Food Programs

President Clinton will nominate consumer activist Ellen Haas to run U.S. food programs, ranging from food stamps to school lunches, that help feed millions of people, the White House said Monday. If confirmed by the Senate, Haas, head of Public Voice for Food and Health Policy, would be assistant agriculture secretary for food and consumer services. Public Voice is well-known in Washington for advocating a stronger meat inspection system and pesticide residue laws.

As a member of Congress, Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) is proud to stand up for the principles of limited government and individual responsibility. The first-term congressman expresses skepticism about such safety-net programs as food stamps, regarding them as the handiwork of an "oppressive" government that snatches wages from the hands of working people. Helping the poor is better left to individuals and churches, he said at a recent committee hearing in Washington, because then "it comes from the heart, not from a badge or from a mandate.

For nearly a quarter-century, a widely praised federally funded program known as WIC has provided baby formula, cereal, milk and other nutritious foods to millions of impoverished women and their children regardless of immigration status.

BEIRUT - The World Food Program said Tuesday that Syria's civil war has blocked the United Nations agency from delivering aid to at least 1 million people who are in desperate need of help. The Syrian Arab Red Crescent, the U.N. agency's local partner, has been stretched to capacity and violence between forces loyal to President Bashar Assad and the armed opposition has prevented aid workers from reaching some needy Syrians, said Abeer Etefa, an agency spokeswoman. Truck drivers have been reluctant to transport food into conflict areas, and World Food Program staff members have had to ride in armored vehicles to monitor food distribution in some areas, Etefa said.

Broadening its attack on Republican welfare reform proposals, the Clinton Administration said Tuesday that dismantling federal nutrition programs would threaten farm incomes, grocers and the rural economy. In an analysis of the GOP's proposed welfare overhaul, the Agriculture Department said the legislation would slash federal spending on nutrition programs by nearly $31 billion over five years. As many as 6.

A coalition of corporate, church and political leaders called Monday for a $10-billion expansion of government food programs to end hunger in America. The group said that a nationwide poll of registered voters found that most believe hunger is a serious problem and would be willing to pay higher taxes so that the 5.5 million American children who go to bed hungry every night would have enough to eat. "We as a nation do not have a scarcity of resources. We have the capacity to wipe out hunger.

Advocates for Los Angeles County's working poor Thursday called on public assistance officials to step up their efforts to ensure that impoverished residents receive food. Representatives of working-poor advocacy groups and elected officials gathered for a morning news conference at the North Hollywood Interfaith Food Pantry to press for increased access to federally subsidized food programs.

State legislators have introduced a flurry of bills seeking to stem what they see as unacceptable rates of hunger among children in California--a state where the government has found that more than 1 million low-income youngsters suffer from anemia, a condition linked to poor nutrition.

WASHINGTON - As the Senate considers a once-every-five-years farm bill this week, a group of food activists and celebrity chefs has called on Congress to cut subsidies to commodity crop farmers and reinvest the money in conservation and healthy food programs. The bill before the Senate would take “positive steps” toward meeting those goals, but it “falls far short of the reforms needed to come to grips with the nation's critical food and farming challenges,” the group wrote.

As a country we have it available to us to make the elimination of hunger our primary focus in our relationship with developing countries. There are food programs that we can support that increase food production among small land-holders and that increase income among the landless. Via the International Fund for Agricultural Development, swamp reclamation and land redistribution gave women farmers title to land they traditionally worked, increasing rice production. Seed, hoes, pick axes and other hand tools made it possible for 30,000 families in Ethiopia to replant fields through drought rehabilitation programs.

Midwestern farmers, facing uncertainty about their crops in the midst of the worst drought in half a century, have something else to steam about: Congress' failure to pass a new farm bill, even though the old one is slated to expire Sept. 30. That may not sound so bad, because farm bills are invariably bloated with market-distorting corporate welfare for agribusiness that we'd be better off without. Yet they also fund the federal food stamp program, one of the most important strands of the U.S. safety net. The Senate passed a version of the farm bill in June that cut spending on food stamps by a modest $4.5 billion over 10 years and trimmed overall spending by $23 billion during that period by eliminating direct payments to farmers, which are awarded whether or not they plant anything.

