Welcome to the e-Voices MONDAY MINUTE, your weekly email newsletter from New Mexico Voices for Children. Please take a minute to add your voice to the pressing issues of the day. Also, tell us what issues you'd like to know more about so we can tailor the MONDAY MINUTE to your interests. Thanks!

April 17, 2006

Feeding Our Hungry Brings Economic Benefits to All

A report by the USDA shows that only 52 percent of the New Mexicans who are eligible to receive food stamps are signed up for the federal assistance program. While some 354,287 New Mexicans live in poverty, only 190,000 use Food Stamps to help them purchase groceries to feed their families.

New Mexico has 35,000 families that are hungry and 114,000 that are food insecure, according to a new report by the Food Research and Action Center.

• Food stamps are the best program to help alleviate food insecurity and hunger. They also bring much-needed revenue into the state.
• If the state were to increase enrollment in the Food Stamp Program (FSP) by just percent--or 18,000 more people--another $11.4 million of federal money would come into the state, which would translate into $21 million in total economic activity.
  

Can it be done? Absolutely. After Oregon found itself on the bottom of the list for food insecurity, it waged a campaign to get eligible residents into the FSP. They now rank first in the nation with 83 percent of their eligible residents receiving the assistance. New Mexico ranks 35th.

The Food Research and Action Center’s report, State of the States: Food and Nutrition Programs Across the Nation, which includes detailed information about federal nutrition programs like school breakfast, lunch and summer nutrition programs, is available at: http://www.frac.org/State_Of_States/2006/2006_SOS_Report.pdf

For more information about why food stamp participation makes good economic sense for states, check out the report from the Food and Nutrition Service of the USDA: http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/outreach/business-case.htm.

Making Sure KIDS COUNT

New Mexico Voices for Children is the home of our state’s KIDS COUNT program. Funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, this program provides quantitative data on children’s well-being as a way of raising awareness and facilitating change in a non-partisan manner. All of our recent reports are available for free at: www.nmvoices.org/kidscount.htm.

• The 2005 Data Book examines the link between poverty, low test scores, teen pregnancy and low-wage jobs. Two pages of data are provided for each county with special emphasis given to risks faced in high school.
• The Majority/Minority Report is based on the 2000 Census. Through the lens of race and ethnicity, it describes topics as diverse as family structure, parental labor-force participation, health-care coverage, multi-lingualism and immigration.
• Native American Children in New Mexico looks at indicators describing income, poverty, education, disability and multi-lingualism by pueblo and tribal affiliation.
• The Condition of African-American Children in New Mexico is a small publication that discusses the disproportionate rates of juvenile incarceration, foster care placement, maternal income, and homeownership levels experienced by African-American families.
• Far too many New Mexican children face poverty and its ensuing consequences. We hope you will find the information contained within these reports thought-provoking.

A paper copy of our larger reports cost $20 each. Please contact Sara Beth Koplik, Kids Count Program Manager at 505-244-9505 extension 34 or skoplik@nmvoices.org for more information.

Register to Vote!

May 9th is the last day to register to vote in the primary elections – which will be held on June 6th. Contact your local County Clerk’s office to find out where and how to register.

Order your tickets for the 2006 Amy Biehl Youth Spirit Award to be held on Friday, April 28, 2006. Visit http://action.voiceshub.org/nmvoicesforchildren/events/abysa06/details.tcl for more information.

Register now for the RACE MATTERS conference to be held on Tuesday, May 16, 2006. Visit http://action.voiceshub.org/nmvoicesforchildren/events/racematters2006/details.tcl for more information.