Committee Hearing, April 16, 2002

COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA PUBLIC HEARING BEFORE THE COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - - - Room 696, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Tuesday, 4/16/02 1:25 p.m. - - - RES. 020133 - Re access to proper nutrition for low-income children and families in Philadelphia as well as investigation of potential solutions to this health threat. COUNCILMEMBERS PRESENT: Marian B. Tasco, Chair Frank DiCicco, Vice Chair Blondell Reynolds Brown Donna Reed Miller Angel L. Ortiz Frank Rizzo - - - VINCENT VARALLO ASSOCIATES, INC. Registered Professional Reporters Eleven Penn Center, Suite 600 Philadelphia, PA 19103 (215) 561-2220 2 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE INDEX WITNESS Duane Perry, Executive Director, Food Trust..... 9 Dr. Eugene Mochan, Associate Dean............... 40 Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine James Plumb, M.D. .............................. 43 Lorraine Matthews, Phila. Health Department..... 47 P. Temple-West, Nutritional Development Services 52 M. Gowin, Wakefern Food Corporation............. 63 Orien Reed, ShopRite Partners in Caring......... 67 Richard Savnor, Pathmark........................ 71 Frank Johnston, Emeritus Professor, U of P...... 87 Danny Gerber, University Nutrition Initiative... 92 Linda Kilby, North Inc. ........................ 97 Lorraine Thomas, U of P Nursing School..........103 Jo Ann Connelly, Greater Phila. Food Bank.......107 Bill Clark, PhilAbundance.......................120 Beth Showell, Community Representative..........130 Lilly Cobbs, People's Baptist Church............139 3 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133

Good afternoon. This is a public hearing of the Health and Human Services Committee. The sponsor of this resolution, Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown, is to my left, Councilman DiCicco is right there, and I believe Councilman Rizzo is on his way, but this being a resolution, we can begin and then establish the quorum as soon as they arrive. This resolution today, on 020133, that we're considering is just another step in trying to improve the quality of life for our most vulnerable citizens through addressing the issue of nutrition. We also, before this committee, will discuss soon a resolution that I have sponsored that is closely tied to nutrition, and that is on infant mortality, and our research has shown that the concerns around nutrition and an adequate diet are paramount for protection against infant mortality for the health of the prospective mother. So we will ask you to come back soon to participate in that hearing as we discuss the issues of infant mortality in the City of Philadelphia Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown is the prime sponsor of this resolution, and she will 4 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 serve as the questioning chair. I chair this committee, but as the sponsor of the bill, she will be the main person who will conduct -- I will recognize you, but she will conduct most of the questioning to the members of the committee, and those of us who are here will chime in and ask those questions as we feel appropriate. So now I will ask Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown for opening remarks, and now I recognize Councilman Rizzo who has just joined us, which gives us a quorum.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Let me thank my colleagues for joining us on what all of us believe to be an important issue and for you, all of you, for urging this committee to closely look and examine this problem with ultimately crafting or recommending a range of solutions of what we can do differently and better as it relates to the poor nutrition of our children here in the City of Philadelphia. So let me thank everyone for taking your time out of life's busy schedules to attend today's hearing on the issue of access to proper nutrition 5 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 for low-income children and families in our city. We know that access to proper nutrition is important. Today we're here to discuss this issue of food security for low-income children and families. Food security exists when people have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious foods to meet their dietary needs and food prefaces for an active and healthy life at all times. As we all know, healthy foods can promote health and reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, certain types of cancer, diabetes, stroke, as these diseases are the leading cause of death and disabilities among Americans. And what becomes equally exciting for me is to know that the work that we're doing really will be some groundwork for our purposes but also for the pending hearings that Councilwoman Tasco will be having on infant mortality. Also, nutritious diets can also reduce major risk for chronic disease, such as obesity, high blood pressure, and high blood cholesterol. In Philadelphia, it is a fact that there is a public epidemic of poor access to nutritional 6 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 foods. I am joining you today in an attempt to foster greater awareness around this issue, and I thank those who came to my office to raise my awareness, and together, we've worked to put this up on the radar screen. Know that we are committed to developing this critical analysis of this problem, potential solutions, with the bottom line, an ultimate promotion of change. I'm confident that if we work together, we can make a difference on this pending issue. So with that, we will move to our panels, if that's okay with you, Madam Chair. Okay, Madam Chair will handle that.

