Federal Farm Bill threatens Poor Rural and Border Communities’ Food Supplies
By: Jose G. Landa
Copyright 2013 Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc.
As the deadline for the approval of a new Federal Farm Bill fast approaches Congress, poor, rural, and border communities in impoverished zones across the State of Texas,including Maverick County, and the United States are threatened with receiving less food supplies during 2014. Although the question remains as to how food commodities availability will be affected by the new Federal Farm Bill and funding cuts to programs such as SNAP and TEFAP (The Emergency Family Assistance Program also known as TEXCAP in Texas), one thing is certain that poor, rural, and border communities will receive less supplementary food during 2014 compounding the already poverty stricken and under nutrition communities such as Maverick County.
As of November 1, 2013, the SNAP program had a reduction in funding of close to $ 5,000,000,000 ($5 Billion) in benefits across the board for all recipients of this critical supplementary food program due to the ending of the 2009 Recovery Act. The Federal Farm Bill’s reduction of supplementary food programs’ funding in 2014 will only burden existing programs that ensure millions of people receive food assistance will affect beyond the dinner table.
The potential downfall of the reduced funding provisions of the Federal Farm Bill could force greater hunger issues on communities that struggle with food security on a daily basis such as poor, rural, and border communities.
A cut is a cut. Although organizations that are responsible for providing food commodities to those in need are always in search of supplementing their food stock to better serve those in need, further strain caused by reduced funding such as those stemming from the new Federal Farm Bill could possibly hinder their ability to receive enough commodities from programs that are set up by the federal government to service the poor and needy in rural America may suffer negative consequences on those regions that already struggle with food security, including affecting their health and education as well.
For example in 2012, The South Texas Food Bank helped an average of 26,000 families per month. In 2013, they are helping 27,000 families per month according to the South Texas Food Bank, which includes Maverick County. However, during the 2013 summer months the demand significantly increasesd with one month serving over 30,000 families and another month serving over 33,000 families.
Alfonso Casso, Jr., Executive Director of the South Texas Food Bank, noted that these summer 2013 increases cannot be attributed to the affects from the Federal Farm Bill, but more than likely stems from fewer children having a breakfast and lunch provided to them through their public schools, requiring families to feed children at home instead of at school.
This brings to light the importance of federal food programs within our public school systems which are important to providing balanced, nutritional meals to poor children whose parents cannot afford to provide these meals at home.
For example, the Eagle Pass Independent School District will see a change in their free meals program during the 2014 -2015 school year as they will begin to charge a fee for this service. The fee will depend according to the income level of parents, but it will be a charge nonetheless. Maverick County lost close to $200,000 per month from the November 1, 2013 SNAP Program funding cuts and the Federal Farm Bill is proposing to cut close to another $8,000,000,000 ($8 Billion) to SNAP benefits across the board nationally. These additional funding reductions may cause potential starvation for countless of families that live under the poverty line across the nation and within Maverick County. These cuts will in affect those programs and organizations who depend on federal funding such as the South Texas Food Bank, SNAP Program, and locally the Maverick County Food Pantry, which receives food commodities from the South Texas Food Bank.
The educational consequences could be devastating as research tells us that a child is more likely to learn more on a full stomach than on an empty one. It is known that poor nutrition at any stage in life, even before birth, can have permanent effects on learning ability. Hunger affects children’s social interactions, inquisitiveness and overall intellectual functioning. Hunger and food insecurity are significant risk factors for a number of problems which include: poorer health and nutrition, diminished physical and psychological well-being, higher levels of behavioral problems, and lower academic achievement.
Even short periods of hunger deprivation affect healthy development. People who are hungry can’t study, can’t work and can’t stay healthy. Senior adults are at an increased risk for disease due to the physical and psychosocial changes of aging. Hunger and malnutrition compound the issue. The propensity to eat junk food drops dramatically when a person has eaten a good breakfast. Most poor people who battle hunger deal with chronic undernourishment and vitamin or mineral deficiencies, which result in stunted growth, weakness and heightened susceptibility to illness.
Undernourishment negatively affects people’s health, productivity, thinking, sense of hope and overall well-being. A lack of food can stunt growth, slow thinking, sap energy, hinder fetal development, and contribute to mental retardation.
Compounding the reduced federal funding for supplementary food commodities are the health consequences of a community. For instance, Maverick County has incident rates for Diabetes, Heart Disease, and other illnesses related to poor dietary habits. Health-related issues are sure to arise at younger stages of life. Its risk will only be multiplied with cuts to vital programs such as the SNAP Program and other programs that are dependent on the structure of the Federal Farm Bill.
The realistic outcome of what’s to come may not be seen anytime soon stated Alfonso Casso Jr., Executive Director of the South Texas Food Bank. Casso stated that during the first month of the cuts on the SNAP Program ceased too see a spike of growth of families applying for food commodities through the South Texas Food Bank. Casso also stated that a clear picture of how it would affect the demand of food commodities from them was too soon to tell.
“There are three aspects to the farm bill that affect us (and food banks). One is the SNAP program (Food Stamps) which as you know, reduced benefits this past November. This program is administered by Health and Human Services Commission. Two are related to commodity food products that we receive – TEFAP (The Emergency Family Assistance Program also known as TEXCAP in Texas) and Commodity Bonus product. Both of these are administered by the Texas Department of Agriculture for the United States Department of Agriculture. Essentially they are the same except that the bonus products only exist when there is an oversupply,” said Casso.
Food Banks across the nation distribute food to the pantries, kitchens, and shelters that serve over 37 million Americans who face low food security (including over 14 million children and 3 million seniors). TEFAP enables the Department of Agriculture to purchase and distribute surplus foods from American farms to states based on their low-income and unemployed population.
“ We assume that there will be a higher demand for food and our services with a cut on food stamps . The problem for us is measuring this. The amount of food we distribute on any given month varies so when you add on this new variable, it may be hard to see on a monthly basis but we may be able to see it more clearly as we go into the new year,” said Casso.
“We could see within the next 3 to 6 months how we and other food banks are affected by all of this,” stated Casso. Casso noted that for the next fiscal year, TEFAP funding has actually increased slightly. But also stated that the increase may not be enough to offset the expected demand for food from Food Banks, but nonetheless, it was an increase.
Maverick County Food Pantry Director Becky Ballou stated that they will also not know the full extent of how they will be affected by the provisions of the Federal Farm Bill until many months into the year, but assured that she is always looking at many other options and donations from other organizations to better serve the necessities of those in the community that depend on the food commodities that the Maverick County Food Pantry provides.
Although the effects of such shortage will not be seen and felt until we have a definite answer of the extent of cuts, we must always remember that food security is the most important aspect of life especially for our children. When our Savior Jesus Christ walked the land and held gatherings to teach the gospel, the very first thing he ensured was to feed those who had gathered to listen and learn, stated Salo Otero, Marketing Director of the South Texas Food Bank. Although the real net effect of the reduced federal funding in the new Federal Farm Bill will take several months into 2014 to gauge its consequences, poor, rural, and border communities such as Maverick County will suffer significant consequences regarding the overall health of children and senior citizens as well as affect the educational performance of empty-stomach children and the overall local economy as families will have less food stamp money to spend in the community.
Photo credit: www.adams14.org
