SW Michigan Food pantries trying to deliver healthy choices

"It is extremely possible to get nutritional food from a food pantry," said (Olivia) Megna, community impact coordinator for United Way of Southwest Michigan. "You're definitely going to get protein in the form of tuna, (or) peanut butter. A lot of times, they will have meat available, because they have refrigeration in freezers. It truly depends on if the pantry has refrigeration and freezer capability. A lot of the pantries do."

Nicole Britten has a different take on the issue. As an epidemiologist with the Berrien County Health Department, she specializes in studying how major diseases and health risks affect populations.

In Benton Harbor's case, Britten feels that hunger can't be separated from lack of access to quality food.

Sociologists have coined a term to describe being cut off from fresh, healthy foods.

"Detroit is considered a classic example of a 'food desert,'" Britten said. "There are not many grocery stores, and transportation is a problem. Benton Harbor would fall into that category as well."

When grocery stores go by the wayside, convenience stores take up the slack, often with costly foods that are sugary and full of fat, Britten said. As a result, residents living in such areas are more likely to develop obesity and other long-term health problems, she added.

"There's a lack of access to high-quality food. I think that is the biggest thing," Britten said.

www.heraldpalladium.com/articles/2010/07/13/local_news/1542693.txt

The Haven of Rest Rescue Mission in Battle Creek gets 25k grant to help end hunger

A recent grant to The Haven of Rest Rescue Mission in Battle Creek will focus efforts on ending hunger in the Battle Creek Community. The grant will help fund meals for men at the Haven, 11 Green St., and women and children at the nearby Inasmuch House for the next year.

The Haven serves about 55,000 meals a year with 40 percent of the food donated by area businesses or people who have graduation parties, wedding receptions or staff holiday parties. In a community with as much need as Battle Creek, every bit helps.

Until people can fill their basic needs such as food and shelter, actual poverty reduction will continue to be a challenge in Battle Creek.

Read the full article: http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20100710/NEWS01/7100303/Haven-gets-grant-to-help-end-hunger

Vandalia Celebrates Its Historical Participation in the Underground Railroad

"Vandalia may be a tiny village of just more than 400 people, but it has a big history.

Unfortunately, many of its residents and people in the surrounding area do not know much about its historical significance, according to Carol Bainbridge of the Underground Railroad Society of Cass County.

“Everyone asks, ‘where’s Vandalia?’” she said. “I tell them that Vandalia may be a little village but it has a huge, huge, important history. The history of this area, especially this little village, impacted this entire country.”

With events like the Kentucky Raid of 1847 and key stops on the Underground Railroad, the area was influential in the fight against slavery.

Bainbridge and the (Underground Railroad Society) are hoping to help educate the community through the first Vandalia Underground Railroad Days on July 17 and 18."

www.nilesstar.com/2010/07/08/villages-role-in-underground-railroad-history-to-be-celebrated/

(The Carriage House pictured served as a haven for runaway slaves.)

Housing Delinquencies Greatest with Homes Valued at more than $1 Million

There is a common perception that the financial housing crisis was caused by banks and mortgage institutions extending credit to poor or near poor and working class Americans. The theory has been that certain members of the U.S. Congress pushed financial institutions into lowering their credit standards, thus, the housing bubble and subsequent collapse.

In today's New York Times, an article contends that home owners who have homes valued at $1 million or more actually have the nation's highest delinquency rate. "More than one in seven homeowners with loans in excess of a million dollars are seriously delinquent, according to data compiled for The New York Times by the real estate analytics firm CoreLogic."

So, was the housing crisis caused by banks extending credit to the poor, near poor, or working class? Or is the answer more nuanced? The article hints that perhaps more of the speculation was at the high end of the housing market:

www.nytimes.com/2010/07/09/business/economy/09rich.html?pagewanted=1

Medicaid Health Care Benefits and the Michigan Budget

"The biggest wrench stuck in the gears of Michigan’s state budget is the Medicaid health care benefits program for the poor. Without additional Medicaid funds from the federal government, Michigan faces a $560 million shortfall for the budget year beginning October 1.

If you’re lucky enough to not be on Medicaid and think it simply doesn’t concern you, think again.

Medicaid concerns everyone in Michigan. Why and how? ...

Nearly 25 cents of every dollar in the state general fund budget goes to Medicaid — more than $2 billion in state tax revenues overall, with another $8-9 billion in federal tax dollars. Like the prison budget, Medicaid crowds out all kinds of other state priorities, from the desire for low taxes to the desires for environmental protection, low college tuition, healthy downtowns, and lots of other things."

www.thecenterformichigan.net/michigans-giant-burden-and-responsibility/

Some Michigan kids lack summer nutrition safety net

A report from the Washington, D.C.-based Food Research and Action Center found that fewer than one in six of Michigan children eligible for free breakfast and lunch during the school year got those meals in July 2009. So what happens when children who rely on free and reduced lunches during the school year are out of school for the summer?