Central Valley Meat Co., the California slaughterhouse shut down by regulators last week after undercover video footage showed apparent animal abuse, reopened Monday morning after promising to change its ways. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said it had “concluded its evaluation of the extensive corrective action plan” submitted by the slaughterhouse to address “recent humane handling violations.” The company, according to the agency's Food Safety and Inspection Service, will add more training for employees along with other safeguards to ensure that “only ambulatory animals are processed.” Workers will not be allowed to pull, drag or lift the cows, and may use electric or vibrating prods only sparingly, and never on sensitive body parts such as the face, the slaughterhouse promised.

WASHINGTON - As the Senate considers a once-every-five-years farm bill this week, a group of food activists and celebrity chefs has called on Congress to cut subsidies to commodity crop farmers and reinvest the money in conservation and healthy food programs. The bill before the Senate would take “positive steps” toward meeting those goals, but it “falls far short of the reforms needed to come to grips with the nation's critical food and farming challenges,” the group wrote.

A vast majority of Americans say they eat more whole grains and fresh produce than they did five years ago, but many believe the federal government needs to do more to ensure greater access to locally produced fresh food, according to a new survey.   Eighty-four percent of adults surveyed said federal food programs should focus more on supporting smaller, local fruit and vegetable farmers and should provide incentives for development of new businesses that offer "locally produced healthy food," according to the poll, which was commissioned by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

"Inventing Cuisine" La Huit Productions (distributed in the U.S by Allegro Media Group) Available on Amazon.com or direct from the Allegro website, www.allegro-music.com. $15 to $20 per video. Television is awash in food these days, most of it utterly forgettable, at best (I'm still having flashbacks from having accidentally watched five minutes of "The Chew"). Want to see what food on film could really be like? Check out this series of French documentaries.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc unveiled a plan to promote healthier and more affordable foods at its stores, a move supported by U.S. first lady Michelle Obama and one that could push food companies to overhaul some products. The move comes as the world's largest retailer tries to overcome political and union opposition to its expansion in urban areas like New York City, Chicago and Washington, D.C., by touting its ability to bring lower priced fruits and vegetables and other healthy foods to areas that lack traditional grocery chains.

Central Valley Meat Co., the California slaughterhouse shut down by regulators last week after undercover video footage showed apparent animal abuse, reopened Monday morning after promising to change its ways. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said it had “concluded its evaluation of the extensive corrective action plan” submitted by the slaughterhouse to address “recent humane handling violations.” The company, according to the agency's Food Safety and Inspection Service, will add more training for employees along with other safeguards to ensure that “only ambulatory animals are processed.” Workers will not be allowed to pull, drag or lift the cows, and may use electric or vibrating prods only sparingly, and never on sensitive body parts such as the face, the slaughterhouse promised.

"Inventing Cuisine" La Huit Productions (distributed in the U.S by Allegro Media Group) Available on Amazon.com or direct from the Allegro website, www.allegro-music.com. $15 to $20 per video. Television is awash in food these days, most of it utterly forgettable, at best (I'm still having flashbacks from having accidentally watched five minutes of "The Chew"). Want to see what food on film could really be like? Check out this series of French documentaries.

California's food stamp program has a new name, which officials hope will encourage more people to apply for the nutrition benefit: CalFresh. The new name and logo ? an abstract representation of the diverse produce available in California ? was launched Saturday at an event in Long Beach sponsored by first lady Maria Shriver to provide free medical, financial and educational services to low-income women. "This rebranding campaign will go a long way in helping to erase the unfortunate stigma associated with this program and encourage families to seek CalFresh as a resource for putting healthy meals on their table," Shriver said in a statement.

Before members of the congregation began arriving to pick up the prepaid boxes of food, the Rev. Bruce Jackson, associate pastor of Bayview Baptist Church , asked volunteers involved in the distribution process to join hands for a prayer circle. "Praise you, Lord," Jackson prayed. "Because of you, somebody will eat tonight. " A few minutes later, the pastor and volunteers began checking lists and carrying the food boxes to cars, trucks and SUVs pulling up near the church in the Encanto neighborhood of San Diego.