Normally, we read the resolution into the record, but --

We haven't.

I have it.

Okay, Miss Frazier will read the resolution for the record.

Resolution No. 020133, authorizing the City Council Committee on Public Health and Human Services to hold hearings on the issue of access to proper nutrition for low-income 7 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 children and families in the City of Philadelphia. Whereas, in the City of Philadelphia, findings indicate that communities with the least access to affordable, healthy foods also suffer the highest rates of death related to poor nutrition; and Whereas, major metropolitan areas in the United States, Philadelphia is second only to Boston in the number of supermarkets per capita; and Whereas, the resulting shortage of supermarkets means that many residents are regularly forced to shop at more expensive corner and convenience stores with less selection and poorer quality food, or to travel out of their communities and the City to purchase food; and Whereas, the lack of affordable, nutritious food choices strains the families' abilities to provide for their children, exacerbates health problems, and increases mortality rates resulting from diet-related diseases; and Whereas, inadequate access to food imposes a significant toll on low-income 8 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 neighborhoods of Philadelphia, affecting their revitalization, the education of children and the development of healthy youth and families; and Whereas, poor nutrition among children can lead to a host of physical, behavioral, and developmental risks that can affect their long-term health, cognitive ability, academic performance and in turn, their future; and Whereas, there is a public health epidemic of malnutrition and diet-related diseases; and Whereas, proper nutrition has proven to be an effective strategy in building healthy families in assuring greater success in education and employment. And there is a critical need to increase access to nutritional foods to low-income children and families of Philadelphia. There is also a need to inform the public. Now, therefore, be it resolved by the City Council of Philadelphia that the City Council Committee on Public Health and Human Services conduct hearings on the issue of access to proper nutrition for low-income children and families in its City of Philadelphia. 9 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 Councilwoman?

Thank you very much. The Chair recognizes the first person to testify, and that's Mr. Duane Perry, Executive Director of the Food Trust. (Witness comes forward.)

I believe our Councilwoman has set the witness list into panels, and Mr. Perry's going to give us an introduction.

Good afternoon, Madam Chair and members of the committee. I am Duane Perry, Executive Director of the Food Trust and thank you for inviting me to testify about the lack of access to affordable, nutritious food in Philadelphia, in Philadelphia's neighborhoods. The Food Trust works in inner-city communities, establishing farmer markets, student- run school markets, and a comprehensive school nutrition policy. This year, we are operating 11 weekly farmers markets; sponsoring 16 student-run school markets involving over 2,000 students and 74 teachers; piloting a comprehensive school nutrition policy in 4 schools, reaching 3200 students and 120 10 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 teachers; and working with the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging and the WIC Office North Incorporated to provide over 34,000 Philadelphians with farmers market nutrition program vouchers. We are very concerned about the lack of affordable, nutritious food in Philadelphia's neighborhoods and the high incidence of diet-related disease that plagues these communities, especially lower-income communities. Research has repeatedly shown that people with access only to poor food eat poorly. We commissioned a special record called "Food for Every Child," which is attached to my testimony, to identify the gaps in food availability and the relationship between that and the incidence of diet-related disease in lower-income neighborhoods. And let me first provide you with some background information on Philadelphia's health and then tell you what this study found. As Councilwoman Brown said, there is a public health epidemic of diet-related diseases in Philadelphia: 7 percent of adults are diabetic, 23 percent of adults are obese, and 59 percent of 11 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 adults are overweight. And these proportions are increasing. S. adults are a 8 healthy weight. 9 Heart disease accounts for 29 percent of 10 all deaths in Philadelphia, cerebral vascular 11 disease accounts for another 6 percent, and 12 diet-related cancers account for another 24 percent 13 of all deaths. 14 The lack of activity, combined with poor 15 nutrition, is the second leading cause of 16 preventable death of Americans of all ages after 17 tobacco use. Poor diet and inactivity cause more 18 deaths every year than alcohol, harmful bacteria, 19 sexual behavior, illicit use of drugs, and firearms 20 combined. 21 Our children's future depends on good 22 nutrition. Poor nutrition among children can lead to physical, behavioral, and developmental risks that affect their long-term health, cognitive ability, and academic performance. Children living 12 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 in lower-income communities have a higher incidence of obesity, lead poisoning, and other diet-related problems. 8 percent in Philadelphia. African- Americans suffer significantly higher rates of illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension, almost twice the rate of Caucasians in some cases. The costs of these diet-related problems are staggering. The economic costs of unhealthy diets and physical inactivity add up to almost $100 billion each year. To help stop this epidemic, everyone needs access to affordable and nutritious foods, and unfortunately, that's just not the case in Philadelphia. A nationwide study, as was mentioned before, of metropolitan areas found that 19 Philadelphia has the second lowest number of 20 supermarkets per capita for a major metropolitan 21 area. For the study "Food for Every Child," we put together a map which identifies the location of 180 supermarkets in Philadelphia and plots their sales volume over a mile-radius. As you can see on 13 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 the map, there are large areas of Philadelphia with few supermarkets and many neighborhoods where none exist, including large portions of North Philadelphia, Olney and Oak Lane, the near Northeast, South Philadelphia west of Broad, and West Philadelphia.

