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HJN local mobileBill would help local food pantries
$5 billion proposal for federal nutrition programs would help organizations keep up with cost-of-living increases.
Monday, July 09, 2007
FAIRFIELD — So far so good, Shared Harvest Foodbank officials say, when it comes to watching lawmakers approve necessary steps of a federal bill that could potentially keep funding current with the cost of living.
Shared Harvest has voiced concerns to lawmakers about more funding to pay for increasing costs for The Emergency Food Assistance Program to distribute much-needed food to pantries in Southwest Ohio.
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"We are pleased to report that the subcommittee markup vehicle includes more than $5 billion in new spending on federal nutrition programs that, if funded, would strengthen The Emergency Food Assistance Program, the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, and the Food Stamp Program," said Tina Osso, executive director of the Fairfield-based food bank.
TEFAP is a federal program that provides emergency food to neighborhood pantries.
The House Committee on Agriculture Subcommittee on Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry recently approved consideration of the 2007 Farm Bill, which includes TEFAP. The bill includes nutrition program reauthorizations and changes that would increase funding for these programs, if money is available.
The nutrition title would invest $5.4 billion over five years in the Food Stamp Program and TEFAP, making many of the key improvements need in the program, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
In addition, proposals for TEFAP call for:
• Mandatory funding from $140 million to $250 million in 2008;
•Indexing this amount for inflation annually for the next four years;
• Increasing funding authority for TEFAP grants from $60 million to $100 million annually for direct and indirect costs of processing, storage, transporting and distributing commodities.
Osso said their costs have increased 33 percent in the past four years due to purchasing food through TEFAP. The foodbank makes the program available in 39 counties statewide.
Shared Harvest on Ohio 4 in Fairfield contracts with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services to provide the program.
According to ODJFS officials, their office administers TEFAP and provides one-third of all foods to statewide foodbanks.
"I think the food challenge has been taken up by the Senate and Congress," Osso said. "Many issues are needing attention, hunger is one."
