Just Harvest News
A PUBLICATION OF THE JUST HARVEST EDUCATION FUND
September-October 2005- Volume 19 No. 5
Click HERE to review our previous newsletter.
FRONT PAGE NEWS
NATIONAL NEWS:
NEWS BRIEFS:
LOCAL NEWS:
OTHER NEWS:
Food and healthcare advocates won moderate victories in the 2005-06 Pennsylvania budget in July when drastic cuts in both the State Food Purchase Program (SFPP) and Medicaid were reduced from Governor Rendell’s original budget proposal.
The SFPP was funded at $18 million, 3% more than last year and $3 million over Rendell’s proposal. Local Reps. Tom Stevenson(R) and Jake Wheatley(D) were instrumental in pushing for this additional funding which counties use to purchase food for pantries.
Strong advocacy by Medicaid recipients, their allies, and the health care industry blocked some of the harshest proposed cuts to Medicaid including caps on hospitalizations, ambulance trips and prescription drugs. However, many Medicaid recipients will be subject to new and tougher co-payments and stricter eligibility requirements. Doctors and hospitals were also rewarded with higher reimbursement rates.
Additional funding for Medicaid this year will come through increased state revenues and a transfer of $20 million that had been targeted to reduce the Adult Basic waiting list.
But Medicaid funding will be even tighter in coming years. Congress has established a Commission for the Study of Medicaid to determine recommendations for cutting the Medicaid budget by $10 billion over the next five years.
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Claire Porter, Site Supervisor for the Summer Food Service Program at White Lily Baptist Church in Sheraden loved the new program. “It’s wonderful," she said, “and the kids like the food. We had no problems. I would like to see it here next year."
Supervisors of new sites reported very few or no problems.
Audrey Simpson of Trinity Lutheran Church on the Northside, which served an average of 50 kids per day, observed that this was much easier than preparing their own meals, as they had done before. "I think we'll use it again next year," she said. "The kids liked the food and wasted very little." Trinity operates a summer camp but opened their free lunch and snack to all children in the community.
These were only two of the new sites Just Harvest recruited this year. Sites sponsored by Pittsburgh Citiparks have their meals provided by the Pittsburgh School District Food Service. Outside the city, most of the Summer Food sites in Allegheny County are managed by the County Department of Human Services.
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“Is there Truth in Politics?” is the topic as Just Harvest welcomes best-selling author and media critic Eric Alterman as guest speaker at our 17th Annual Harvest Celebration Dinner on Thursday, October 27. Alterman, author of What Liberal Media? and When Presidents Lie, will explore this timely question and offer some surprising answers.
Called “the most honest and incisive media critic writing today,” Alterman is also a columnist for The Nation and writes the “Altercation” blog for MSNBC.com.
Sr. Candace Introcaso, President of La Roche College is serving as the event’s honorary chair. This year’s dinner will also honor the Allegheny County Bar Foundation’s Attorneys Against Hunger Campaign with our Seeds of Justice Award. The event, at the Omni William Penn Hotel in downtown Pittsburgh, begins with our fabulous silent auction at 6 PM.
Tickets for the dinner are on sale now at $40 per person (or $75 including a pre-event VIP reception). Get a group together and save $50 on a table of ten at only $350! Advertising space in our program book is also still available.
Action: Order your tickets today . . . call 412-431-8960, or order online at www.justharvest.org.
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What it means to be an American
by Berry Friesen
Sometimes the first step toward progress is to acknowledge we’ve slipped back. With that in mind, and in observance of America’s 229th birthday, here are three observations.
Back when I was a kid, when Dwight Eisenhower was in the White House, we were taught the value of work: everyone should get a job, and those that did their job deserved a fair wage. It came right out of the Bible, as I recall. Nowadays, we still believe the first part; that’s what welfare reform was all about. But we no longer value work enough to insist on fair wages. Instead, one hears lots of excuses about how fair wages would make business less competitive, cause employers to do less hiring, and make the stuff we buy more expensive. Of course, all of those factors were present in the ‘50s and ‘60s too, yet wages were fairer than now. We’ve forgotten that if we value work, we will insist on fair wages.