Because supermarkets are not evenly distributed in Philadelphia, many Philadelphians are forced to travel considerable distances to buy food at a supermarket in one of a few shopping centers. An additional map that we put together shows the location of supermarket sales relative to where people live. The light areas on the map have a below-average number of supermarkets relative to their population; obviously, the darker areas on the map are where the supermarkets are concentrated. Many of the people who suffer from this uneven distribution of food in Philadelphia are low-income. As you can see from Map 3 in the testimony, the areas shown in red are the low-income areas where there are few or no 25 supermarkets. 14 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 More critically, the study found that there is a direct relationship between the incidence of diet-related diseases and the lack of supermarkets, and we mapped the ratio of diet-related deaths per total population provided by the City Health Department and overlaid that information with a map of weekly sales volume at supermarkets and income. Map 4 in the testimony, titled "Areas With Greatest Need," shows the lower-income neighborhoods where there are few or no 13 supermarkets, a high number of deaths due to diet- related diseases, including portion of North Philadelphia, Olney and Oak Lane, Kensington, the near Northeast, South Philadelphia, West Philadelphia, and Southwest Philadelphia. When there are no supermarkets nearby, people are forced to shop at corner and convenience stores to feed their families. Most of the food from these stores is often high in fat and sugars and contributes to diet-related disease. The findings from the "Food for Every Child" study shows that poor supermarket access in Philadelphia is linked to the high incidence of 15 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 diet-related diseases in many low-income neighborhoods. We need to address this problem if we are going to decrease the significant incidence of diet-related health problems that are impacting Philadelphia's adults and children. When Philadelphia was founded, the City understood that it had a responsibility to provide a safe and reliable food supply to its citizens, and that's why the Department of Public Property began as the Department of Public Markets. Philadelphia needs to declare its responsibility to its citizens to ensure that affordable and nutritious food is available to everyone, regardless of where they live. We need to erase the gap between neighborhoods that have plenty of good food and those that have none. In the long term, the public sector, the City, the State, and the federal government need to invest in the development of food retailing in lower-income communities to help combat the epidemic of diet-related diseases that is threatening our children and adults. This should be a large part of a public agenda since it is a key building block that will help transform our 16 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 neighborhoods. The fact is that the type of food offered for sale differs if a community is wealthy or not or made up of whites or blacks, as other studies have found. We need to end public policies that have facilitated the development of this disparity. We need to make strategic public investments to support the development of a more equitable system of food marketing and end the redlining of low-income neighborhoods. We are proposing two recommendations to increase the availability of affordable and nutritious food in areas of Philadelphia with the greatest need: First, the City should support the work of the Food Marketing Task Force. The Food Trust is convening a task force of health experts, food retailers, nutritionists, food advocates, business experts, and community leaders to identify ways to improve the quality and amount of affordable, nutritious food available in lower-income communities.

