Update on Hurricane Katrina
National Hunger Hotline aids survivors

Hurricane Katrina has drowned New Orleans, with current reports estimating as much as 80 percent of the Louisiana city under water. As with other crises, WHY's National Hunger Hotline is responding to calls from people in need of emergency help.

Hotline staff reports that New Orleans emergency responders are still dealing with search and rescue efforts. The city is just beginning to engage in disaster relief at this point, and a policy (a .pdf document) regarding emergency food stamps for hurricane refugees have been published today by the USDA. Hotline staff has been directing people in need to the Red Cross, their local United Way, and FEMA.

Alabama and Mississippi have also been affected by Hurricane Katrina, and NHH staffers have had to warn hurricane victims there that the shelters or food pantries in their neighborhoods may not exist any longer as a consequence of the storm. Hotline staffers have also fielded calls from people who have been displaced by the hurricane and are temporarily finding shelter in Texas or Florida. These displaced people in crisis don't have much money and are trying to get food stamps as they were receiving in their home state of Louisiana. Hotline staffers are currently advising these persons as to how they can receive emergency food stamps.

Hotline staff has been referring people interested in making donations to the hurricane victims to the Red Cross.

Addicted to Junk Food: The Plumping of America
Patricia Rojas reports

In The Simpsons 350th episode, Bart Simpson becomes addicted to junk food when a new vending machine is installed at his elementary school. Bart's steady diet of processed foods leads to a massive weight gain, health issues, and eventually a heart attack, at the tender age of 10. Being a cartoon, The Simpsons have a unique way of exaggerating today's social problems, but the show makes a valid point. Obesity is on the rise and childhood obesity is a serious issue in the United States. According to the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are an estimated 9 million schoolchildren between the ages 6 and 19 that are overweight. That number has doubled since 1980 and tripled among adolescents.

With our children getting heavier and their risk of health problems growing, parents, teachers, doctors, and lawmakers have become concerned and are working together to combat the problem. The question then becomes: What is causing the weight gain? Is it the vending machines, the school lunches, or something else?

Bearing the brunt of the blame are the snacks and drinks found in school vending machines. The American Beverage Association has recently approved new guidelines, regarding the drinks that should be sold in vending machines at schools. These guidelines call for vending machines in elementary schools to dispense only water or 100 percent fruit juice. For middle schools, the vending machines will not sell full-calorie soft drinks during school hours or any full-calorie juice drinks containing 5 percent real fruit juice or less. In high schools, the beverage industry is asking that no more than 50 percent of a vending machine's options be soft drinks. These new rules only affect the vending machines but not the drinks sold in the cafeteria or in other locations. While this might be an encouraging step in the right direction, one must remember that these are guidelines and not laws.

Various school districts around the country have responded to this problem by getting rid of soda and candy in the vending machines and replacing them with healthier items. A number of states have considered or enacted laws establishing nutrition standards in schools, including whether students should have access to vending machines. Of the 38 states that considered legislation dealing with school nutrition, 15 have enacted legislation that addressed the issue in some way. North Carolina passed a measure that was similar the ABA's recommendations, however they ban soda in their elementary school as well as their middle schools and no more than half of the beverages offered to high school students can be sugar soft drinks.

School lunches have also come under fire in the blame game of childhood obesity. Children need a healthy balance of proteins, carbohydrates, and healthy fats for the body to develop properly. Studies show that an improper diet can limit a child's ability to learn. One school that has addressed the problem in a unique way is The Appleton Central Alternative School in Wisconsin. They partnered up with Natural Ovens Bakery to create a healthy nutrition program for their students, which included a physical education program. In New York City, public schools have created salad bars, whole milk has been switch to skim, vending machines had their innutritious snacks removed and more changes are expected. California and Texas passed laws that limit junk food that is sold on school grounds. Districts, in New Mexico and Washington are incorporating produce from their local farm in their lunches, also known as the Farm to School program. Congress also passed a law requiring each local educational agency participating in USDA's school meals programs to establish a local wellness policy by the beginning of 2006-2007 school years.

Even with individual school districts moving in the right direction, these improvements only solve part of the problem and more changes need to be made. It's also important to realize, that these changes were brought about through educating government officials and school districts about problem and pushing for changes within the system. So get involved and find out what's happening in your community.

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Patricia Rojas is a program assistant for WHY's National Hunger Clearinghouse.