1. Click to edit Master title style Farm Bill, Food Stamps, and FoodShare Cuts – Oh My! Michelle Kramer Director of FoodShare Outreach MichelleK@shfbmadison.org 608-216-7238

2. Click to edit Master title style AGENDA -SNAP/FoodShare/Food Stamps/QUEST Card/EBT – Oh my! -What is the Farm Bill? -Cuts due to the Farm Bill -Other recent FoodShare cuts -Recent bills introduced in Wisconsin -What can/should we do? Ongoing Q & A

3. Click to edit Master title style SNAP is a federal nutrition program of the USDA funded through the Farm Bill. SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) is the federal name for the program formerly known as food stamps. In Wisconsin, the program is known as FoodShare. QUEST card – a plastic card that people use to access their FoodShare benefits Food stamps – the old program that SNAP replaced Not to be confused with “SHARE”, which was a low-cost food buying club

4. Click to edit Master title style More than 90% of SNAP benefits go to households with incomes at or below the poverty line. 76% of SNAP households include a senior, child, or disabled person. In Wisconsin, 39% of adults receiving SNAP have income from a job. Low Error Rates: Less than 3% of SNAP are issued incorrectly, and more than 98 percent of SNAP benefits were issued to eligible households. (Medicare error rate is 10% and Unemployment is 9%). USDA estimates that only 1% of SNAP benefits are trafficked. SNAP Facts Persons in family/ho usehold Poverty guideline Monthly Income 1$11,670$973 215,7301,311 319,7901,649 423,8501,988

5. Click to edit Master title style SNAP Caseloads Reflect Economic Conditions At the end of January 2014 there was a.09% (3528 households) increase over the number of households receiving FoodShare one year prior, yet, there was a decrease of $8.5 million (8.3%) when comparing the two years.

6. Click to edit Master title style https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZznPyAPxm4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdWhF27E4KI What is the Farm Bill? Slightly outdated, yet very good information.

7. Click to edit Master title style The Farm Bill is important because it shapes how we eat and live day-to-day. It’s the primary piece of legislation used to determine agriculture, food and forestry policy. Passed by Congress every 5 years Last bill was passed in January 2014 What’s in the Farm Bill? Main Points

8. Click to edit Master title style The Farm Bill will cost $956.4 billion over 10 years – roughly 2% of federal government spending in that timeframe. Wait… how much? Fun Fact: The Farm Bill is 959 pages long. Fun Fact: The Farm Bill is 959 pages long.

9. Click to edit Master title style The Farm Bill is important because it shapes how we eat and live day-to-day. It’s the primary piece of legislation used to determine agriculture, food and forestry policy. Passed by Congress every 5 years Last bill was passed in January 2014 12 Titles in the Farm Bill: Nutrition – school nutrition programs and domestic food programs (make up XX% of total bill) Commodity – price and income support, loan programs for various commodities Conservation – program and funding incentive to protect farm, wet and grasslands Trade – International food aid and standards to fulfill world trade organization Credit – sets guidelines for emergency credit loan programs for farmers Rural Development – creates loan and grant programs for rural initiatives, including broadband access Research, Extension and Related Matters – bridges various sectors of food production, including biotechnology and organics Forestry – covers all forestry protection, restoration and service projects Energy – outlines research guidelines and establishes financial resources for bioenergy projects and purchases Horticulture – funding and support for organic and specialty crops Crop Insurance – offers insurance to farmers to reduce impact of potential crop loss due to natural phenomenon Misc: animal welfare, crop assistance, support for disadvantaged farmers Main Points

10. Click to edit Master title style For Americans below the Poverty Line: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)/Food Stamps The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) For Seniors: Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) Seniors Famers’ Markets Vouchers For Children and Low Income Families: USDA Snack Program Community Food Project Grants For American Indians: Food Distribution Programs Natively grown food support Title IV: Nutrition One of the 12 Titles in the Farm Bill is Nutrition

