Look to Expand Food Stamp Aid
Council, CLC Feel the Hunger

By GINGER ADAMS OTIS

In an effort to register more needy New Yorkers for food stamps and other aid, City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn last week reached out to the AFL-CIO New York City Central Labor Council for help organizing in diverse communities.

The Chief-Leader/Ginger Adams Otis COUNTING HER BLESSINGS: Council Speaker Christine Quinn and AFL-CIO New York City Central Labor Council Executive Director Ed Ott (right) are joining forces to further promote the Council's Food Today, Health Tomorrow program that helps needy New Yorkers enroll in Federal food stamp programs. Ms. Quinn said it was 'inconceivable' to her that amid the city's wealth, children go hungry every day.

Speaking at the CLC's Union Square headquarters Dec. 19, Ms. Quinn called it "inconceivable" that amid such wealth, some city residents don't know where their next meal is coming from.

The Council's partnership with the CLC, which is comprised of more than 400 labor organizations, is aimed at registering New Yorkers who consistently don't have enough to eat - those who regularly visit food pantries, for example - for Federal programs that address the nation's burgeoning hunger problem.

Program Underutilized

Each year, said Ms. Quinn, more than a billion dollars is unclaimed in Federal food-stamp programs that could be going to nutritionally-deprived families in the five boroughs.

Under the new program, CLC leaders and union members will undergo training sessions that will help them better identify potentially needy residents in their communities, and give them information on signing up friends and neighbors who may want to enroll in the Federal program.

CLC Executive Director Ed Ott said his organization was committed to helping working families and individuals move out of poverty and into the middle class. He noted that the "best anti-poverty strategy is a strong labor movement, and the Federal Food Stamps Program remains the best anti-hunger policy."

But in New York City, some of those who require assistance are union members themselves.

Daniel L. Persons, special assistant to the president of District Council 37's Local 1549, representing the city's clerical and administrative employees, said a recent report from the Mayor's Office showed as many as 8,000 public employees received food stamps.

Workers Struggle

He wasn't sure how many of them were members of his local or DC 37, but, he noted, "We make up such a large part of the work force, we've got to be a significant amount."

Pat Purcell, director of special projects for United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1500, said many of his members who work in supermarkets or in food preparation don't earn enough to feed themselves, let alone a family.

"It's most critical among part-time employees," he said. "We have to remind our leaders in Washington that our members can't eat red tape."

Councilmembers Eric Gioia, David Weprin and Joseph Addabbo Jr. were also present to celebrate the start of the new program, along with members of various non-profit advocacy programs.

Mr. Gioia mentioned the "moral covenant" between employees and employers that should mandate workers earn enough to feed their families. Anyone with children earning $25,000 or less in New York City is eligible for food stamps, he pointed out.

Ms. Quinn said she expected the labor partnership to provide increased organizing and outreach ability. With more than one million New Yorkers experiencing food shortages at some point every year, she said, the problem was critical.

"We should remember that, as the Bible says, 'To whom much is given, much is required,''' she said.