Hunger in Jefferson County discussed

Friday, March 17, 2006 10:10 PM CST

An early returning robin perches on a snow-covered branch during Thursday’s steady accumulation in Horicon.(Photo by Dan Bothe)

WHITEWATER - “Jefferson County is doing a great job of addressing hunger and helping families in need, but there's more we can do,” said Kadi Row, Food Security Specialist at University of Wisconsin-Extension, as she provided information about hunger in Jefferson County. Row was one of several keynote speakers at this year's 11th annual Family Impact Seminar “Putting Families First: Policies and Best Practices to End Hunger Close to Home” held in the Young Auditorium at UW-Whitewater on Friday.

Row set the stage for the day's discussion by providing participants with an understanding of what it takes for many families to get by in Jefferson County. Using the Self-Sufficiency Standard, a measure that includes a variety of basic costs such as a basic diet, housing, child care, transportation costs and health care, Row illustrated that a two parent, dual-income family with two children living in Jefferson County would need approximately $16.54 an hour in combined wages to make ends meet. That figure means that many families may be struggling to feed their kids. “It's hard to say how many individuals and families may be struggling,” said Kathleen Eisenmann, UW-Extension Family Living Agent. “We don't always know when parents are skipping meals so their kids have enough to eat or paying the heat bill instead of buying groceries.”

Jefferson County has seen an increase in assistance provided and the cost of food. As examples, she cited:

- Between 1999-2004, Jefferson County had the largest increase in foodshare (food stamp) participation of any Wisconsin county.

- As of December 2004, an average 40 item food basket cost $83.20, up 17 percent since 1999. This was the third highest increase of the 24 Wisconsin metro areas measured.

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Chris Brockel, Food Security Coordinator at Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin, Inc., led the second keynote presentation on what to do about the problem. Brockel, along with regional program providers from St. Vincent De Paul Food Pantry in Madison, United Methodist Church in Madison and the Waukesha County Nutrition Coalition, presented information on effective policies and provided examples of best practices for developing collaborative solutions to alleviate hunger. Hunger can contribute to increases in family stress and research on the consequences of hunger on children show children who are hungry or food insecure may have poor health, behavior problems and learning or academic problems. Policymakers and professionals will be able to use the strategies presented by Brockel and his co-presenters to assist families stressed by balancing their financial responsibilities with feeding themselves or their families. It set the tone for what was a very informative day. Successful policy or program strategies include the following:

- Providing for consumer choice at food pantries instead of pre-bagged commodities. Research on food pantry participation shows consumers actually take less food and only food they need when given the choice to do so rather than a pre-determined allotment in a grocery bag.

- Allowing food pantry participants to access pantry resources on an unlimited basis. Many families experiencing hunger or food insecurity have a chronic need for food assistance.

- School breakfast as well as school lunch options for children in local communities. School breakfast doesn't have to take place before the school bell rings. Make and take bags or mid-morning snacks work as well.

- Increasing collaboration across communities to work between and among program providers. Creating coalitions of mutual interest to work on joint projects that help to build resources which alleviate hunger across the entire county - not just in one community.

Attendees also heard from a panel including the speakers and local Jefferson County program providers on how practitioners and policymakers might implement these strategies in their local communities. “Today helped people to look at their programs in a different way,” said Brockel. “Given that demand is up, looking at best practices is a way to stretch our resources to meet the need.” Panel members included: Kadi Row; Chris Brockel; Kathy Sandefur, First United Methodist Church in Madison; Ralph Middlecamp, St. Vincent de Paul Madison Food Pantry; Melinda Stuart, Waushesha County Nutrition Coalition, Jill Johnson, Jefferson County Workforce Development Center; and Marcy Cox, president, St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry in Lake Mills.

The seminar concluded with opportunities for discussions and networking among attendees. “What's taken us so long to see this opportunity?” said Tom Schleitwiler, director of Jefferson County Human Services. “This problem has been staring us in the face. Now, we have some models to follow through on and build on our collaborative ethic here in Jefferson County.” Prior seminar topics have included strengthening families in poverty, improving mental health in the workplace and at home, preventing juvenile crime, and promoting competent parenting. The 2007 Family Impact Seminar will be on the topic of family violence.