“I spoke to one man who had been at the (Social Services) office for five hours!”
-WYPR producer Mary Rose Madden
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Thanks for checking out the NPR Station Showcase with PRX. I’m Aaron Henkin, and each week on this podcast we give a little extra attention to the outstanding work that’s being produced locally at the hundreds of local public radio stations around the country. This week we tune in to WYPR in Baltimore where producer Mary Rose Madden has been looking into a growing economic problem centered on the state’s food stamp program. It turns out that because of rising food costs, food stamps are decreasing in value – they’re also helping fewer and fewer people. Here’s more from Mary Rose…
How did this story end up on your radar?
I heard a few different things related to food stamps within a two-week period. The Farm Bill was being voted on in Congress and news reports were covering some changes that bill would bring to the Food Stamp Program. Also, I was doing research about the New Deal, Welfare Reform, and federal subsidies, and I came across some alarming statistics about the federal entitlement, the food stamp program. And lastly, the food crisis was being discussed and explored in the news. So, when I spoke to my editors and told them I wanted to look into the program and see how effective it is – I brought all this to the table and they gave me the green light.
At the beginning of your piece, you talk with a 70-year-old woman named Beverly… what surprised you most about her story?
Beverly surprised me by being so open about her situation. She gave me permission to tape our conversation then spoke to me like we had known each other for years. One more thing: She’s obviously elderly and low-income, but she also lives in a tough part of Baltimore. It’s incredible to me that she is fully determined to make it to her community organization’s meetings.
When you spoke with Maryland Food Stamp Program Director Kevin MacGuire, you learned that 550 to 600 thousand people in MD are eligible for the assistance, but that the participation rate is only 55 to 60 percent. Tell us a little bit about why that number is so low… Is it more that people just don’t know that they’re eligible? Or is it just too complicated to get screened and approved for the assistance?
There are a few reasons the number is so low. First, folks have trouble applying for the program even though the state has made efforts to streamline the process by beginning the process online. The fact is you still need to go to the office of Social Services to finalize your application. This is a major deterrent – I spoke to one man who had been at the office for five hours! Unfortunately, he didn’t make the final script (I was asked to leave the premises in the middle of our conversation!) – but asking someone to find five hours off from work, maybe for a babysitter, or just from your life – is a unrealistic. Second, the food stamp program qualifies people with such low incomes (this is due in part to the ultra low poverty rate) – that many people don’t qualify even though they are indeed hungry. These people go to food banks and other places for help, but the federal entitlement should be able to help them.
Are there plans in the works to adjust the value of food stamps to correspond with inflated food costs?
The Farm Bill has adjusted the value of food stamps to correspond with inflated food costs, on a yearly basis, I believe. But, it’s my understanding that the income levels have not been adjusted. So, you may get a little more money for food, but more people won’t qualify to receive those benefits.
It sounds like the Maryland Department of Social Services office is about as user-friendly as a department of motor vehicles bureau… what’s making the place so intimidating and un-navigable for people?
That, I’m afraid, I do not have the answer to. Exactly what is this “red tape”? Why the lines? I wish we knew.
It sounds like the internet might be simplifying the application and screening process somewhat… where do folks log on to find out more?
There are a number of places: in the outro to the story we name: www.mdhungersolutions.org. There’s also www.seedco.org (here you can learn about other financial assistance, like help paying your gas and electric bill), www.marylandsail.org, and lastly, www.dhr.state.md.us/how/cashfood/fstamp.htm.
You can hear more from WYPR and Mary Rose Madden online at The Public Radio Exchange. That’s where producers from around the world share their work. Log on, write your own reviews, and have a say in what ends up on the radio at: www.prx.org.