Households receiving benefits from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children could be able to start shopping for baby formula online, perhaps within months.

The federal government said states can apply for grants to improve their programs for people with WIC benefits. WIC participants purchase nearly half the nation's baby formula, but until now have not been able to use their benefits to get it from online retailers.

Geri Henchy, director of nutrition policy and early childhood programs at the Food Research and Action Center, said the government began testing online programs for WIC recipients last year.

"And this year, just now, they're saying that they're going to fund states to move forward with online ordering," Henchy noted. "They're inviting them to apply for this funding, and it's part of a larger effort to improve the shopping options for WIC clients."

With the ongoing formula shortage, she argued better access is especially important for new parents in rural areas. WIC monthly benefits go to people who are low-income and pregnant, postpartum, breastfeeding or have children up to age five, to help ensure these families have access to nutritious foods.

More than 100,000 Kentucky households receive WIC benefits.

Henchy explained before the nationwide shortage, WIC participants could purchase only one brand of formula. But the U.S. Department of Agriculture has lifted purchasing restrictions, and Henchy pointed out the change will remain in effect.

"Now, all the states in the Southeast have expanded the types of formulas that WIC parents can purchase, in essence, with their benefits," Henchy observed.

Henchy added WIC has been a lifeline for families during a time of unprecedented food inflation.

"Families have a guarantee of the amount of formula, they have a guarantee of the amount of cereal and juice and eggs," Henchy stressed. "They're guaranteed to get that as part of their benefits. And I think that's really important, and people are relying on it."

The Biden administration also said it will work with states to implement disaster plans to ensure households have access to formula, and improve distribution of specialty formula for infants with health conditions, in the event of a future supply-chain disruption or emergency declaration.

Colorado's leading advocate for people experiencing hunger turns 15 this year and a new report outlined key advances and persistent challenges facing residents across the state.

Elissa Hardy, director of client services for Hunger Free Colorado, cited its work on the Healthy School Meals for All program as a major win. Students in schools opting into the program can now get the nutrition they need to learn, regardless of their parents' ability to pay. She pointed out it is also putting an end to practices such as lunch line shaming.

"This really allowed for reduction in stigma, in discrimination, for those kids on low-cost food programs," Hardy observed. "Because (with the new program) everyone was getting the meals."

Colorado became the third state in the nation to provide free, nutritious breakfast and lunch for all public-school students when voters approved Proposition FF in 2022. Hunger Free Colorado has also helped secure more than $30 million in state funding to fill food banks and pantries with culturally relevant foods communities want, produced by local farmers and ranchers.

When the group started doing outreach for SNAP enrollment in 2009, just four in 10 Coloradans eligible for the program formerly known as food stamps were getting help. Hardy reported today, nearly eight in 10 eligible families are getting food assistance.

"Colorado was one of the lower ranking states, for the number of people who are eligible but not enrolled, and now we are much higher up in that rating," Hardy emphasized. "We now have a team of 20 who are going into the community to do outreach."

Hardy acknowledged there is still work to be done. More than one in 10 Coloradans do not know where their next meal will come from and 17% of Colorado families with children do not earn enough to ensure their kids get the nutrition they need.

"I think it's really easy to think that people have what they need, and they don't," Hardy added. "There is food insecurity in our own neighborhoods, our own neighbors might be struggling. We work with many colleges across the state, and many of the students are struggling."

Washington lawmakers will consider providing free school meals to all students in the state.

Thanks to legislation passed in previous sessions, 70% of students in the state have access to free breakfast and lunch at school, nearly 800,000 children.

Sen.-Elect Marcus Riccelli, D-Spokane, has led previous efforts to expand free meals in schools and will introduce a bill in the 2025 session to reach all students.

"This is a driver of health, it's a driver of reduction in absenteeism," Riccelli pointed out. "We can't expect students to do well and thrive academically if they're hungry."

Nine states currently offer free school meals to all students regardless of income level. However, the biggest barrier in Washington could be the state's budget deficit, which is $10 billion over the next four years.

The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction has also requested $17.6 million to continue feeding the students it currently serves but Riccelli hopes it does not stop the state from going forward with universal free meals.

