Brief Meeting Notes
Alaska Food Coalition
State TEFAP/Executive Committee AFC
January 7, 2003
Molly Wheeler, the USDA Commodity Program Coordinator met
in Anchorage with Members of the AFC Executive Committee and
other interested parties: Trevor, Peggy, Susannah, Holis,
Sam, Diane, Sara, and Kiera. Yvonne Chase from DEED sat in
briefly on the meeting and Tony (administrative support) from
Molly's Juneau office was also present.
Molly reviewed for us the history of the TEFAP program in
Alaska, who it is serving now and some speculation about the
program's future.
She provided the participants with packets of information
detailing what products are currently available and who is
receiving them. She talked about the difference between entitlement
and bonus products and how the bonus products make a huge
difference in the quantity and selection of items offered.
Molly also talked to us about the quantity of product that
we are eligible for as a state and how that % is arrived at.
It is based upon the number of people that are eligible for
unemployment insurance. As such anyone who is self-employed
is excluded from the count. So that excludes among other people
the unemployed fishermen in this state. She said due to the
fishing disaster we might want to make a proposal to TEFAP
that some other means be used to give a more accurate picture
of poverty and hunger here.
She said that there are some benefits to having a small population,
and that we already receive more than we are technically qualified
for.
Molly brought up the issue of the distribution of the funds
that are for administration of the TEFAP program. Since the
beginning of the program here, 100% of these funds have been
given to the Food Bank of Alaska as the principal distributor
of the product. Even with this compensation, Food Bank of
Alaska reports last year they came up almost $47,000 short
of what it cost to distribute the food to existing sites.
Molly says that Alaska is the only state in the Western district
that does not keep any of the administration dollars for themselves.
She said that the average kept by the states is 3-5% . Molly
says that TEFAP is now delivered directly to Fairbanks, Kenai
and Kodiak, in addition to the Food Bank of Alaska and suggests
that it might be fairer to share the admin funds among the
four sites with some percentage kept by the state for its
trouble.
There was quite a discussion over ways in which this money
could be divided. One way would be by percentage of product
received and distributed. Although all of the programs absorb
some cost by distributing the food, Food Bank of Alaska's
costs are the greatest because they take on the task of sending
food out to the rural villages and that is the most expensive.
Molly said that if storage sites could be developed in some
areas, it might be possible to ship extra TEFAP product out
with the school supplies they are already receiving. That
takes us back to the old question of adequate storage and
management of the food.
There are many more questions than answers, but Molly wanted
our input and told us that the state would be considering
this issue.
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