Asnuntuck Community College Provides Student Nourishment

Since its opening in February, The Pantry at Asnuntuck Community College has expanded to 166 enrolled recipients and 27 student volunteers. ACC Women’s Leadership Institute graduate Tracy Ouelette, ACC alumna Jordanna Fallon, and Student Activities Director Sherry Paquette founded the pantry after noticing a need among the student body. The Pantry is open Monday-Saturday and provides each student with up to 40 food items per month. It is located in the cashier hallway, and participants need to show a current student ID to be eligible.

Pictured (L-R): Sherry Paquette (ACC), Bea Maslowski (Foodshare), Elizabeth D'Alessandro, & Kathleen Souvigney (Enfield Food Shelf)

The Pantry is sponsored by the ACC Student Government Association, Foodshare, Enfield Food Shelf, ShopRite, Johnson Brunetti Financial Services, and G. Donovan Associates. Sherry Paquette, Tracy Ouelette, and Enfield Food Shelf Executive Director Kathleen Souvigney are all members of Foodshare’s Enfield Hunger Action Team (HAT), which collaborates on efforts to end food insecurity.  To learn more about the Enfield HAT, you can contact our Community Network Builder, Beatrice Maslowski. 

CTDOT Hosts Job Fair

On Wednesday, May 24, the CT Department of Transportation will be hosting a job fair showcasing numerous career opportunities for individuals interested in working in the transportation industry.

Click on the flyer below for more information:

Struggle Worsens for Food Insecure Americans

"The number of Americans who are eating poor-quality food or skipping meals dropped slightly in 2015, new research shows — but for those who aren’t always sure where their next meal is coming from, the struggle to pay for food is actually worsening, a hunger advocacy group says.

Ironically, the group says in a new report, many of these families actually now earn too much to qualify for federal nutrition programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known widely as food stamps, and free and reduced-priced school lunch programs."

Feeding America, a Chicago based non-profit, states the following on this issue: "The gap between how much these folks earn and what they need to survive — the so-called “food budget shortfall.”

Source: USA Today, 5/4/17, Read More...

The Safety Net Helps People To Work

"An emerging body of research reveals that some social welfare policies actually encourage more people to work and to do so more productively. In this emerging liberal version of supply side economics, government programs enable more people to work, and to work in higher-productivity, higher-income jobs. The clearest example of a program that appears to increase labor supply and hence the nation’s economic potential is the earned-income tax credit (EITC). One study shows that a major expansion of the program in 1993 was a principal driver of higher employment among single mothers.

By 1999, 460,000 more women who headed their household were working than would have been without the EITC expansion. That is more than the number of such women who were pulled into the workforce by welfare reforms or a booming economy during the 90’s. In other areas, SNAP for example, the relationship between public programs and higher incomes and employment rates is more indirect and takes longer to play out. Research shows that low-income children who benefited early as Food Stamps were phased in were healthier and more likely to be working decades later than otherwise similar children in areas where the program arrived later."


Source: New York Times, 4/15/17, Supply Side for Liberals

Wait List For CT Child Care Subsidies Grows

Thousands of low-income families hoping to receive child care subsidies are stuck in limbo as a wait list for the program swells. About 3,400 families are now on the wait list to receive Care4Kids subsidies. That number could grow to 5,000 families by this summer, say advocates who expect 2,200 more families seeking summer-only subsidies to be turned away as well.

The program’s current challenges emerged largely because of new federal regulations put in place last year, after Congress approved changes to the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act two years earlier. These regulations required Care4Kids to increase the program’s enrollment period to one year – up from eight months – while limiting paperwork for parents by reducing a number of stringent eligibility requirements. The reporting requirements often had tight deadlines for submitting information, and resulted in many families being kicked off the program even while they still qualified. Currently, about 12,000 families are enrolled in Care4Kids, receiving child care subsidies that range from $38 to $320 per week. Governor Malloy has called for limiting enrollment until 2019 to curb costs in the program, which is running a $33 million deficit.


Source: CT Mirror, 4/11/17, Care4Kids

Majority of SNAP Recipients are Working Poor

"According to a recent report from the USDA, an increasing share of individuals who receive benefits through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program, also known as food stamps, live in households where at least one person is working.

Nearly 32 percent of SNAP households are home to at least one wage-earner, according to the most recent data on the program, compared to only 19.6 percent in 1989, as far back as USDA data is available."

Source: The Huffington Post, 03/16/17, View Article >

Financial Insecurity Takes a Toll On Cities

Having a high proportion of financially insecure residents (those with less than $2,000 in savings) can cost cities millions of dollars in lost revenue, unpaid public utility bills, and public benefit use, according to a new report from the Urban Institute. Residents with little or no savings are less likely to own homes and pay property taxes, more likely to miss water and other public utility payments, and more likely to become homeless and need financial help from the city.

The authors argue that cities should make financial empowerment for low- and middle-income families a priority, including financial coaching and providing incentives for savings.

Source: Urban Institute, 2/8/17, Financial Insecurity Costs Cities

Wage Disparity Trend Continues

"Top wage earners last year made 5.05 times what their lowest-income counterparts took home, the widest gap in data going back to 1979, according to the Labor Department. What’s worse, it shows the most recent improvement -- in 2014 -- was just a blip, and the trend is again moving in the wrong direction seen over almost four decades.