11. Click to edit Master title style Food stamps were cut by $8.5 billion over 10 years What was the debate about? House Republicans and Senate Democrats struggled to alter the SNAP program. The Senate wanted to cut about$4 billion. The House wanted to put in place much stronger restrictions on who could get food stamps and cut $40 billion. The Result: Eliminated “Heat & Eat” provision - The bill would have cut benefits for 850,000 households in 17 states by about $90 per month. It altered rules some states had been using to boost food-stamp eligibility. In essence, some states had been assuming that people had higher heating bills than they actually did which gave people a higher benefit amount. Increased TEFAP by $205 million. Clarified certain SNAP eligibility rules, such as by ensuring that lottery winners and affluent college students are not eligible for SNAP. Test innovative strategies to connect more SNAP participants to employment, by including a pilot project to spark state innovation accompanied by rigorous evaluation of the impact on participants’ employment and earnings. Improve access to healthy food options by requiring stores to stock more perishable foods and testing new ways for clients to make purchases with their SNAP benefit card (for example, by swiping SNAP cards on mobile devices at farmers’ markets) that could open up the program to more retailers with healthy options.

12. Click to edit Master title style Did you know…? It’s estimated that about 160,000 eligible Wisconsinites are missing out on federal money that is available to them and can come back to Wisconsin!

13. Click to edit Master title style Other Cuts Wisconsin Recipients: 861,000 Benefit lost per person: $9.40 Benefits lost per month: $8,090,909 Annual benefit loss $97,090,909 State cost per meal (MMG) $2.39 Meals lost per month: 3,385,318 Annual meal loss 40,623,811 ARRA “Reduction” in November 2013 As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), Congress provided a temporary increase in SNAP/FoodShare benefits that ended in November 2013, which is when the permanent benefit reduction began. SNAP/FoodShare benefits are being cut because of legislative decisions made by the United States Congress in 2010 to transition this funding to the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, additional federal funding for school districts to maintain teachers’ jobs and maintaining a higher federal match for Medicaid costs. Households experienced an approximate 5% reduction in benefits.

14. Click to edit Master title style Work Requirements – Cut at the State level due to the 2013-2015 Executive Budget The Federal rule is that ABAWDS (Able Bodied Adults without Dependents; ex: people without children) between 18 and 50 who do not have any dependent children can get FoodShare benefits only for 3 months in a 36-month period if they do not work or participate in a workfare or employment and training program other than job search. This requirement has been waived in Wisconsin since 2002 due to high unemployment. Instead of continuing this waiver with the federal government, we opted to give it back and potentially eliminate benefits for more than 30,000 people. Other Cuts

15. Click to edit Master title style What Requirements Must be Met? Federal regulations will require ABAWD FoodShare applicants and recipients to comply with the following work requirements as a condition of FoodShare eligibility: Work 20 hours or more per week, averaged monthly Participate and comply with the requirement of a work program 20 hours or more per week Participate in a combination of work and a work program for a total of 20 hours or more per week Participate in and comply with the requirements of a workfare program

16. Click to edit Master title style It will go into effect again according to the following schedule:  July 1, 2014 - Southeast Region - Kenosha, Racine, and Walworth Counties  October 1, 2014 - o Bay Area Region - Brown, Door, Florence, Kewaunee, Manitowoc, Marinette, Menominee, Oconto, Outagamie, Shawano, Sheboygan o North Central Region - Adams, Forest, Langlade, Lincoln, Marathon, Oneida, Portage, Vilas, Wood o South Central Region - Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Jefferson, Marquette, Sauk  January 1, 2015 - the rest of the state, including Milwaukee County

17. Click to edit Master title style “Junk” food bill Drug testing bill Place photos on people’s QUEST cards Roll back gross income eligibility from 200% to 130% (and net income down to 100% from around 133%) Reinstate the asset test Disallow online applications Allow participants to elect to get less than they are eligible for Recent Bills in WI

18. Click to edit Master title style Who has contacted their legislators on issues?

19. Click to edit Master title style 1.Sign up for Second Harvest’s upcoming FoodShare news to stay informed 2.Sign up for Action Alerts on Feeding America’s website: http://feedingamerica. org/takeaction http://feedingamerica. org/takeaction What Can You Do?

20. Click to edit Master title style 3. Encourage clients to call their legislators with their own story – nothing speaks louder than personal stories from constituents. Send emails via: http://www.baldwin.senate.gov/http://www.baldwin.senate.gov/ Send emails via: http://www.ronjohnson.senate.gov/http://www.ronjohnson.senate.gov/

21. Click to edit Master title style Let’s give it a try.