Back then I learned that Americans had certain rights and obligations. My teachers especially stressed the obligations -- voting, jury service, paying taxes and serving one’s country. Nowadays, one of our major political parties is built on the notion that taxes are bad. The majority of voters seem to like that idea, and so the anti-tax party has controlled Harrisburg in recent years. The other party, not wanting to lose out, pushes slot machines to fund our kids’ education. Put those two points-of-view together and you get more confused kids, more problem gamblers and more hunger. We’ve forgotten that being an American involves the responsibility to pay taxes.
Back then I learned that America was different from most other countries. We were built on a strong middle-class, in contrast to many other countries where the rich got richer, the poor were stuck and the middle class was tiny. Nowadays, America is becoming more like the countries we used to criticize. Our middle class is shrinking, our federal government borrows money and then gives it to the wealthy, and too many of us seem resigned to this state of affairs. We’ve forgotten what’s special about being American!
Berry Friesen is Executive Director of PA Hunger Action Center.
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PATRIOT ACT Collides with Hunger Activism
by Sr. Barb Finch
One would not dream that the USA PATRIOT Act and the Homeland Security agenda would impact our capability to respond to hunger. But in July United Way notified Just Harvest and other non-profit organizations which participate in their contributor choice program that we needed to certify compliance with the USA PATRIOT Act and other counter terrorism measures if we wanted to continue receiving this money.
Suddenly our intellect and senses peaked to question the justice and impact of this situation. An immediate response, without reflection, says sign it-- Just Harvest does not support terrorism or terrorists.
But a national debate is in progress, questioning the very legality of the Patriot Act. At the heart of the debate is whether we should sacrifice our civil liberties in order to preserve the mask of security.
Just Harvest respects the work of the United Way. We appreciate the fact that their attorneys advised them that federal law requires them to ask for this compliance..
Laws are formulated to bring order and structure to potential chaos. As persons well versed in advocacy, we know that not all laws are just, nor do they eliminate chaos. And there is always more than one interpretation of the law.
In that spirit we signed the compliance under protest because 1. it may violate people’s civil liberties not outlining the circumstances under which someone's name appears on a so-called “watch list” 2. Day-to-day compliance is utterly impractical, as services to families in need cannot be denied while each client is checked against huge and ever-changing lists. 3. United Way’s insistence on this certification adds to an already existing chilling effect on legitimate disagreements with government policy.
We thank everybody who supports us through the contributor choice program. Please ask your co-workers to do the same. We also ask you to engage the federal government and the United Way in this debate.
Sr. Barb Finch is chair of the Just Harvest Board.
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As Congress returns from its August recess and begins to consider possible budget cuts in programs that help reduce the number of Americans living in poverty, let’s tell them NO! Let’s tell them we need to keep these programs. Congress could potentially dismantle many programs that have diminished the severity of poverty for millions. Public benefit programs have reduced the number of poor Americans from 58 million to 31 million, nearly cutting the number in half. A recent report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, What Does The Safety Net Accomplish?, discusses why public benefit programs are a means of survival for millions:
- Medicaid and SCHIP combined provide health coverage to more than 55 million Americans during the course of a year. Without Medicaid, the number of uninsured Americans would be much higher.
- Federal food and nutrition programs - which include the Food Stamp Program, WIC, and the school lunch and breakfast programs - have largely eliminated severe hunger in the U.S. Food stamp benefits are essential to making ends meet each month for millions of low-income working families.
- SSI (Supplemental Security Income) improves the quality of life for the elderly and individuals with disabilities by providing financial support, incentives to work and health care through Medicaid. Thus many of these people are able to avoid being destitute and institutionalized.
- EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit) has lifted more children out of poverty than any other single program or category of programs.
While they’re not perfect, it is clear that these programs are vital to millions of Americans and we need to ensure that the safety net is secure. Congress should focus on improving these programs, not on decreasing their capacity to prevent hunger and destitution.
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Budget- Entitlement Programs. When Congress reconvenes September 5 they have plans—through the Budget Reconciliation process-- to make major cuts in entitlement programs which help millions of ordinary Americans. Food Stamps is one of these programs.
