First of two parts

WATERLOO -- A small pan of food heats slowly on the stove. An aroma of warming noodles, gravy and sausage floats throughout the little two-bedroom apartment.

It is lunchtime. But last night's leftovers won't be enough feed Mary Young and her 5-year-old daughter. Instead Young prepares a childhood favorite -- peanut butter and jelly -- for Jessica. That, along with a glass of milk and a few pretzels remaining at the bottom of a bag, should be enough to fill her tiny stomach.

As the end of the month draws near, food in Young's cupboards begins to dwindle. She, like about 27 million Americans, receives assistance through the federally funded food stamp program. Young gets $119 at the beginning of every month, but the food rarely lasts until the next disbursement.

She is not complaining. Every little bit helps. But some months the assistance just isn't enough.

This is one of those months.

When the supply runs thin, Young relies on the Northeast Iowa Food Bank, collecting canned goods, bread and other staples and bridging the gap until the first of the month.

"You do what you can."

What it is

The food stamp program is defined and funded through the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, more commonly known as the farm bill.

Legislators reauthorize the bill every five years, and this year Congress is debating its merits. The legislation is also responsible for commodity programs, conservation efforts, agricultural trade and other nutrition programs.

Food stamp funding accounts for about 60 percent of the money doled out through the bill, according to Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa. He says the food assistance programs are an important part of the farm bill for two reasons.

The United States generally produces a surplus of food. Before the program was instituted, that food was stored by the government in an attempt to ensure farmers received a decent return on their crops.

Political considerations, however, are also a factor. In general, the food stamp program receives bipartisan support. Its inclusion in the farm bill was a strategic move made by congressmen representing agricultural states to sway others from urban regions to approve the farming measures.

So far, coupling the issues has worked.

The cost of the benefits -- which reached $32 billion in 2005 -- is drawn directly from the federal budget. However, half of the cost of administering the program rests with the state, says Roger Munns, a spokesman for the Iowa Department of Human Services.

A nationwide push is under way to sign up even more eligible Americans. Between 2002 and 2005 the number of people utilizing the program increased from 19 million to 25.4 million. In Iowa the number of families receiving assistance rose from about 60,000 in 2002 to 98,000 in 2006. The average benefit in Iowa was $200.

"Nutrition is the first layer of social work," Munns says. "It doesn't solve illnesses, child abuse or social ills, but it makes some of those things more manageable."

How it works

Families seeking assistance in Iowa must apply at their local DHS office. Pilot programs in some states are working to make the process more accessible by allowing families to apply for temporary benefits at food banks, says Eleanor Thompson, director of government relations and public policy for America's Second Harvest. Second Harvest is the nation's largest charitable hunger relief organization, working on behalf of 200 member food banks and food rescue organizations.

Eligibility is based on income. A family of three can make no more than $1,799 a month to qualify for food stamps. The maximum benefit for a family of three is $408. The minimum benefit for one person is $10. The allotment is based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's thrifty food plan.

Each month the allotment is put on an electronic benefit transfer card, similar to a debit or credit card, which can then be used at approved businesses. Families can purchase food, but not household items like toiletries or cleaning supplies.

Research conducted by Second Harvest shows most families run out of benefits within two weeks of receiving their disbursement. Mary Young is no different. Her $119 payment averages to about $30 a week. Though she works full-time as a sales clerk, her paychecks are earmarked for essentials, like rent and utilities.

"I buy bread and milk and a little meat and it's about gone," she says. "After two weeks I don't have anything left."

However, increasing the benefit allotment in this year's bill reauthorization could be tough, Thompson says.

"In 2002 Congress recognized the need to improve access to the program and put a significant amount of money into the program. … But now we have a budget deficit."

Any new money must be offset by budget cuts or tax increases, Thompson says.

"That creates some grave challenges for the House and Senate," she says. "Increasing a benefit allotment is not an inexpensive change."

