Hunger or help for state's poor?

By: TIA ANZELLOTTI - Commentary | Saturday, May 26, 2007 6:45 PM PDT ∞

Today, our state and federal elected officials are faced with a choice. They can choose to maintain the status quo and balance the budget on the backs of those most in need, or they can choose to take real steps to reduce hunger, alleviate poverty, promote health and fight obesity.

The status quo means that San Diego ranks last among large metropolitan areas with regard to food stamp participation, with 75 percent of those who are eligible not utilizing the program. Because of this, our county is leaving about 144 million federal dollars on the table. The county Health and Human Services Agency is working hard to remedy this situation, but it can only go so far if state regulations are not changed.

The status quo maintains a burdensome and expensive food stamp program bureaucracy. Red tape requires recipients to report on household status every three months. It means that all adult members of applicant households must get finger imaged, and it makes few connections between food stamps and other nutrition programs. The current process creates overwhelming amounts of paperwork, criminalizes families seeking assistance, and continues to administer the food stamp program as a welfare program rather than what it truly is ---- a nutrition program.

The status quo has the governor putting the most vulnerable among us in jeopardy to balance the budget. The governor proposes suspending the cost-of-living adjustments for Californians living on Supplemental Security Income benefits. Currently, the benefit is often not enough to pay for rent, utilities, food and medications. The governor also suggests cutting children off of CalWORKS when their parents struggle to meet work requirements or reach time limits. These proposals will dramatically reduce the quality of life for hundreds of thousands of children, seniors and disabled residents.

The status quo means that Congress has not changed the benefit level for food-stamp recipients in more than 10 years. Today's program provides about $1 per person, per meal. Additionally, the status quo does not allow families to save for education, housing or retirement. This forces parents to choose between feeding their kids today and building a better future for them tomorrow.

A courageous choice means supporting Assembly Bill 1060, sponsored by Assembly member John Laird, D-Santa Cruz. This bill would move food-stamp reporting to every six months. Almost every other state has already made this transition, and the result has been fewer people falling off of the program because of excessive paperwork and fewer worker errors when processing reports. It is a win-win, benefiting recipients and county workers.

A courageous choice means supporting AB 1382, sponsored by Assembly member Mark Leno, D-San Francisco. This bill will do away with the finger imaging requirements for "food-stamp only" households. Only three states ---- California, Texas and New York ---- still require all adults to be fingerprinted. This program is meant to reduce fraud, but California's food-stamp fraud rate is no lower than states that do not require finger imaging. Removing this barrier will increase participation in the food stamp program and still allow us to be good stewards of federal dollars. Other mechanisms are in place to ensure the integrity of the system, and with this change more working families will be encouraged to apply for benefits. How many people do you know who feel comfortable requesting an afternoon off to go get fingerprinted?

A courageous choice means supporting AB 433, sponsored by Assembly member Jim Beall, D-San Jose. This legislation will streamline paperwork for MediCal recipients applying for food stamps. This kind of simplification reduced hunger in Oregon and other states, and it just makes sense to connect two programs that can improve health.

A courageous choice means opposing the governor's proposal to eliminate the state cost-of-living adjustment for SSI recipients and his proposed cuts to CalWORKs. These proposals would create severe hardship, homelessness and hunger.

A courageous choice means using the Farm Bill to: 1) change the name of the food stamp program to reflect the way it is administered today and focus on the fact that it is a health and nutrition program; 2) raise the benefit level so it provides the resources that families and individuals need to consistently purchase healthy foods; and 3) allow households to utilize the food stamp program to meet their immediate needs while saving for the future.

We call upon our state and federal elected officials to make the courageous choices that will truly improve the quality of life of all people living in San Diego County. With your votes you can make a difference in so many areas ---- reducing hunger, alleviating poverty, promoting health and fighting obesity, all in one legislative session.

Tia Anzellotti is the executive director of the San Diego Hunger Coalition.

First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, email addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.