Americans near the top of the income scale, whose weekly earnings exceed those of 90 percent of all full-time wage and salary workers, made at least $2,095 in a typical week last year, according to the report released Jan. 24. Those in the bottom 10 percent earned less than $415."

Source: Bloomberg Markets, 1/26/17, Read More...

Boosting SNAP Benefits Could Improve Eating Habits

In response to the recent controversy over whether SNAP funds should be used to buy sugary drinks, one commentator suggests that raising SNAP benefits would promote healthier eating. Low-income people, he argues, particularly people of color and those living in rural areas, lack access to healthy food options.

Research on food availability finds that low-income communities tended to have fewer supermarkets and fewer “healthy, high quality foods in nearby stores.”

Even when a lack of transportation options isn’t limiting their ability to locate better food sources, low-income people may struggle to afford healthier items. An analysis of the relationship between SNAP benefits and both food spending and food-related activities shows that a $30 boost to SNAP benefits could increase vegetable consumption by about 1.5%, increase the time spent on food shopping and preparation by 2.5 and 3.5%, respectively, and decrease fast food consumption by about 2.5%.

Source: Washington Post, 1/26/17, Boost SNAP, Eat Better

Fewer TANF Dollars Going to those in Need

"A new study shows that Connecticut uses only 30 percent of its Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds for basic assistance, work programs and child care.

A policy brief, prepared by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, shows that on average states spend about half of their combined state and federal TANF funds on core welfare reform areas.

In 2015, for every 100 poor families with children in Connecticut, only 30 received TANF cash assistance, down from 70 in 2001."

Source: Public News Service, 1/16/17, View Article >

Federal Farm Subsidies Don't Help, May Hurt, Low-Income Americans

A new study investigates whether US farm subsidy policies help the food consumption and nutritional well-being of low-income Americans. It focuses on the poor, because they are especially vulnerable to changes in food prices. On net, the study finds, the impact of these subsidy programs on US consumer prices is tiny.

It concludes that farm programs do not affect food prices in a way that protects the poor. The people whose incomes are most improved by farm policies are not those at risk of poverty and hunger. The study finds, farm subsidies may compete for budget dollars with federal nutrition assistance programs that help poor people. Government spending on farm subsidies may reduce spending on SNAP and school lunch subsidies, and other food and nutrition programs in the USDA budget.

Source: American Enterprise Institute, 1/9/17, Farm Subsidies

Majority of Low-Wage Jobs Held By Women

"Oxfam America, in partnership with the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), recently released a report entitled “Undervalued and Underpaid in America: The Deck is Stacked Against Millions of Working Women.” The researchers found that of the millions of people in the U.S. working low-wage jobs, the majority are women."

The study noted that women will most likely face the need to accept employment that undervalues their education and skills.
Women will also have to face being under-compensated for their contributions.

Source: Food Tank, 12/27/16,  View Article >

Child Care Subsidies Likely To Decline

Child care subsidies for low-income families may become scarcer. States are starting to implement a 2014 federal law that requires them to do more to ensure that children who receive subsidies have a safe, educational experience. It requires states to keep families eligible for subsidies for 12 months, run background checks for care providers, and set standard ratios of children to providers.

Anticipating these changes, in 2014 Connecticut began allowing families to remain eligible for assistance for 12 months. Enrollment grew as families stayed in the program for a few extra months. Higher enrollment, plus previously scheduled wage increases for child care workers, have put Connecticut’s subsidy program $34 million over budget. The state recently announced that it will stop accepting new applications at the end of December from all but families receiving cash assistance. 

Parents who already get subsidies won’t be affected. Over 2,000 families are currently on the state’s waiting list for subsidies. A year’s child care for a Connecticut toddler can range from $7,000 to $20,000, according to the Connecticut United Way. That comprises between 23 and 62% of the average income for a nursing assistant in the state. 

Source: The Pew Charitable Trusts, 12/9/16, Child Care Subsidies; CT News Junkie, 12/8/16, Care4Kids

Who Does Your Turkey Help?

"I was unemployed for 8 months in 2014. Exhausted my unemployment benefits and was struggling to find a job. I did end up finding temporary work making $10/hr part time but as a single mother it wasn't enough. When I received a final warning that my electricity would be shut off I reached out to our town for help. I was surprised and grateful that they paid my bill for me (I was just hoping for an extension so that came as a surprise). But then I was served with an eviction notice. I was only a month behind on rent and have never been in this position before.

While I was scrambling to figure out what to do, I received a letter in the mail from our town offering to provide us with an entire Turkey dinner for Thanksgiving. I was blown away. Honestly, Thanksgiving was the last thing on my mind but the gesture meant so much more to me than I can put into words. It gave me hope and showed me that people really do care.

By some miracle, everything ended up working out for me and my family, but the whole experience put everything in perspective. There are so many families struggling so much more than I was, who aren't as fortunate to have everything "work out". I want them to at least have a normal thanksgiving and know that people care. Now that I'm working and back on my feet I want to give back. Thank you for all that you do."