In the Cedar Valley

Sasha Fulks, 31, is one of the many who say their benefit runs out long before month's end.

The single mother of three boys, ages 12, 9 and 7, receives $268 a month in food assistance. Her only other source of income is monthly disability checks she receives for medical problems with two of her sons. Her oldest, Jakub, has severe migraines, a condition Fulks says forced her to move to a more expensive home in a quiet neighborhood.

Fulks says his headaches make it difficult for her to keep a job. She is unemployed.

Her benefits, she says, buy necessities like milk, cereal, bread and vegetables, but the high cost of groceries means the dollars don't stretch as far as they used to. She spends her entire allotment in the first week, buying as much food as possible. Then she takes the money left in her budget after bills -- usually about $80 -- to buy milk, bread and any additional food for the remainder of the month.

"Feeding three kids, it doesn't last like they say it should," she says. "I really don't eat with the kids. I feed them before I will feed myself. Right now, in my situation, I can't shell out anymore."

In recent months Fulks has turned to the Northeast Iowa Food Bank. Once a month, families who need regular assistance can receive a food box with about three days of meals. The Waterloo site serves up to 70 families each day, or more than 1,000 families each month. That is up from about 550 families in 2001.

"The end of the month gets a little hairy for us," says Janet Roberts, the food bank's intake specialist. "A lot of people run out of food stamps and resources, and they are all coming here for help."

Who needs help

More than just the unemployed, however, seek assistance from the food stamp program. About 40 percent of people served by the Northeast Iowa Food Bank live in households where at least one person is working. The food bank study found about 40 percent are children.

"That is the number that breaks my heart," says Barb Prather, food bank director. " … They don't have choices."

Hattie Matlock works full-time at Tyson Fresh Meats. She receives a federal disability payment of about $500 for rheumatoid arthritis. She gets another $250 in food stamps. The food assistance will likely go down as soon as Matlock updates her employment information with DHS.

Matlock lives at the House of Hope with two of her five children. Two are grown, and her 16-year-old son is not allowed to live at the house, which offers a two-year assistance program to help women.

She is looking for other options but hasn't been able to save enough money to move on. Matlock was going to school, but a heart attack this spring derailed her efforts.

Matlock is back to square one -- living paycheck to paycheck, disbursement to disbursement. Most months, it isn't enough. Some months there are bills that go unpaid.

For many on food stamps, juggling the budget is an ongoing act. Who got paid last month? Who must be paid this month?

Through her situation the last few years, Matlock learned several tricks to manage her finances. She no longer spends her entire food stamp disbursement on the first of the month. She spreads the money out, hoping to make it last. She buys meat in bulk and breaks the packages down into meal-sized portions. She tries to watch for sales. If she has a few extra dollars, Matlock stockpiles what food she can.

"You have to be a survivor."

Sacred cow

Eliminating all abuse of any federal program is impossible. But Sen. Grassley says that shouldn't keep him and others in Congress from being good stewards.

"It is just as legitimate to criticize fraud and misuse here, the same way you would a defense program," he says. "Waste of the taxpayers' dollars is waste of the taxpayers' dollars. … Food stamps should not be a sacred cow."

According to a study released by the USDA, trafficking of food stamps decreased by more than 50 percent between 1993 and 2002. The illegal trade now amounts to 2.5 cents of every benefit dollar.

Many credit the decrease to the changeover from paper stamps to the electronic benefit cards.

But no program is perfect. Even those who use the program know not everyone is honest about their income or how they use the assistance.

Young said she knows several people who give the state incorrect information to obtain the benefit or who buy items that are approved but not appropriate to feed a young family.

"I know people who say they live by themselves with their four kids. They don't. They sell their food stamps for cash. It makes me very frustrated and angry because I am using it properly," she said.

Ann Wiebers, division administrator for the DHS, has written letters to Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, about a recent flap in Des Moines. In that situation, card users bought large jugs of bottled water, dumped them in the parking lot and returned the empty containers to the store for a cash deposit.

