By Chris Paul, Towson University
May 15, 2011
Students head to class at West Towson Elementary School. Public schools are one of the main participants in Gov. OMalleys goal to end childhood hunger by 2015. Photo by Chris Paul/Towson University Student
Less than half of eligible, low-income children in Maryland are participating in state hunger programs, according to the Food Research and Action Center.
In an annual report the national, nonprofit organization released in January, only 45 percent of the 259,809 low-income children in Maryland took part in Gov. Martin O’Malley’s statewide initiative to provide access to a healthy breakfast. The breakfast program provides public schools with the resources to give children a free or discounted meal (see map).
In many cases, the resources are available but the aid is not reaching those who need it. There are multiple reasons.
“The main challenge is that the state has limited resources,” said Cathy Demeroto, Director of Maryland Hunger Solutions, a statewide anti-hunger association that studies hunger in Maryland. “School districts need to conduct school meal application campaigns and look for ways to make it easier for children to apply for school meals. There is an overwhelming need but the implementation process is slow.”
Limited resources are not the only issue.
Demeroto said that because of the nature of the school meal program, children receive their breakfast in a line separate from those who are not participating. As a result, people notice which families are dependent and which families are not.
“The biggest challenge families face is overcoming the stigma that is associated with asking for help,” said Valerie Woodward, the Prevention Strategies Specialist at the Governor’s Office for Children. “Many people will hold back from the aid available to them.”
In another strategy, the Food Supplement Program, the state replaced food stamps with an Electronic Benefits Transfer card to combat this stigma. However, not all families are eligible for an EBT card.
In general, households can have up to $2000 in available monthly resources to qualify. However, it does not take large families into account where the poverty level could be up to $37,010 depending on the number of individuals.
Transportation is another big issue according to Woodward.
“Families that live in rural areas can be an hour or more away from the nearest food pantry or site that accepts EBT cards,” she said. “You see this especially in western and southern Maryland as well as the Eastern Shore. Due to the high cost of gas, families will decide that the gas spent on driving is not worth the bag of groceries.”
In Baltimore City, grocery stores are sparse.
“Hunger is a really huge issue in the city,” said Genevieve Birkby, a supervisor at the Baltimore City Department of Health. “What the city has that other places don’t are food deserts.”
A food desert is an area in an industrialized city or town where healthy, affordable food is difficult to obtain. While Baltimore has a number of food pantries, few places sell fresh fruits and vegetables.
“There are a lot of food pantries but a small amount of grocery stores,” said Birkby. “It depends on the community so consequently, you see different areas in the state having their own set of issues when it comes to childhood hunger.”
In Baltimore County, the issue revolves around funding. The median household income is nearly $65,000, according to the County’s website. Consequently, the Department of Planning allocates a small amount of resources toward anti-hunger programs.
Baltimore County Participationin the Free and Reduced Meal Program
Green: 0-24.9% student participation in school
Blue: 25-49.9%
Yellow: 50-74.9%
Red: 75-100%
View Larger Map
“It’s frustrating because there are large pockets of needy families in the community,” said Jennie Fumarola, Director of Creative Kids, a nonprofit community center in Cockeysville. “The issue is that these families are neighbors with people like Cal Ripken and Michael Phelps and other wealthy folk who drive the median income upward. The result is that the county looks over our area when it comes to deciding who should receive funding.”
Although the state and county cut back on funding, both governments found a way to tackle childhood hunger through partnering with federal, state, local, and nonprofit organizations.
One of the main partners is the Maryland Food Bank. Currently, it is involved with three of the Governor’s five strategies to combat childhood hunger.
“The Bank plays a role in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps), summer meals and access to nutritious food, “ said Kate Sam, grants manager. “The Bank uses monetary donations to buy food and conduct all of our operations, which allow us to distribute more than 18.6 millions pounds of food each year.”
Many have spoken well about the impact of the food bank and the other partners. Demeroto is one of them.
“They have brought many people and groups to the table including nonprofits, food banks, advocates and federal and local government,” she said. “Everyone is working together and we’ve become more effective.”
Even though partnerships can make a huge influence, they cannot remove the stigma associated with asking for help.
“A lot of children are paying the price because their parents refuse to take that initial step and apply for benefits,” said Woodward. “As a community we’re not looking harshly at those that need assistance. We can help.”
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