Visit ATurkeyand30.org to find a drive happening near you this weekend, or to donate online. Let's make sure every family--all 15,871 that requested a turkey--can celebrate Thanksgiving this year!

Connecticut Income Inequality Increases

Connecticut’s problem of income inequality is especially acute. In 1970, Connecticut was the 36th most unequal state, today it is second. The Gini coefficient is the most commonly used measure of income inequality. It ranges from 0, a condition of perfect equality where all members of a population receive identical amounts, to 1, a condition of perfect inequality, where one member of a population receives everything. Between 1970 and 2015, the Gini coefficient for Connecticut increased from .337 to .492. Income inequality increased in every state over this time, but Connecticut, by far, had the largest increase. The increase was more than 50% greater than the average for the other states.

Source: CT Association for Community Action, 10/13/16  Income Inequality

Hunger touches every county in U.S.

USDA reports that more than 48 million people in America—including 15 million children—are food-insecure. On average, the food-insecurity rate among the nation’s 3,142 counties is 14.7% (even higher for children).

Food insecurity ranged from a high of 38% in Jefferson County, Mississippi to a low of 4% in Loudoun County, Virginia where median household income at nearly $124,000 per year. Currently, here in Connecticut 1 in 8 people struggle with food insecurity.

According to USDA 353 counties struggle with “persistent poverty,” where at least 20% of the population has been living in poverty for 30 years. There is a significant overlap between these counties and those that fall into the top 10% percent for food insecurity nationwide: of the latter, nearly two-thirds suffer from persistent-poverty. Moreover, hunger doesn’t necessarily stop once someone is above the SNAP income eligibility threshold--185% of the poverty level. In fact, more than a quarter of all food-insecure people live in such households. There are now 115 counties where the majority of food-insecure individuals are likely ineligible for most federal nutrition assistance programs based on their household income.

Source: Talk Poverty, 8/3/16, Widespread Hunger

Work requirement for SNAP: Is it fair?

When the economic crisis began in 2008, many states rolled back requirements that SNAP recipients who do not have a child or a disability must find a job within three months of receiving benefits and work an average of 20 hours per week.

This year, a number of states, including Connecticut, are reinstating that federal mandate. The move could cost as many as 1 million Americans access to food assistance, according to The Washington Post.  

According to the story, in many states the work requirement was automatically reinstated this year as the economy continued to recover. For some of those states, the three-month grace period ended on April 1. The requirement has been in place since 1996, according to the report.

The average time for an unemployed American to find a new job is more than six months, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The work requirement can be waived when the area unemployment rate is above 10 percent or 20 percent above the national average, or if the labor market is deemed week on other criteria. But states can still reinstate the requirement even if times are still tough. 

A number of political leaders say that able-bodied adults who can work should be working -- and that the 20-hour work requirement helps promote that goal. 

But critics say the requirement ignores the realities of how difficult it is to find steady employment in an economy where steady manufacturing jobs have vanished.

"We've seen a long-term trend toward more precarious job conditions for low-skilled workers," Shawn Fremstad of the Center for Economic and Policy Research told The Washington Post. "Even if you get a job, you're not guaranteed more than 20 hours a week."

Safety net programs encourage work

Public assistance programs such as SNAP, the EITC, and housing subsidies tend to encourage recipients to get jobs, work more hours, and receive higher pay, according to a new report. It Pays to Work: Work Incentives and the Safety Net finds that workers in or near poverty benefit substantially from working additional hours or at higher wages, and that the vast majority face lower incomes if they don't work. The authors argue that increasing the minimum wage, fully implementing the Affordable Care Act, and expanding the EITC would all further encourage public benefit recipients to work.

Source: Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, 3/3/16

Employment is up, SNAP use remains high

SNAP enrollment remains near record levels, even as the unemployment rate has fallen by half. About 45.4 million Americans, roughly one-seventh of the population, received nutrition aid in October 2015. Unemployment was 5% that month. The last time joblessness fell to that level, in April 2008, 28 million Americans used food stamps.

Several reasons explain the phenomenon. Governments have made it easier to sign up for the program and done a better job of outreach to eligible people. More than 85% of eligible SNAP recipients took assistance in 2013, compared to 70% in 2008. The higher sign-up rate accounts for 8.6 million more people on SNAP – about half of the program’s total increase.

The uneven recovery has also swelled the ranks of long-term unemployed and even for those with jobs, pay may be lower than in the past. In real dollars, SNAP recipients in 2014 had net incomes of $335 a month, the lowest since at least 1989.

Source: Albuquerque Journal, 2/4/16, SNAP Numbers Still High

 

Most low-wage workers need public assistance

#DYK? Over 41 million working Americans (nearly 30% of the workforce) receive public assistance—and nearly half of these workers (19.3 million) have full-time jobs. Not surprisingly, these workers are concentrated in jobs paying low hourly wages. Over half of workers earning less than $12.16 per hour—the bottom 30% of wage earners—earn so little on the job that they must rely on public assistance programs like SNAP to make ends meet.

Source: Economic Policy Institute, 2/9/16, Low-Wage Workers