During the summer, advocates have been persistently approaching lawmakers. PA Hunger Action delivered a letter to Sen. Santorum, signed by 245 organizations, urging him to protect food stamp funding and structure. FRAC (Food Research and Action Center) sent a similar letter to all Congresspeople with hundreds of signatures. Numerous newspapers have editorialized against cuts and hundreds of voters have sent letters, and made visits and phone calls.
The Food Stamp Program already experienced major cuts—almost $28 billion over 6 years -- from the 1996 budget reconciliation and welfare reform legislation. Only about 1/3 of these cuts were restored and we must stop any further tightening of program eligibility or reduction in benefit levels.
T he Reconciliation process may also be the vehicle for reauthorization of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cash assistance program, which has a food stamp component and has been postponed nine times already. Proposals on their agenda will tear this major national anti-hunger program – food stamps – into fifty small pieces by decreasing the role of the federal government.
Appropriations: discretionary programs - With the packed schedule the Senate has this fall, it’s possible that individual appropriations might be packaged into an “Omnibus Appropriations” bill, which will force lawmakers to make important decisions behind closed doors.
ACTION: Call Sen. Santorum, newly appointed to the Senate Agriculture Committee. (Read: VERY IMPORTANT. ) 412-562-0533 or 202-228-0604. Tell his staff to tell him to continue our nation’s commitment to hungry people by protecting the food stamp program against any changes whatsoever.
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Pennsylvania received $5 million in July from the US Department of Agriculture as a bonus for our excellence in accurate food stamp payments. The award, the second-largest among seven states honored, marks a major improvement for Pennsylvania, which only three years ago was penalized for an accuracy rate below the national average. The Pa. Department of Public Welfare (DPW) has not yet determined how these extra funds will be used, said Ed Zogby, Director of DPW’s Bureau of Policy. He invited advocates to share their input about priorities for the money.
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While Pres. Bush and his allies claim the estate tax threatens family farmers and small businesses, new research from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office says otherwise. The CBO report, issued in July, says that of 2.2 million farms, only 1,659 farm estates owed taxes in 2000. Only about 2% of all estates pay the estate tax, because of large exemptions which are scheduled to increase to $3.5 million by 2009. At that level, the CBO estimates, only 65 farms would be affected. Family businesses, including farms, are also eligible for a variety of breaks that minimize the actual tax bill, which is still the single most progressive part of the tax code. Read the report at www.cbo.gov.
Perhaps the President should heed these words from industrialist Andrew Carnegie from before the estate tax was created in 1916: "The parent who leaves his son enormous wealth generally deadens the talents and energies of the son, and leads him to lead a less useful and less worthy life than he otherwise would."
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A new publication by J. Larry Brown, Robert Kuttner and Thomas M. Shapiro challenges the White House over its rhetoric about an “ownership society.” In Building a Real ‘Ownership Society,’ the authors argue that President Bush's stated goal of promoting ownership is undermined by his proposed policies, which are at odds with how social investments have actually built the nation's middle class. The authors, from the Heller School for Social Policy at Brandeis University, cite examples from the Homestead Act to the G.I. Bill to the Minimum Wage to challenge tax cuts for the wealthy and privatization of pensions, health, and education. “It is,” they write, “precisely this extensive role that government plays in opening the doors to a true ownership society that is now in jeopardy from the proposed policies of the Bush Administration.” Find out more at www.assetinstitute.org.
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We extend a hearty welcome to new board member Sandy Floyd who is retired from the Department of Public Welfare. We also welcome Debbie McKenney and Karen Peterson, volunteers working on the Ad Book for the annual Harvest Celebration Dinner.
Farewell to Just Harvest Board member Connie Portis. Connie has accepted a job with the State Auditor General’s Office as the Assistant Director of the Office of Affirmative Action. Congratulations Connie and good luck!
Corrections to our last issue: The Taste of the Nation event sponsors were omitted - they are American Express, Cysco, and Jenn-Air.
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After two years without a local grocery store, a new Shop ‘n Save opened in Spring Garden on August 30th thanks to innovative work by Jeffrey Dzamko of the Spring Garden Neighborhood Council.
