Metro

Aid
To The
Elderly

Yad Ezra to help seniors
apply for "food stamps."

Yad Ezra President Allan Sefton; U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.; Lea Luger of Yad Ezra; and Andrea Meewes of
MICAFE during the recent Washington, D.C., trip to advocate for a strong nutrition title in the upcoming Farm Bill.

She111 Liebman Dorfman
Senior Writer

(MiCAFE), a nonprofit organization based
in Lansing operating under the auspices of
Elder Law of Michigan, also a nonprofit
n addition to being
organization that addresses the needs
Michigan's only kosher food
of older adults.
pantry, Berkley-based
Volunteers will learn to
Yad Ezra now has the dis-
help seniors apply for food
tinction of soon becoming
assistance supplied in the
the first off-site facility in
form of a "bridge card:'
Oakland County for senior
a type of debit card that
citizens to apply for the Food
has replaced food stamps.
Assistance Program, formerly
"Seniors who are access-
OMMUNITY CARE
known as "food stamps."
ing emergency food are
Until now, qualifying seniors,
very likely to be eligible for a
ages 60 and older, had to travel to Oakland bridge card:' Meewes said.
County Department of Human Services
In addition, said Luger, clients will be
(DHS) offices in Pontiac, Waterford or
given "information about Medicaid and
Madison Heights to register.
other benefit programs that address the
Yad Ezra volunteers will begin training
health and economic needs of older adults.
this summer to learn how to register the
"Once the paperwork is mailed to an
applicants. "By fall, we should be up and
Oakland County DHS office, DHS takes
running," said Lea Luger, Yad Ezra's devel-
over. A caseworker reviews the case and
opment director.
determines eligibility. If the client quali-
Training will be conducted by Andrea
fies, the DHS office mails the bridge cards
Meewes, program director of Michigan's
to the client directly," she said.
Coordinated Access to Food for the Elderly
"For us to be able to do this, Elder Law

I

director Kate White and Meewes had
to get the approval of DHS in Oakland
County and a waiver from USDA. DHS
has to agree to let us do the interview-
registration portion, but they determine
eligibility"
Meewes said that through the newly
formed partnership "MiCAFE will primar-
ily serve Oakland County Yad Ezra clients,
but will be available for other senior resi-
dents in Oakland County as needed!'
In addition to being the first site to offer
MiCAFE in Oakland County, Yad Ezra is
also the first food pantry in the state to
do so. "Since MiCAFE is only available to
households with at least one person age
60 or older, the typical MiCAFE site in the
past was a senior center;' Meewes said.
"This partnership will open the doors to
reaching a new population of senior house-
holds who are accessing emergency food
and desperately in need of assistance!"
With the new registration site unani-
mously approved by the Yad Ezra board of
directors, Luger said, "This is an absolute
win-win for everyone involved. The clients

benefit through quicker, easier access, few-
ers transportation hassles, a comfortable
and friendly environment — complete
with translation, if necessary — and,
hopefully, financially through the benefit
of food stamps."
And with only 30 percent of eligible
seniors actually applying for the Food
Assistance Program, Meewes sees the new
site as one that will reduce barriers faced
by some of those who may now apply.
DHS of Oakland County benefits with a
lightened workload, as Yad Ezra volunteers
prepare paperwork. "And they still have
the ultimate decision-making authority as
to qualification;' Luger said.
"MiCAFE benefits in doing what it's
mandated to do: provide access to food
stamps, Medicaid and other benefits that
improve the health and well being of older
adults in Oakland County. USDA benefits
in making food stamps — considered the
cornerstone of the government's programs
to address hunger — more available to
people in need. What could be better than
that?"

The Farm Bill -a It's Not Just About Farming

I

t wasn't my turn to eat"
of those suffering from hunger.
was the punch line of the
The focus was the upcom-
story about a teacher who
ing Farm Bill that goes before
asked a 7-year-old student
Congress for reauthorization
what he had eaten for dinner
every five years. In addition to
the night before. These words
addressing the needs of farmers
resonated with me earlier this
and rural communities, this year's
month while attending the
Farm Bill includes the Nutrition
Lea Luger
"Sowing Seeds of Change" con-
Title that deals with the Food
Special
ference in Washington, D.C.
Stamp Program, the largest feder-
Commentary
Allan Sefton, Yad Ezra
al resource available to help alle-
president; June Stillman, Yad Ezra board
viate hunger. Presenters from various back-
member; Joel Jacob, Yad Ezra advisory
grounds spoke about the bill's key points
committee member; and I, the Yad Ezra
and its impact on 35 million individuals
development director, joined more than
(12 million are children) who struggle to
1,000 people who gathered over three days put food on their tables every night.
to learn, strategize and advocate on behalf

Call to Action
The key issues in the Nutrition Title in the
2007 Farm Bill to secure assistance for
vulnerable families include:
1. No cuts to the Nutrition Programs
— no cuts in funding for food stamps
and commodity programs, and no limit-
ing state options that provide flexibility to
help people in need.
2. Stopping the erosion of food stamp
benefits — the average benefit is $1 per
person per meal (this has not increased
since 1977) and there is a cap on depen-
dent child care deductions that doesn't
reflect the real cost of child care.
3. Restoring food stamps to certain vul-
nerable populations — the Nutrition Title

in the Farm Bill eliminates food stamp
assistance to immigrants during their first
five years in this country.

Contact Congress
In Michigan, with unemployment exceed-
ing 7 percent and a record 1.9 million
residents "food insecure" (no assurance
of where their next meal will come from),
it is imperative that we contact our U.S.
representatives and senators who are cur-
rently working on revising the Farm Bill
to ensure that the nutrition programs are
enhanced and broadened. El

Lea Luger is development director at Yad Ezra
in Berkley.

July 19 • 2007

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