Key Findings— • One out of four students (26 percent) in Morris Public Schools qualified for free and reduced lunch rates, with 16 percent of students receiving free lunches and 10 percent receiving reduced lunch rates in 2009. • Seven percent of children (122 children) in Stevens County were enrolled in Food Support in 2007. • The Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program provided nutrition education and counseling, nutritious foods, and referrals to health services and other social services for 560 new mothers, pregnant women, babies, and young children from low-income families in Stevens County in 2008. • University of Minnesota Nutrition Education Assistants worked directly with more than 5,000 Stevens County residents at food shelves, WIC sites, senior citizen centers, day-care centers, and other community sites in 2008. • The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, helped 3,700 low income people (more than 2,000 adults and nearly 1,700 children) in Stevens County buy the food they need for good health in 2009. This is more than one-third of Stevens County’s 9,629 residents. • The Stevens County Food Shelf provided five-day emergency or supplemental food to more than 2,500 Stevens County residents in 2009, an average of nearly 50 people each week. The U.S. Department of Education Food and Nutrition Services administers the free/reduced School Lunch Program. It offers free or reduced cost school lunch for children in families below the 185th percentile of the federal poverty level, or $40,792 per year for a household of four (2010 guidelines). In 2009, one out of four students (26 percent) in Morris Public Schools qualified for free and reduced lunch rates, with 16 percent of students receiving free lunches and 10 percent receiving reduced lunch rates (Minnesota Department of Education Web site statistics, www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Lunch). Free lunches are automatically supplied to children who are enrolled in Food Support programs or Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) and children in foster care. In 2007, 122 children, or seven percent of children in Stevens County, were enrolled in Food Support (The Children’s Defense Fund statistics). The Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC) is a supplemental nutrition program administered by the Minnesota Department of Health. WIC provides nutrition education and counseling, nutritious foods, and referrals to health services and other social services. Groups targeted for WIC assistance include low-income new mothers, pregnant women, babies, and young children. Eligible applicants must meet the low income requirements of 185 percent or less of the federal poverty level,
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and have a medical or nutritional need. A “medical need” means that a mother or her child has health-based risks such as high or low weight, anemia, or a history of having low birth weight or premature babies. A “nutrition need” means that a mother or her child may have poor eating habits, lack variety in the foods eaten daily, or are lacking in consumption of targeted nutrients (calcium, iron, or protein). In 2008, 560 women and children enrolled in the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program in Stevens County. The Stevens County WIC Clinic is held at the Mid-State Community Health Services, 621 Pacific Avenue in Morris. WIC provides important and comprehensive data to measure progress in healthy eating for key population groups. Body Mass Indicator (BMI) statistics are calculated for women and children enrolled in the program. Participants are classified as underweight, normal weight, at risk for being overweight, overweight, and obese, according to their BMI score. From June 2008 to June 2009, the percentage of Stevens County children over the age of 2 with BMI scores putting them at risk for becoming overweight averaged 16 percent. Children who were overweight decreased from about 15 percent in the previous year to just more than 10 percent. Women in the overweight category increased dramatically from 9 percent in June 2008 to 22 percent one year later. The percentage of obese women increased by 3 percent. (WIC statistics, www.health.state.mn.us/divs/fh/wic) The Nutrition Education Programs (NEP) provided through University of Minnesota Extension teaches individuals and families the necessary information and skills to maintain healthy diets by working with other programs funded by the USDA. Curriculum topics include the importance of eating breakfast, balanced meals, planning low-cost meals, and stretching food budgets. Programs are held in a wide range of community settings, including food shelves, WIC sites, senior citizen centers, and daycare centers. The NEP staff provides training and support for Nutrition Education Assistants (NEAs). In 2008, NEAs from the Morris area worked directly with 5,698 county residents. By age group, 1,042 preschool children, 3,567 5–17 year-old children, 819 adults (aged 18–59) and 249 seniors (over age 60) were reached through direct contact programming (www3.extension.umn.edu/Nutrition/index.html) A number of other programs provide food resources for eligible residents of Stevens County. The USDA’s Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) provides free healthy commodity food products to individuals who meet income guidelines. Financial Workers at Stevens County Human Services determine applicant eligibility. The Mothers and Children Program (MAC) and the Nutrition Assistance Program (NAPS) support low-income populations. To qualify for MAC or NAPS, individuals must be children ages five to six, women who are not breastfeeding and have a baby between six months and one year of age, and men and women who are older than 60 years. Income eligibility requirements vary for MAC and NAPS. Canned fruits, vegetables, and juices, dry and canned milk, cheese, canned
COMMUNITY FOOD ASSESSMENT