The Summer Food Service Program provides low-income children more than 45,000 meals at Michigan schools, libraries, churches, community centers and parks. So if these programs already exist, why aren't they reaching the children in need? A lack of awareness is preventing families from using these services to their full capacity.

Confusion among families may also keep participation rates low, said Sharon Quincy, manager of nutrition services for the Detroit Department of Health & Wellness Promotion. Many parents assume the programs have been cut due to budget restraints, she said. But there are more than 200 meal sites around Detroit — so most children can get breakfast or lunch within walking distance.

"People think the program is not going on, so they don't bother to come out," she said.

Read the full article: http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/07/some_michigan_kids_lack_summer.html

Benton Harbor Boys & Girls Club Announces $6 Million Capital Campaign

"The Boys & Girls Club of Benton Harbor announced plans to reach out to the community for support of a $6 million project that includes building a new facility. The facility would assist the organization with its development plans, which include doubling the club’s membership over the next 5 years. According to a site evaluation study conducted by the board of directors, the current facility at the old Bard School would not be able to accommodate such a sizable increase in youth involvement...

The proposed location for this new 3.5-acre, 30,000 square foot facility is on the edge of Hall Park. This region of Benton Harbor has already seen a great deal of change thanks to one of the highest per capita funded Hope VI projects in the country along with Harbor Habitat for Humanity, the Jimmy Carter Work Project and the Harbor Bluffs housing development. The residents within this neighborhood have provided positive feedback in favor of the project, which is before the US Department of Housing and Urban Development for final approval."

bentonspiritnews.com/clients/bentonspiritnews/boys-girls-club-announces-million-capital-campaign-p3379.htm?twindow=Default&smenu=93&mad=No

Free Press Editorial Chastises Public Defender System in Michigan as "Shortchanging" Indigent Defendants

"Michigan's appalling public defense system has made a sham of the constitutional right to adequate legal counsel. No uniform standards and scandalously low pay, among other things, prevent many indigent defendants in Michigan from getting effective legal assistance and, ultimately, a fair trial.

Inadequate legal representation for the poor is a national scandal. But Michigan's system is among the very worst, ranking 44th among the 50 states in spending -- lower than Alabama, for example. Michigan is also one of only a handful of states that rely almost entirely on counties to pay for and run a public defense system..."

www.freep.com/article/20100702/OPINION01/7020318/1322/Justice-shortchanged-in-public-defense-system

July 2: Anniversary of LBJ's Signing of Civil Rights Act of 1964

"On July 2, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson finally signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964—one of the most important pieces of legislation in US history, which outlawed racial segregation in public places, abolished the South’s discriminatory Jim Crow laws, and introduced equal rights for all Americans applying to register to vote. The bill, initially put forth by President Kennedy in 1963, was by no means a final solution to the problem of social division in America—while it allowed African Americans the right to apply to vote, it notably lacked provisions to make the requirement tests for registration fair and democratic—but its passage was a victory for the civil rights movement and its supporters.

Today, to celebrate the bill’s anniversary, we feature a portfolio of images from photographer Dan Budnik, a member of Magnum Photos and close friend of Bruce Davidson, who was introduced to some of the leading figures from the civil rights movement by his art teacher Charles Alston in the early 50s."

www.nowness.com/day/2010/7/2/701/on-this-day--the-signing-of-the-civil-rights-act?ecid=soc1268#close

Soccer gives homeless new goals

A new soccer program in Washtenaw County is helping homeless get off the streets and re-enter society. From the Detroit News:

On this soccer team, accomplishment isn't measured by goals scored or shots blocked.

It's how many months a player remains sober. Or whether he receives a GED. Or finds a home.

For a team of homeless people, sometimes just showing up is a small victory.

"After so much heartache and chaos and pain, to have so much fun on a soccer field, you don't even know what it means," said David Altherr, 53, who became homeless after seven drunken-driving convictions.

Project Outreach Team (PORT), a Washtenaw County agency that provides services for the homeless, formed the soccer team in 2007 as a way to reach a population that prefers to be left alone.

Once PORT gains players' trust, it learns what type of therapy and other help they need.

Washtenaw isn't the only place doing it. A growing number of cities around the country have formed a 20-team league that plays a national tournament July 30 in Washington.

An international contest, the Homeless World Cup, is in September in Rio de Janeiro.

Soccer gives the homeless a relaxing way to dip their toe into the mainstream after being away a long time, said Linda Bacigalupi, a PORT jail diversion specialist who is one of the team's coaches.

It also teaches confidence, discipline and other traits that could help one re-enter society, she said.

"They say they feel like this is their family," she said. "That makes it worth it 10 times over."

Read the full article: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20100630/METRO/6300357/1408/LOCAL/Soccer-gives-homeless-new-goals#ixzz0sLbIfJVJ