base of his trees with white latex paint, which deters deer and vermin from girding the tree trunks. Fred would use more effective methods of pest control that would permit him to reduce the application frequency, but to do so requires a license. He hopes in the future to secure one. Future plans for the orchard also includes installing an irrigation system, which will help Fred and Angie meet their goal of 1,000 fruit trees.

Walking with the couple, I could see how much devotion both invest into the land. They share a mutual love for Walt�s dream, which they have amassed into their own, and are determined to make the orchard a success. This season, they are opening the orchard for a U-Pick, an option many farmers resort to because it cuts down on the labor cost. �Our orchard is a year-round job,� Angie said. �Farmers, whether fruit or vegetable, don�t really get a vacation.�

Angie�s point raised another in my mind: how hunger occurs daily for many in St. Lawrence County. The issue extends beyond the rumble in stomachs if one examines having access to processed v. fresh food. The latter is considered a luxury. When I asked Fred for his thoughts on the matter, he replied, �Hunger means you�re hungry.� His simplistic response reminded me having access to fresh, healthy and local food is not a matter that can afford a vacation. Like a farming, hunger is a year-round manifestation. Our bodies need nutritious meals to fuel our body. In order to ensure this access, we must support our local farmers in their vision and mission to feed our communities. This is a feat Angie and Fred are accomplishing as they continue Angie�s father�s vision of an orchard.

healthy food - CONGRESS FIGHTS OVER SCHOOL MEAL MONEY - SIBEJO

Rep. Todd Rokita�s (R-IN) proposal in the House child nutrition bill to conduct a block grant pilot program for school meals in three states �demonstrates a broader effort to block grant the school meal program nationwide,� said Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT). If the pilot program were approved, states that were chosen would be given a capped amount of money for child nutrition programs to use as they see fit. The one requirement is that they provide at least one affordable meal a day. According to the School Nutrition Association, block granting a program makes it easier to eliminate. The House bill also would raise the threshold for schools to participate in the community eligibility program to 60% of students in poverty, thus eliminating the ability of 7,000 schools to offer free lunch to all students, and would eliminate that option for 11,000 schools currently eligible but not participating.

Source: The Hill, 7/5/16, School Food Fight; Center for Budget & Policy Priorities, 7/8/16, Child Nutrition Bill

healthy food - IS SUSHI HEALTHY? WHAT ABOUT GRANOLA? - SIBEJO

Americans think granola bars, frozen yogurt, and SlimFast shakes are healthy; nutritionists disagree and counter with quinoa, tofu, hummus, and wine.  Why the difference?  One possibility is that everyday Americans don�t notice all the added sugar in the foods they, but not nutritionists deem healthy.  And, many average consumers may not be familiar with newer foods, like quinoa (which many nutritionists praise as a �supergrain), or ethnic imports, like tofu and hummus. There are some areas of nutritional consensus. Nearly all nutritionists and consumers surveyed agreed that oranges, apples, oatmeal, and chicken could be described as healthy and that chocolate chip cookies, bacon, white bread and soda could not.

Source: New York Times, 7/5/16, Healthy Foods

healthy food - FOOD DIVIDE GROWS BETWEEN RICH & POOR - SIBEJO

Overall, Americans are eating better. Between 2002 and 2012, the percent of people eating a poor diet fell from around 56% to under 46%. But it's a different story if you separate people out by income. High-income Americans are eating better than ever � swapping fruit juice for whole fruits, replacing refined grains with whole grains, and eating tons of nuts � while the low-income group has improved much more modestly. Here's how some of the trends break down:

• High-income people are eating a lot more fruit, while those in the low-income group didn't see a significant change. By 2012, high-income people were eating almost two more servings of fruit per week, replacing fruit juice (a less healthy option) with whole fruit.
• Everyone is eating more whole grains, but only high-income people are dropping their consumption of refined grains like white bread and corn flakes.
• Everyone is drinking fewer sugar-sweetened beverages like soda and sports drinks, but high-income people are drinking a lot less than low-income people. The two are basically falling in lockstep.

Food cost is undoubtedly part of the reason for this gap, but it doesn't fully explain it. Other, less tangible factors also play a role: the time cost to buying foods and preparing them yourself; a nutrition knowledge barrier, and heavy marketing of junk food and fast food to low-income people.  

Source: The Week, 7/4/16, Food Gap