"We're headed into what could be a little bit of a budget crunch and, again, I think these are some of the best dollars that we could spend but it does cost money," Riccelli acknowledged. "We're working with OSPI to really understand what would close the gap with the remaining students."

Riccelli added there are a lot of advantages to offering free school meals for the state's families.

"It's also a middle-class tax cut," Riccelli asserted. "We also know that parents are trying to get out the door, trying to get to their jobs, and this is a burden that's taken off the table. And inflation has hit a number of families. So I really think this is something that resonates."


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By Mary Hennigan for The Arkansas Advocate.
Broadcast version by Freda Ross for Arkansas News Service reporting for The Arkansas Advocate-Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation-Public News Service Collaboration.

As a Fayetteville food pantry volunteer and someone who supplements trips to the grocery store with local assistance methods, the way Jen Cole experiences the struggle for food access is twofold.

While Cole, 55, forfeits her favorites of fresh mushrooms, pomegranates and herbal teas at the grocery store, she also helps serve people she said she wouldn’t expect to see at the food pantry: nurses and firefighters.

“If a car breaks down, if you have an illness — that’s it. You’re in the food pantry line,” Cole said. “But you’re working poor, so you can’t afford to miss your job to get in that line. That’s a huge problem.”

When the Advocate first interviewed her in July, Cole earned a minimal monthly income as a part-time chef for a local homelessness-assistance organization in addition to funds she received for her disability, a heart defect that restricts her ability to work. In total, Cole stretched about $1,600 each month among medical costs, rent, her phone bill and groceries.

Cole became unemployed on July 26, about two weeks after her initial interview with the Advocate. After receiving a letter from the Arkansas Department of Human Services that said she would lose her Medicaid insurance because of the income she made at her $11/hour, part-time job, Cole chose to prioritize her health and leave.

Cole later told the Advocate she was heartbroken to leave her job, but there was no way she could give up her health insurance with her disability. Now, instead of spending a portion of her income at the grocery store, Cole said she will rely on government assistance and her local food pantry.

“I’m barely going to be able to shop,” she said.

Cole, who lives alone in Fayetteville, was one of approximately 560,000 Arkansas households that live below the ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) threshold of financial survival, according to United for ALICE, a nonprofit composed of United Way organizations and other groups dedicated to research and solutions about poverty.

Nearly one in three households in Washington County, where Cole lives, are considered ALICE and struggle to afford basic needs like food, according to United for ALICE. Statewide, 47% of Arkansas’ 1.2 million households fell below the ALICE threshold.

The ALICE population’s ability to access food is also likely connected to Arkansas’ high rate of food insecurity. Ranked second in the nation, more than 567,000 Arkansans experienced food insecurity and struggled to find access to healthy food in 2022, according to Feeding America data released in May.

This combination of factors, as well as rising housing costs, has led Sylvia Blain, CEO of the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, to believe more people are falling into the ALICE designation.

“When it comes to food insecurity, if you can’t raise your income, then you’re going to have to limit the amount of food you’re purchasing,” Blain said.

The ALICE population may buy in bulk, use pick-up grocery services to avoid in-store impulse buys and steer clear of name brands to keep their bills affordable. They may also favor inexpensive ready-to-eat meals, though these often have a higher starch content and can lead to health problems, Blain said.

‘Time is money’

A person’s grocery budget can often be the first place where changes are made when money gets tight, said Grant Williams, executive director of Potluck Food Rescue.

“I think [food] is the only budget item that’s relatively within your control,” Williams said. “The reason people have cars is because they need transportation; gas is something out of their control. Rent is something as well mostly out of their control. When you stack up everything you have, you can’t really negotiate on food.”

Other contributing factors, like transportation costs to travel out of a food desert for nutritious food — and the time it takes to do so — can keep grocery budgets somewhat rigid, Blain said.

“You can buy beans and rice instead of steak and carrots, but you have to have access to beans and rice,” Blain said. “So if you’re living in a food desert and you’re having to travel to purchase those foods, then you’re adding to the bottom line. … Time is money. Our ALICE folks work two and three jobs.”

The Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance in 2022 found that 62 of the state’s 75 counties have an identified food desert, which means residents have to travel more than one mile to access fresh, nutritious food in an urban setting and more than 10 miles in a rural setting.

Blain, who said she was once considered part of the ALICE population as a single mom juggling two jobs and college coursework, remembers the stress of staying up late to plan meals and work through her budget.

“It took a lot of time, it took the whole family and even putting responsibilities on children,” Blain said. “I wasn’t necessarily proud of the fact that [my oldest son] was making us dinner.”

Cole said she scours the local free refrigerator program for fresh vegetables, receives a few options a week from Meals on Wheels and hits her preferred food pantry once a month. Cole often scores discarded vegetables like eggplants and zucchini that, as a trained chef, she knows how to incorporate into her meals easily.

When the food pantries provide Cole with more food than she can eat, like when they supplied her with a “gigantic rack of ribs,” she cooks for her neighbors in Hillcrest Towers, a public housing apartment complex.

“We’re going to spread the love, and I will share with my food-insecure neighbors,” Cole said. “It’s a share-the-love thing. … There’s no way I’m eating all those ribs, but I’m going to cook them because they were given to me.”

Cole doesn’t own a car, and she said she will occasionally accrue additional expenses by using ride-share services, like Uber, to get around. She said she uses public transportation often and is lucky to have access to a route that gets to her food pantry.

“But not everybody’s going to be on that route,” Cole said. “We need more bus routes, and I feel like that would help us get [access] to some of the food.”

Stigma

When members of the ALICE population make it to the food pantry, they can be plagued by a stigma that leads them to believe their request means taking food away from someone else, Blain said.

While Blain said this is a misconception, Cole said she’s experienced these thoughts herself.

“I almost feel bad using [the pantry] because their need has gone up so bad, but they remind me I’m a human too, and I need food too,” Cole said.

The same thoughts are true for some members of the ALICE population who visit the faith-based organization The Helping Hand of Greater Little Rock, said executive director Gayle Priddy.

Priddy runs a team of volunteers and a small paid staff who help residents in Pulaski County in Central Arkansas receive food. Each month, anyone with a valid ID can visit the organization in exchange for a bag of groceries. During a trip to the operation in June, bags were bursting with bread, cereal, proteins and produce.

“We have a few people who are embarrassed by it and don’t want to admit it,” Priddy said. “I would say it’s less than 1% — when you start asking them about their income and how they’re doing, they’d rather not take the food than answer those questions.”

Fears of rejection and the unknown are also strong for people within the ALICE population, Blain said.

“If you apply for food stamps, and you’re turned down because you have more than $2,000 in the bank, then you might not ask again because that was hard enough and then you got turned down,” Blain said. “…A lot of people we would define as ALICE are not accustomed to asking for help at pantries. They don’t understand the system…and that lack of knowledge would keep them away.”

Room for improvement

Arkansas has hundreds of food-assistance programs statewide, including regional food banks and local food pantries. The Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance works in partnership with these organizations, as well as advocating for better access.

In March 2023, state Sen. Jonathan Dismang, R-Beebe, brought forward legislation to raise the resource limit for SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), commonly known as food stamps. Dismang argued the existing asset limits discouraged poor Arkansans from saving enough money to become financially stable because they might lose reliable access to food in the process.

While Dismang’s initial proposal sought to raise the resource limit to $12,500, the bill was amended to $5,500, up from its previous $2,250 for most families. The bill is now Act 675 of 2023.

Blain said raising the limit further would be key to helping the ALICE population because they are often the ones who do not qualify for assistance.

Feeding kids at school is another important factor to the multi-pronged effort of solving hunger, Blain said. Free at-school meals take some pressure off families who struggle financially. 

This summer, Arkansas was one of three dozen states to participate in a federally funded meal program called the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer. Focused on feeding children while school is out, eligible students received $120 on a card that can be used at participating grocery stores and farmers market booths.

Blain also called on state officials to incentivize local farmers to grow and sell produce locally, year around.

“We’re missing a whole section of our food system,” Blain said. “One of the things that at the state level we could do is incentivize that level of economic development. It will only strengthen our agriculture industry."


Mary Hennigan wrote this article for The Arkansas Advocate.


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