CHC

 "To eliminate public health problems arising from childhood hunger"

In this issue
Letter from Childhood Hunger Coalition chair
Childhood Hunger Coalition update
News and notes
Notes on the recession and it's impact on children
School meal programs
Identifying hunger in the clinical setting
Fall 2011 Digest: back to school

    
Molly
Molly Haynes, the chair of the Childhood Hunger Coalition, is in the Community Benefit Department at Kaiser Permanente


This issue of the digest is filled with sobering data demonstrating the impact of the slow economy on health and well-being. It reminds us of the importance of programs like the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs in meeting the needs of struggling families in our own neighborhoods. About half of school age children in Oregon are eligible for free or reduced priced meals. At the same time, we know that about 25 percent of kids are overweight or obese. Ironically, many kids experiencing hunger are also overweight.   

 

School meal programs are in a position to address both of these issues. Research has demonstrated that children who participate in school meal programs generally have higher intakes of fruits and vegetables compared with children who bring lunch from home. So not only are school meals providing calories to combat hunger, they are providing nutrient dense foods that promote healthy weights. If you haven't eaten a school meal in recent memory, join the lunch line and find out how you can advocate for nutritious affordable meals for all kids.  

 


Childhood Hunger Coalition update

Fall is a busy time for families getting back in the school routine and it is a busy time for CHC as well! Over the last year, the coalition has worked to strengthen its organizational capacity and structure in the following ways:
  • In July 2011 CHC became a program of Oregon Food Bank. The new relationship formalizes years of close collaboration between the two entities and will allow the coalition to expand its work. The coalition's work will continue to be guided by a diverse steering committee of representatives from Kaiser Permanente, Oregon State University, Oregon Health Sciences University, Oregon WIC, Partners for a Hunger Free Oregon and Oregon Food Bank, and the coalition is expecting to expand its membership in the next few years.       
  • CHC is finalizing a multi-year strategic plan to guide its work on organizational development, public policy advocacy and identification of research and best practices around addressing hunger in the clinical setting. Finalizing this plan will help strengthen the coalition's strategic direction and capacity. 
CHC is now focused on implementing a pilot at a clinic to test the feasibility of screening for hunger in the clinical setting and develop a model that can be expanded to additional clinics. Increasing the capacity of the coalition and formalizing its partnerships will bolster these efforts.

The coalition will continue to include updates on its work in this digest and on its website. Please contact [email protected] for more information.
News and notes
beets

Registration is open for January 2012 Oregon Food Security Summit

The Oregon Hunger Task Force, Partners for a Hunger Free Oregon, Oregon Food Bank and Oregon State University are hosting the Ending Hunger in Oregon: 2012 Food Security Summit in Corvallis. The event will bring together state, county, and community leaders, advocates, non-profit groups, emergency food providers, producers, public agency workers, the media, students and educators to assess current conditions and create solutions. The summit will showcase current approaches to ending hunger and provide opportunities for participants to engage through group discussions.   

 

The Childhood Hunger Coalition has worked with event organizers to bring out Dr. Deborah Frank, MD, director of Grow Clinic for Children at Boston Medical Center and founder of Children's HealthWatch, to be one of two keynote speakers at the event. Dr. Frank is a national leader and expert on issues surrounding childhood hunger and can provide a unique perspective on engaging health care professionals around food security. 

 

Check out the event website for registration and to find out more about the summit.  

 

CHC member receives extension award for work with Childhood Hunger Coalition 

The Western Extension Directors Association, which brings together representatives of the land-grant cooperative extension organizations in the Western U.S., recently awarded the Childhood Hunger Coalition and Anne Hoisington (past CHC chair and OSU Extension faculty) with the WEDA Award of Excellence for coalition work including the CHC's continuing medical education course.  

 

Oregon recognized by U.S. Department of Agriculture for efforts to provide timely nutrition assistance

In September, Oregon was one of the six states recognized by USDA for exemplary and timely SNAP customer service and one of the six states with the quickest application processing timeline in 2010.

 

USDA has been working with state partners to enhance and maintain SNAP program delivery even as demand for assistance increases. USDA provides monetary incentives to the eight states with the best and most improved performance in reaching those eligible for nutrition benefits and to the six states with the highest rate of timely processed applications.   

 

Children's HealthWatch finds that increase in SNAP benefits protected young children's health 

Children's HealthWatch 2011 research shows that the SNAP benefit increase introduced as part of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act protected young children's health. In the two years after the benefit increase, children in families receiving SNAP were significantly more likely to be classified as 'well children' than young children whose families were eligible for but did not receive SNAP.   

