Reaching Low-Income Hispanics With Nutrition Assistance
[Print Version]
Hispanic families add to the vibrant diversity of US society and
contribute significantly to our cultural melting pot. In 2004, one of
seven people in the United States was of Hispanic origin. About 34
percent were under 18 years of age. Latino families are much more likely
to live in poverty and experience food insecurity than white
non-Hispanic households.
USDA nutrition assistance programs offer a variety of ways for
low-income Hispanic families to meet basic needs:
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The Food
Stamp Program helps low-income households supplement their
food purchases to obtain a more nutritionally adequate diet. The Nation’s largest nutrition assistance program, it
delivered benefits to 26.7 million persons each month in
fiscal year (FY) 2006, at a total cost of nearly $33
billion. About 19 percent of all food stamp participants
were Hispanic in 2006. |
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The
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants
and Children (WIC) provides a combination of food
assistance, nutrition education, and easier access to health
care for pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women,
infants, and children up to the age of five years.
Eligible persons must be financially needy and at
nutritional risk. WIC benefits usually take the form of
vouchers or checks that may be redeemed for specific food
types. In FY 2006, USDA spent nearly $5.1 billion to serve
about 8.2 million WIC participants. Hispanics represent the
largest racial/ethnic group in the WIC Program. In 2004,
about 39 percent of those enrolled in WIC were of Hispanic
origin. Approximately 3/4 of the Hispanic infants born in
the United States participate in WIC. |
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The Child Nutrition Programs
provide cash reimbursement and commodity support for meals
served to children in schools, child care facilities, and
summer recreation settings. Programs include the National
School Lunch and Breakfast Programs, the Child and Adult
Care Food Program, the Summer Food Service Program, and the
Special Milk Program. The general purpose of these programs
is to help ensure the health and well being of all the
Nation’s children. In FY 2006, more than $12.8 billion in
cash and commodities were provided. These resources resulted
in meals for approximately 32.9 million children on an
average day during the school year and more than 3.3 million
during the summer months. |
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USDA also administers a variety of
other nutrition assistance programs that provide meals, food
packages, or vouchers redeemable for food. These include the
Emergency Food Assistance Program serving those who use soup
kitchens and food pantries and the Commodity Supplemental
Food Program providing food packages to low-income seniors,
infants, young children, and pregnant, breastfeeding, and
other postpartum women. While not targeted specifically to
Hispanic persons with low incomes, these programs are a part
of the overall safety net to ensure healthy diets for
everyone in America. About 16 percent of the participants in
the Commodity Supplemental Food Program were Hispanic in
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Although many low-income Latinos participate in USDA’s nutrition
assistance programs, a large number do not. In 2004, about 5 out of 10
people in food stamp eligible households with a Hispanic head
participated in the program. People in Hispanic-headed households
represent a large proportion – about one-quarter – of all food stamp
eligible persons who do not participate. The bottom line is that while
11.0 percent of all US households were food insecure at some time during
2005, the prevalence of food insecurity among Hispanic families was
nearly 18 percent.