After unsuccessful attempts to attract grocers to their North Side neighborhood, the Spring Garden Neighborhood Council decided to open their own Shop ‘n Save franchise. The store will be one of five businesses operated by the newly incorporated Spring Garden Neighborhood Enterprises. All profits will go back into the community.
They’re the first Pittsburgh area recipient of the new Fresh Food Financing Initiative, a combination of state and private money, and have applied for the new First Industries Fund, a state economic stimulus project. Both were established to provide planning grants, loans, and loan guarantees for urban and rural supermarkets located in underserved areas in Pennsylvania.
The Pennsylvania Supermarket Access Campaign, a joint action of Just Harvest, the Philadelphia Food Trust, and Pennsylvania Hunger Action Center was instrumental in establishing the funding initiatives.
The Spring Garden store will not only provide local access to food, but also 70 new jobs for the community and more money for the Neighborhood Council. Mr. Dzamko hopes the store will be a model to other communities.
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Dr. Bruce Dixon, Director of the County Health Department, promised County Council that he would seek ways to re-open the McKees Rocks WIC office. At the July 7 meeting of Council’s Health and Human Services Committee, Dixon agreed to consider splitting staff time between the Carnegie and the McKees Rocks offices. He was responding to public testimony we organized at the June Council meeting. Fr. Rege Ryan of the FOR Center offered free space to WIC once the County completes the renovation work resulting from last September’s floods. Just Harvest’s Shauna Ponton also spoke at the committee meeting.
A Resolution offered by Doug Price (Dist. 4) at the July 21 Council meeting asked the Health Department to explore all possible avenues to re-open the WIC office and to report back to Council by September 1. Dave Fawcett, Ed Kress, Vince Gastgeb and Joan Cleary co-sponsored the resolution which passed unanimously.
Elyse Harkema, an Oakland Catholic senior, is working with us to improve low-income parents' access to the WIC Program as her project with the Governor’s School for Health Care. She will concentrate in Wilkinsburg and Turtle Creek. She’s preparing a powerpoint presentation about WIC that she will offer to community groups. Elyse says, “It is so important that eligible people are aware they can get nutritional help from WIC." Call to schedule Elyse to speak to your group at 412- 431-8960 or e-mail Shauna at shaunap@justharvest.org.
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The Committee to Improve School Meals (CISM) has been soliciting input about school food nutrition from local parents. They are gathering resources from organizations such as A+ Schools and Whole Foods. Stephanie Adair, organizer of the group, says their immediate agenda includes getting more parents and students involved, finding people to fill key positions on the committee, and planning to meet with Danny Seymour, Food Service Director of Pittsburgh Public Schools, and his staff.
They expect to tour the school district’s central kitchen where the food is prepared. From Danny they will learn how food is purchased, prepared, and distributed to schools, what flexibility he has within the federal lunch program; and how the district intends to comply with the new national Wellness Policy. The group will explain their concerns and the changes they would like to work toward. They are still defining questions for this meeting and would like more parent input.
To participate contact Stephanie Adair at tondemonaii@yahoo.com or Shauna Ponton at 412-431-8960 or shaunap@justharvest.org.
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Bruce Springsteen tops the thank you charts for encouraging his fans to contribute to Just Harvest and the Rainbow Kitchen at his July 28 concert at the Peterson Events Center. We’re very grateful to Tammy at Jon Landau Management for coordinating all the details, and to Sean McDowell and Dale Smith at WDVE-FM for the auction of the donated concert tickets.
And we extend our warm thanks to all our recent supporters for their generous gifts: Allegheny County Department Of Economic Development, Anonymous, PathwaysPa, Pittsburgh Community Services, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Sue Bailey, Dawn Blair, Suzie Brindle, George Brownell, R. L. and Marie Byrne, David & Betsy Caldwell, Virginia Caretto, Rosemary Coffey, Christine Dellorso, Doris Dick & Sharon Geibel, Michael Drohan & Joyce Rothermel, Rachel Freund, Martha Garvey, Mary Gilligan, Alex Gruskos, Eva Havlicsek, Anne Hawkins, Lucy Hixon, Eileen Jardini, Diann Kuder, Ginny & Millard Landis, Dawn Lehman, Anita Minnis, Eunice Nelson, Barbara Pavuk Recker, William Rohrer, Lorraine Sauchin, Carol Schubert, Rev. Valentine Sedlak, Elenore Seidenberg, Linda & Tim Snyder, Marjorie Spenser, Rich Surdyk, Lowell & Rachel Swarts, Jean & Clarke Thomas, Lorraine Vinograd, Margaret Ward, Helen Watson, Elizabeth Weir Toor, and Gina Wilson.
