LOS ANGELES, CA. May 2, 2008 - The effects of increased commodity prices and tight federal funding are having a significant impact on seniors and families throughout Los Angeles County. Funding and food volume trends for two key United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) commodity programs, the Commodity Supplemental Food Program and the Emergency Food Assistance Program, are resulting in local needy seniors and families receiving less food or being turned away from service.

The Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) is a federally funded program which works to improve the health of elderly people at least 60 years of age, low-income pregnant and breastfeeding women, other new mothers up to one year postpartum, infants, and children up to age six by supplementing their diets with nutritious USDA commodity foods. The Foodbank has been allocated by the State of California to serve up to 10,000 households (primarily seniors) on a monthly basis in recent years, but the Foodbank's current allocated "caseload" is 7,232 monthly clients. The Foodbank served 8,200 households in March and April and, due to complex federal administrative rules, is required to cut 1,500 households (primarily seniors) from the program starting in May. In all, 12 distribution sites will be closed, and the remaining distribution sites will not be allowed to add more clients to the program.

Sites target for closure are: Center for Healthy Living in Van Nuys, Telacu Pointe in Los Angeles, Golden Age Apartments in Monterey Park, Hawthorne Housing in Hawthorne, Gardena Apartments in Gardena, Telacu Vistas in Los Angeles, Kingsley Adult Daycare Health Center in Los Angeles, Glenoaks Adult Daycare Health Center in Burbank, Grandview Apartments Culver City, Arcadia Adult Daycare Health Center in Hollywood , Telacu Del Rio in Pico Rivera and Telacu Villahermosa in Whittier.

"The Nutrition Title of the Farm Bill has received significant bipartisan support, and we urge Congress to quickly pass the final version and the President to sign the bill into law," said Michael Flood, President and CEO of the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank. "If the Farm Bill had been passed and signed into law in 2007 as scheduled, we are certain that we would not be cutting seniors from the CSFP program today and more families would be accessing USDA commodities through the Emergency Food Assistance Program," Flood added. "Given the current economic climate in Los Angeles County and increased food and fuel prices, many families and individuals are experiencing hunger and need assistance today."

A report released by the L.A. County Department of Public Health in September 2007 noted that 471,000 households (more than 1 million people) in the county experience "low food security" and are unable to meet basic food needs. This report was published before the recent slowing economy and the increase in food, fuel and other expenses. This represents a 17% increase in the number of food insecure households since their last published study in 2005.

The Los Angeles Regional Foodbank is a non-profit, charitable organization established in 1973 and is one of the largest food banks in the United States. Through a network of nearly 900 charitable agency sites, the Foodbank supplies enough food for over 500,000 meals each week in Los Angeles County. The Foodbank is affiliated with America's Second Harvest, the Nation's Food Bank Network. For more information, visit www.lafoodbank.org.

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