The FoodShare program (also known informally as food stamps) provides a valuable source of funding for low income individuals and families to purchase food. In May 2011, more than 800,000 people in Wisconsin received FoodShare. About 0.2 percent of those individuals were lawfully present adult immigrants who have lived in the U.S. less than consecutive five years.  Until July 1, that group of immigrants had been eligible for a state-funded FoodShare benefit, which was eliminated by the budget bill.According to the Food Research and Action Council (FRAC), in 2010 15 percent of all Wisconsin households reported food hardship. That is, they didn’t have enough money to purchase food needed by their family. Research confirms that immigrant families are many times more likely to experience food insecurity. Nationally, immigrants in the U.S. five or less years were 145 percent more likely to be food insecure than U.S. born families, according to FRAC.

This insecurity has serious and lasting effects on young children’s growth and development. Nutrition provides the building blocks for early childhood brain development. Proper nutrition (or lack thereof) influences cognitive, motor skills, linguistic, social and self-regulation and educational attainment.

The 1996 Federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) barred most qualified immigrants who entered the U.S. on or after Aug. 22, 1996, from receiving “federal means-tested public benefits” (i.e., SSI, food stamp, TANF (W-2), SCHIP (BadgerCare), and non-emergency Medicaid) during the first five years after they secure qualified immigrant status. Federal law made some exceptions for to qualified immigrants who are disabled, are under 18 years, or have lived in the U.S. continuously for five years as a qualified immigrant.

The federal changes also allowed states to provide a state-funded program. In 1998, under Republican Governor Tommy Thompson, Wisconsin implemented a State Option FoodShare Program (SOFSP) to cover low income immigrants in the US for less than five years. In 2010 the average benefit was $80 per month.

The recently signed state budget eliminates SOFSP. According to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau, an average of 1,682 people per month would lose about $1.6 million in critical FoodShare benefits statewide. The change denies people food assistance when they are potentially most vulnerable.

While children can be eligible even if their parents are not, parents may not be aware of this distinction, and many families are concerned that receiving benefits will compromise their chances of becoming U.S. citizens. Immigrant families have higher rates of poverty and food insecurity yet, their children are less likely than those of U.S.-born parents to receive important nutritional and health benefits.

Wisconsin must be a place that values families. These modest food benefits make a difference in whether some families will be able to eat each month. We all have a stake in the health of our neighbors. The state should rethink this policy and reinstate eligibility for FoodShare to new Wisconsinites.

Martha Cranley

Tomorrow—Way #23: Youth Aids

About the series: “31 Ways in 31 Days” is a series of posts to the WCCF blog exploring the recently-passed biennial budget’s impact on children and families in Wisconsin. Each day in July, we are posting a description of one way the budget will affect kids and families, with an eye toward what should be done going forward to help improve outcomes and move us closer to the goal of making Wisconsin a place where every child has the opportunity to grow up, learn, and thrive in a safe, healthy, economically secure home and community.