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Our Welfare Justice Project has published a series of four brochures: "Do You Want to go to School"? They will help welfare parents make decisions about furthering their education and training.
Brochure #1- "Education & Training for TANF Consumers" explains DPW's education and training policy and requirements/benefits.
Brochure #2- "Tips About Finding a School"
Brochure #3- "Education & Training Opportunities" features local colleges, schools and programs.
Brochure #4 "Tips About Financing your Education"
ACTION: These brochures are free and available to agencies, consumers and supporters. Call 412-431-8960 to request yours today!
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Pennsylvania Act 201 (also known as Chapter 14) is a disaster for thousands of Pennsylvanians. “The Responsible Utility Customer Protection Act”-- clearly meant to bail out financially-strapped Philadelphia Gas and Electric -- was passed last November in near secrecy, and without any public comment. It has resulted in thousands of utility shut-offs and five people have already died as a result.. The only Allegheny County legislators who voted NO were Rep. Tom Petrone and Sens. Jim Ferlo, Sean Logan and Gerry Lavalle. Let’s thank them!
A movement has begun to repeal this appalling measure as soon as legislators return in the fall. Call us at 412-431-8960 to find out how you can help
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We often hear the word “leadership” used in reference to state legislators. Do you know what this word actually means? "Leaders" in this context are not simply people who have good leadership skills. They are officials chosen by their colleagues in both parties, in both Houses, to be officers of the party caucuses. Lots of decisions are made by these leaders and caucuses before they ever meet with the other party.
These Leaders make more money and have more power than the “rank and file” members do. Much of this power is not written down anywhere. They bestow or deny perks on other members: nice offices, budgets to pay staff, important committee chairmanships. They also decide who will get money for projects in their districts. Leaders negotiate with other “leaders” on important legislative decisions. In some cases, like in the budget, the leadership of the four caucuses decide on important items and then expect the rank and file to vote as they say.
We often ask our own representatives to deliver a message to their Leaders.
In the PA General Assembly the following people are presently the most important “Leaders:”
Senate:
Republicans
President Pro Tempore: Robert C. Jubelirer
Majority Floor Leader: David J. Brightbill
Majority Chair of Appropriations Commitee: Robert J. Thompson
Democrats
Minority Floor Leader: Robert J. Mellow
Minority Whip: Michael A. O’Pake
Minority Chair, Appropriations: Vincent Fumo
House:
Republicans
Speaker: John M. Perzel
Majority Floor Leader: Samuel H. Smith
Majority Chair, Appropriations: Brett Feese
Democrats
Minority Floor Leader: H. William DeWeese
Minority Whip: Michael Veon
Minority Appropriations Chair: Dwight Evans.
The only Allegheny County legislator who holds a “leadership” position is Sen. Jay Costa who is the Minority Caucus Chair of the Senate.
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A win-win partnership between the federal and state governments provides low-income seniors and families with small children coupons to buy fresh fruits and vegetables in the farmers markets in the summer. Kay Bishirjian, nutritionist at the County Aging Department is always enthusiastic about the program. “The seniors love it and the farmers love it,” she says. “It’s a win-win. We don’t have enough coupons, though. This year we had the same as last – 23,000 sets of coupons worth $20 each. There’s always more demand,” she says. According to Gary Santel of WIC, WIC families are pleased with the coupons also.
Call Congress September 8 and 9 at 1-800-426-8073
Tell them: Please oppose reductions or eliminations of services in Medicaid, Food Stamps, TANF and other critical help for vulnerable people. (Such cutbacks are being considered as part of a budget reconciliation bill in September.) It is wrong to impose the biggest budget sacrifices on the sick, the poor, the elderly and children by cutting supports while expanding tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and corporations.
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