USDA is making a concerted effort to address barriers to program
participation among eligible Hispanics, including immigrants. The effort
covers a broad range of activities:
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Restoring Food Stamp Eligibility
for Many Legal Immigrants. We are working with States to
implement the restoration of food stamp eligibility to many
legal immigrants -- a critical step in restoring fairness
and equity for legal immigrants to the United States. Over
150,000 legal immigrants were added to the Food Stamp
Program caseload in 2003 immediately after the provisions
were implemented. When fully implemented, food stamp
benefits should reach an additional 400,000 low-income
immigrants. |
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Targeting Outreach to the Hispanic
Community. The agency has reached out to underserved groups
to raise awareness of the Food Stamp Program, including
significant efforts to reach the Spanish-speaking
population. These include: |
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A national media campaign to
promote the nutrition benefits of the Food Stamp Program and
educate non-participating eligible people, including radio
advertisements in English and Spanish, is now in its second
year. Advertising carries the Food Stamp Program's national
toll free number and/or State-specific toll free information
numbers. |
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A web-based pre-screening tool in
English and Spanish. Individuals using the pre-screening
tool receive estimates of their food stamp eligibility and
benefit amounts. This tool is online at
http://www.foodstamps-step1.usda.gov. A national toll free
number offering listen to recorded information about the
Food Stamp Program in Spanish or English. Callers may order
informational materials in Spanish or English. |
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Educational posters and flyers in
English and Spanish which may be ordered for use in local
outreach campaigns, along with a photo library, including
pictures of Hispanic individuals and families, that can be
used in promotional and informational materials. These
resources are available at
http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/info.htm. |
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A Hispanic outreach plan, now under
development, to better reach and educate the Hispanic
audience about the nutrition benefits of the FSP. A small
Hispanic owned business is working closely with our national
media campaign contractor to prepare a 3-year outreach plan
to complement our existing national efforts by identifying
community activities to reach potentially eligible Hispanic
households. |
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A national Food Stamp Outreach
Coalition to bring together national and local organizations
working with low-income audiences. Coalition members share
effective outreach strategies to educate eligible,
non-participating, low-income Hispanic people about the
benefits of the Food Stamp Program. |
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Participation Grants for projects
that look at ways that State partnerships can promote
participation, and make the application and intake process
more user-friendly, and Outreach Grants for small
organizations to study the effectiveness of strategies to
inform eligible low-income people about the program. FY2006
grantees plan to do outreach to Hispanic families. |
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Partnering with Mexico. USDA
and the government of Mexico have entered into a partnership
to help educate eligible Mexican nationals living in the
United States about available nutrition assistance. Mexico
will help disseminate this information through its embassy
and network of 45 consular offices. |
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Making Program Application
Easier for Non-English Speakers. While the Food Stamp
Program currently offers a number of informational and
promotional materials in Spanish for potential applicants
and retailers, USDA is expanding the number and types of
products available in Spanish and other languages. States
with web sites must post their applications on the Internet
in the same languages they currently use for paper
applications. The school meal programs also make
applications for free and reduced-price meals available in
Spanish. |
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Promoting Healthy Food Choices
in Ways that Are Understandable and Culturally Relevant.
As USDA tackles the nationwide problem of poor eating habits
and the health consequences, appealing materials are being
developed at an appropriate reading level in Spanish, along
with examples that reflect the food preferences and
consumption patterns of the low-income Hispanic population. |
Nutrition Education Reaching Hispanics
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Spanish-Language Dietary
Guidelines and MiPirámide: Both the Dietary Guidelines
for Americans and the popular
http://www.MyPyramid.gov
website are available to the public in Spanish-language
editions, to make it easier for Hispanics and other
Spanish-speaking Americans to find nutrition information
vital to good health, and personalize that information to
their own lifestyle. |
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Nutrition Education for
Low-Literacy and Spanish-Language Groups: USDA is
developing a comprehensive Dietary Guidelines nutrition
education program to reach low-literacy and Spanish-language
populations. The project is designed to help food stamp
recipients and other groups served by USDA to overcome their
barriers to healthy nutrition as outlined in the DGAs. The
interventions target mothers of children ages 2 to 18. The
materials will be made available in 2007. |
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Eat Smart. Play Hard. ™
materials are available in Spanish. The materials
promote healthy eating and physical activity using activity
sheets, bookmarks, posters, and brochures. The posters and
activity sheets are bilingual: Spanish on one side and
English on the other. The brochures and bookmarks are in
Spanish only. The materials can be viewed and downloaded
from links on the following web page:
http://www.fns.usda.gov/eatsmartplayhard/Collection/main.html;
and can be ordered from http://www.fns.usda.gov/eatsmartplayhard/Collection/Files/powerpac-order_spanish.pdf. |
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The Food Stamp Nutrition
Connection (FSNC) is an online resource system designed
to facilitate communication and resource sharing among Food
Stamp Nutrition Education (FSNE) providers. Nutrition
education materials written in Spanish are available on the
FSNC website,
http://www.nal.usda.gov/foodstamp. |
These initiatives should ensure that Hispanic households and other
immigrant groups take advantage of the help available when they need
some help to become self-sufficient. After all, the United States values
its diversity and will not leave its newest residents to fall behind.
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