For Food On The Go, Bars Are Eating Up The Competition

Only about 15% of all the food stamps used by shoppers in the U.S. are spent at small stores, but they are also the source of 85% of the fraud, according to the USDAs report . The USDA report is essentially a follow up to a Government Accountability Office report released several years ago that told the USDA it needed to focus on small convenience and grocery stores in order to cut down on food stamp fraud. USDAhas good reason to see these small-scale, privately owned stores as a significance source of food stamp fraud. These stores are often short on the fresh fruit, vegetables and meat that SNAP vouchers are intended to purchase, the GAO report said. The USDA isnt waiting for further marching orders from Congress, having just wrapped up a five-city listening tour aimed at hearing the publics complaints and suggestions regarding SNAP fraud. The department also has issued what it calls a request for information in the Federal Register. The document, which is essentially a precursor to a new federal rule proposal, reveals that USDA is considering such measures as disqualifying smaller grocery stores and convenience stores from accepting food stamps if they sell large quantities of alcohol and tobacco or banning them from the government program if their primary business isnt selling food. Retail fraud, or trafficking, as the USDA calls it, has remained consistently low over recent years at large supermarkets, but it is spiking in smaller stores that often dont even stock $100 worth of the kind of food fruit, vegetables, bread, meat that they need to in order to participate in SNAP. In fact, of particular concern, according to USDA officials, are stores that place the bare minimum of products sometimes as little as a single can of corn in each of the three food-type varieties that the retailers need to stock in order to qualify to accept food stamps. USDAs Food and Nutrition Service, in a statement posted with the agencys call for public input on the trafficking problem, says it is concerned that there are a large and growing number of authorized retailers that do not provide healthful food offerings to SNAP recipients and that engage in fraud. These retailers represent a management challenge for the program that must be balanced against the need to ensure effective access to healthful, nutritious food for SNAP households. Forcing convenience and small grocery stores to stock up on foods, such as fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy and meat, would be acceptable to most widespread convenience store chains like 7-Eleven, say lobbyists for the industry. They say the convenience store chains are willing to work with federal officials to stem food stamp fraud and arent arguing with USDAs concerns with depth of stock at retailers. However, what convenience stores could not abide by is a provision that lawmakers included in the 2012 versions of both the Senate and House versions of the farm bill that would have made stores ineligible if more than 45% of what they sold was alcohol and tobacco. It is of little concern to SNAP clients whether the customer behind them in line is purchasing a case of beer or a pack of cigarettes, the National Association of Convenience Stores says in its draft of a letter it is preparing to send to USDA, a copy of which was provided to POLITICO.

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Fresh food thats the key to lowering high blood pressure and diabetes, said Jeri Bailey, director of the food pantry at the Dupont Park Seventh-Day Adventist Church, who was at the food bank the same day as Nwaneri. We prepare bags for 130families a week that includes a meat, fresh greens, canned goods and other items, Bailey said. But the distribution of fresh food means extra attention must be paid to ensuring that the donated perishables dont spoil. Nearly 36 million tons of food were wasted nationally in 2011, said Nancy Roman, president of the Capital Area Food Bank. Roman recently helped organize a summit in Alexandria to address how local churches and organizations can reduce food spoilage. Participants included Ben Simon, founder of the Food Recovery Network at the University of Maryland; Elise H. Golan, director for sustainable development at the Department of Agriculture; Tom ODonnell, an environmental scientist for the Environmental Protection Agency; and Meghan Stasz, director of sustainability for the Grocery Manufacturers Association, which represents such major brands as Kraft, General Mills and Nestle. Food waste is getting some attention from federal agencies, but [the summit] really connected it to people serving in the communities to begin a conversation that is needed in our region, Roman said in an interview. We are committed to fresh food and vegetables, but we have to pay attention to waste. As panelists talked about how more and more companies are allowed to give out food because of Good Samaritan donation laws, Gerri Magruder, coordinator of the food pantry at First Baptist Church of Capitol Heights , stood in frustration. I want real-life specifics. I would like to leave here with real solutions, said Magruder, who told the panel that there was a shortage of fresh produce when her volunteers recently went to the main food bank to pick up items for their weekly community giveaways.

Food banks that churches count on are challenged by rising demand, spoilage issues

Also PHOTOS: A comparison of what’s really inside the wrapping About a fifth of Americans will eat a bar today, says Harry Balzer, chief food industry analyst for the NPD Group. (The only bigger change in our eating habits over the last decade? The explosion of yogurts.) The market research firm Packaged Facts said in an April 2012 report that the bar business approached $5.7 billion in 2011 and is still growing. “They’re their own food group,” says Terry Walters, a cookbook author and natural foods advocate. What’s more, bars are wrapped in the cachet of something that’s good for you and many of them are fine nutritionally, even though most bars have opaque packaging so it can be hard to judge. And energy bars sound pretty healthful, right? But the truth is that that just means they have calories. So before you load up for the weekend, read the label. Easy doesn’t necessarily mean healthful. In many cases, Walters says, bars are fast food and not so different from the drive-through. What they can do is fit in a pocket or purse and last for a long time in the glove compartment. Long-distance runners can eat them on the course, and busy travelers can make a meal of them on the plane or subway.

With more than 100 stalls, the market, which can trace its roots back to the 11th century, can be difficult to navigate, but is home to a vast amount of ethnic and specialty foods. Borough Market captures the rich culinary history and diversity of London, offering a wide variety of food, like fine cheeses and olive oils alongside creative dishes like ostrich burgers. The full market is open Wednesday through Saturday, and visitors can mingle with chefs and producers as they sample their way through the various stalls. The market sells fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, seafood, dairy, and breads, but if you’re visiting for a meal, there are also many vendors selling prepared foods to choose from. Some notable vendors include Khanom Krok, which sells authentic Thai street food (like mango and coconut sticky rice), and Gujarati Rasoi, which sells British Indian food (like samosas and samosa chaat) made with recipes one of the owners knows by heart. READ MORE: Best farmstead dining 3. Noryangjin Fish Market, Seoul The Seoul Fish Market is both a wholesale fish market and a cultural attraction. More than 300 tons of seafood from South Korea arrives at this market every day, and visitors who arrive early in the morning can watch the fish auction, which occurs every day except Sundays and holidays. Some of the exotic seafood items, like the giant squid tentacles, are sold for hundreds of dollars. Visitors can also dine on the second floor of the market, which houses about a dozen traditional-style restaurants. Many of these restaurants specialize in raw fish, but some also serve cooked dishes like spicy soup with octopus (sometimes served alive!).