Notes on the recession and it impact on children
The slow economic recovery has had disproportionate impacts on children
New poverty and food insecurity statistics reveal the depth and breadth of the recession and its impact on children.
  • Census data from 2010 reveal a national poverty rate of 15.1 percent, which is the highest it's been in 52 years. Nationally, 22 percent of children under 18 are in poverty. 
  • USDA's 2010 household food security report reveals that 16 million children, or 1 in 5, were food insecure in 2010.  
  • Feeding America's Map the Meal Gap: Child Food Insecurity 2011 examines the prevalence of food insecurity for children at state and local levels. The food insecurity rate for children in Oregon is above the national average at 29 percent.   
Being in poverty and experiencing food insecurity can have serious impacts on children and teens
Recently published research and studies focus on the various impacts of poverty and food insecurity on children.mom and son
  • Safety and well-being: A National Library of Medicine article (2011) explains how Pediatricians at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh found the rate of abusive head trauma among kids under age 5 rose from about 9 per 100,000 children to nearly 15 per 100,000 from 2004 to 2009. While researchers can't definitely say that the increase is related to tough economic times, unemployment was high in all of the regions included in the  study, and previous research has also shown that poverty is linked to the risk of physical abuse. 
  • Health consequences: Child Hunger and Long-term Adverse Consequences for Health (2011) analyzes data from the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth from 1994 to 2005 and investigates the long-term effect of food insecurity in childhood. The study finds that after accounting for baseline health and indicators of household socioeconomic status, higher odds of poor health were observed among children who had experienced hunger compared with children who had not, and higher odds of chronic conditions and asthma were observed among youth who experienced multiple episodes of hunger compared with youth who had not.
School meal programs: an important resource
children eating
What are school meal programs?

One of the ways to address food insecurity and hunger in children is through school meal programs, which include the School Breakfast Program, the National School Lunch Program, the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program and the Special Milk Program.

Children whose families have income at or below 130 percent of the federal poverty level can get free meals, and those between 130-185 percent of the federal poverty level can receive reduced price meals. About fifty percent of school children in Oregon are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches, but only about 38 percent participated in free or reduced-price lunches in 2010. Find out more about the different school meal programs and program eligibility at the  USDA's Child Nutrition programs webpage.

School meals provide benefits to children's health, well-being and achievement
School lunches provide about a third of a child's daily calorie and nutrient needs and there have been recent efforts to improve the health and nutrition of school meals. The 2010 Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act, which authorizes funding for school meal programs, enables USDA to improve nutrition standards for school meals and increase reimbursement rates so schools can provide healthier food.

School meals are also linked to improved academic achievement.  The following articles investigate the link between school meal participation and attention and behavior in school.

  • Healthy School Meals and Educational Outcomes (2011) investigates the effects of diet on educational outcomes through a 2004 campaign in the UK that shifted the meals offered in the schools of one borough from processed meals towards healthier options. The study provides evidence that educational outcomes did improve significantly in English and science and that authorized absences - which are most likely linked to illness and health - fell by 14 percent.
Identifying hunger in the clinical setting
doctorSchool meal programs and food assistance programs are only helpful if families access them. It is important for those who work with families and children to play a role in connecting families to appropriate food resources. The Childhood Hunger Coalition believes that there is a role to play for health care professionals in identifying hunger and connecting families with food assistance resources. The CHC has worked over the last several years to educate health care professionals about the importance of addressing hunger in the clinical setting and the tools necessary to do so.

As part of this work, CHC has developed an online continuing medical education course on the health impacts of childhood hunger and how health care providers can help address it. CHC is also in the process of pursuing a pilot to test the feasibility of screening for hunger in the clinical setting and connecting families with appropriate food resources. Conducting this pilot will allow which will lead to identification of best practices that can be expanded to additional clinics.

The following research explores ways to address poverty and hunger in the clinical setting.
  • Development of a Tool to Identify Poverty in a Family Practice Setting: a Pilot Study (2011) develops and evaluate questions that primary care providers can use to identify poverty in a clinical setting. The study assesses the usefulness of the tool itself as well as how helpful and appropriate it is to have health care providers ask their patients about poverty. The study finds that openly discussing poverty in the clinical encounter is likely important and acceptable to most patients.    
Fall 2011 events
October 24th is National Food Day!
is a national event sponsored by the Center for Science in the Public Interest to bring together health professionals, community organizers, local officials, chefs, school lunch providers and eaters to promote healthy, sustainable, affordable, and just food systems in America. States across the country are planning events and volunteer opportunities to celebrate Food Day. Check out the events, resources and opportunities happening in Oregon at the Food Day Oregon website.
 

October is National Farm to School Month!
Farm to school programs connect schools and local farms with the objectives of serving healthy meals in school cafeterias, improving student nutrition, providing agriculture, health and nutrition education opportunities, and supporting local and regional farmers. Farm to school programs exist in all 50 states.

In 2010 Congress voted to make October National Farm to School Month. This demonstrates the growing importance and role of farm to school programs as a means to improve child nutrition, support local economies and educate children about the origins of food. For more information about farm to school programming, check out the National Farm to School Network website