Part of the problem, at least in that instance, is a loophole in the program. The rest falls on state and federal government employees to educate vendors on what they can do when they see misuse.

"People will always find a way to abuse the system," Wiebers says. "If anyone expects this, they need to report it to us. We do investigate those claims."

Erasing stigma

The cards have gone a long way toward reducing a perceived stigma associated with using food assistance programs. The cards look like a regular debit card. Unless a person is buying more than food, others in line may never who is receiving assistance.

But there will always be those who feel the government should not be in the business of feeding able-bodied Americans.

Representatives from many anti-hunger organizations believe this stigma could be part of what is keeping some of the nearly 40 percent of eligible Americans away from the program. Thompson, of America's Second Harvest, says that feeling is most prevalent among the nation's seniors who did make it on their own, but now live month-to-month.

Young says she would love to be self-sufficient. She works full-time at a job that pays about $7.50 an hour. She doesn't receive child support from Jessica's father but does receive child-care assistance from a state-funded program.

Still, it is not enough.

"I don't believe a person who is working full-time should have to be on any assistance," she says. "The cost of living is way higher than minimum wage. It's hard enough for families who have two parents working."

For now, she celebrates small victories. She has her own apartment after years in extended stay motels.

Some days it is tough, but there is always food for her daughter.

"I don't have a retirement fund or even a reliable car. But I am thankful for what I do have and those who have helped me along the way," she says.

What they want

Anti-hunger advocates attempt to educate the general public and members of Congress on how the food assistance program works and where changes can be made. Some are simple and cheap.

Wiebers, of the DHS, says the easiest change Congress could make this year is the program's name. Iowa recipients haven't relied on paper stamps since October 2003.

"We would also like the name to reflect our emphasis on nutrition," Wiebers says.

She notes DHS has contracts with the Department of Health and Iowa State University Extension for nutrition education.

Many advocates would also like to see the minimum benefit raised from $10 to $25. Enrolling in the food assistance program can be a time-consuming endeavor and usually includes two visits with a caseworker. Iowa recently made the process a little easier by posting the application online, however, unless special circumstances are approved the face-to-face interview cannot be waived.

The most expensive change would require an overhaul of the program's benefit guidelines, which would result in greater benefits for most families.

"Increasing benefit levels is very important," says Barb Grant, executive director of Operation Threshold. "As a society we are very concerned about obesity, but you can't eat very nutritionally on a food stamp budget. People are forced to buy food that fills them up but has no nutritional value."

What they may get

It is too early to say what the final 2007 farm bill will look like.

Sen. Harkin, chairman of the Senate's Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, hopes to include several measures that will make the program more accessible for those who qualify. In May, Harkin, along with Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Indiana, introduced legislation that would "modernize" the food stamp program.

"The farm bill isn't just about farm policy," Harkin wrote in an e-mail to the Courier. "It's also an opportunity to fulfill our obligations to working Americans and a way to ensure the economic security of millions of low-income Americans."

The new legislation would encourage working families to save for their futures by increasing the amount of liquid assets they can have, including retirement funds or life insurance policies. The existing limit is $2,000, but if adjusted for inflation the new total would be about $6,000. The proposed legislation would also remove the cap on the amount of child-care expenses that can be deducted during the benefit calculation.

"No American should live under the shadow of hunger, and no family should have to choose between paying rent or buying medicine, and putting food on the table," Harkin wrote.

"A farm bill alone won't solve the challenges of low-income families in America, but by providing modest food assistance to those who encounter economic challenges, it can offer a start," he added.

Thompson has seen early revisions of the bill from the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition. The draft includes about $5 billion over five years in new spending on federal nutrition programs including the food stamp program.

Part of the new money would go toward increasing the standard deductions and indexing deductions for inflation. The bill would also exclude combat-related military pay, education savings accounts and retirement accounts, which opens the program to many families.