Focus: HOPE - Commodity Supplemental Food Program

Commodity Supplemental Food Program

In November, 1968, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in accordance with Public Law 90-463, instituted the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP). The purpose of the program was to stave off the lifelong effects of early childhood malnutrition. The program also benefited farmers by providing an outlet for surplus food. Eligible participants of the program included pregnant and post-partum women, infants and children up to the age of six. Food items distributed through CSFP include infant formula; cereal; canned fruits, vegetables and juices; peanut butter; rice; pasta; dry beans and similar items.

Focus: HOPE became the host agency of the Commodity Supplemental Food Program for the Detroit area in 1971, classified by the USDA as a “community action or advocacy agency” with similar agencies administering the program in San Francisco, Louisville and Omaha. By 1980, Focus: HOPE had three distribution sites with 32,600 monthly participants, accounting for roughly 32% of the national caseload. By 1985, monthly participation had grown to over 60,000.

In January 1980 Focus: HOPE, along with The Children’s Foundation, hosted the first ever Commodity and Supplemental Food Conference with the goal of strengthening Commodity Supplemental Food Programs and identifying and solving potential problems. A study published by The Children’s Foundation the following year indicated that this program was effective in reducing the incidents of low birth rate and infant mortality and reducing the needs for lifelong medical care.

In the late seventies Focus: HOPE conducted a study, which was commissioned by the Detroit-Wayne County Agency on Aging, inquiring into the prevalence of malnutrition among senior citizens in the area. The findings of the study were that roughly 52,000 senior citizens in Wayne County, Michigan were nutritionally deprived. Following the study, Focus: HOPE proposed a one-year pilot program, to include 1,500 seniors in the Commodity Supplemental Food Program. A documentary film, entitled “Broken Promises”, was produced by Focus: HOPE. Filmed over a four-month period on a $22,000 budget with a grant from the Detroit-Wayne County Agency on Aging, the film examined the plight of Detroit’s hungry seniors. “Broken Promises” aired locally on WXYZ-TV in April, 1981. Later that year Congress narrowly passed the Agriculture and Food Act, Public Law 97-98, approving the participation of a limited number of eligible senior citizens in the CSFP in pilot programs in Detroit and Polk County, Iowa. The Farm Bill, signed into law by President Reagan in 1985, made the “Food for Seniors” program a permanent part of the Commodity Supplemental Food Program.

Focus: HOPE currently operates four food distribution centers, with supermarket-style checkout aisles, throughout the Detroit area. Qualified senior citizens are welcome at any of the food distribution centers and homebound seniors are eligible for deliveries of pre-assembled food packages. Forgotten Harvest, an independent non-profit, collects perishable foods from grocery stores and distributes them to various food centers, including Focus: HOPE. Consequently, food recipients occasionally receive perishable items such as bread, fresh fruit and condiments. In addition, free medical services, such as eye exams and flu shots, are occasionally provided to program participants at the food distribution centers.