This task force will examine the barriers and opportunities to increasing the availability of food in Philadelphia's 17 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 neighborhoods. We are requesting funding of $75,000 per year. Second, the Mayor's Office should direct this task force to report back to City Council and an interagency group, including the Health Department, the Commerce Department, PIDC, and the Planning Commission. In its report, the task force will recommend both short- and long-term public policies to improve the availability of affordable and nutritious food to Philadelphia areas with the greatest need. Philadelphia is a city of contrasts. In some neighborhoods, there is abundant food and a higher percentage of healthy people, but many neighborhoods in Philadelphia are not well-served by supermarkets. This lack of stores that provide fresh food is negatively impacting people's ability to obtain a nutritionally adequate diet. Diet-related deaths are associated with many factors, one of them being the ability to procure a nutritionally adequate diet. With the support and help of this City Council and the Mayor, we can work together to end the epidemic of diet-related disease that is 18 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 afflicting the people of Philadelphia and ensure that affordable, nutritious food is available to everyone. Thank you.

Thank you very much. The Chair recognizes Councilman DiCicco.

Good afternoon.

Good afternoon.

In your testimony, you spoke of about 11 farmers markets, I think, that are operating now. They're the same farmers markets that are in my district -- the one at Second and Lombard and the one at Fifth and South.

Yes, yes.

Why do we only have 11? Do we have the resources to put more of those farmers markets out there, or is it a question that the communities aren't accepting those?

In most cases, it's both a lack of adequate resources to manage them and it's also a lack of adequate farmers. We are gradually increasing the number of farmers markets in the City, but that is a relatively slow process and we 19 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 add about two or three every year.

Who makes the decision as to where those farmers markets would be located?

It's typically made by the community; they normally would approach us.

The reason I'm asking is, when I hear in your testimony that some of the less affluent neighborhoods have problems with the types of supermarkets and the quality of food, wouldn't it make more sense -- and I'm using only the two in my district -- I think there's three, I think there's one just above Northern Liberties, the Fishtown section as well, all along Frankford Avenue. Wouldn't it make sense to take the two that are in Society Hill, where we have some of the probably higher-end supermarkets, if you will, already operating there and utilize -- even though it's only two, I know we need a lot more than two, but relocate those farmers markets to neighborhoods that do not have the adequate facilities or supermarkets? Again, I know it's not the total 20 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 solution, but I'm just wondering. You know, I mean, we set up shop at Second and South on a Saturday afternoon, which is a couple hundred yards away from Chef's Market, you set up shop at Fifth and South, which is a few blocks west of Chef's Market and a few blocks now from Fresh Fields, and there are many other stores around there -- SuperFresh, to name just a few. I'm just curious as to why we put more emphasis in -- meaning no disrespect -- in the poorer neighborhoods where we're not adequately providing the kinds of food, the healthy foods, that we're talking about today.

Well, I agree that it would make sense to locate more farmers markets in lower-income communities, and we are working to do that. In particular, the Second and South Street market was set up specifically to help subsidize the operation of markets in lower-income communities. So there are two things that happened at that market: Farmers who attends that market are urged, and eventually will be required, to also go to a market in a lower-income community, and the 21 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 fees that are generated by the farmers at that market help to offset the cost of operations for the management of the markets in the lower-income communities. This program has been operated with the support of foundation funding and the support of funding from the federal government; to date, it is operated without City funding. And as I mentioned, funding is one of the issues which inhibits our ability to add to the markets. So while I think conceptually, it makes a lot of sense to move the markets; if we in fact move the Seconds and South market, we would lose some of the ability to sustain the operations of markets in lower-income communities.

Do you know what kind of subsidies you're talking about there? I mean, it only operates on a Saturday for, I don't know, five, six hours or whatever it is.

When we operate a market, it costs us slightly below $10,000 a year per market,and that pay for staff, which does two things at markets: One is, the staff manages the market to make sure that it operates in concert 22 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 with what the community wants; but in addition, we provide staff to provide nutrition education at the markets, which specifically is an outreach tool to reach out to folks to help encourage them to eat more fresh food and vegetables, to help them provide ways in which they can incorporate those fresh foods and vegetables in their diets. As a matter of fact, one of the people, Beth Showell, who's testifying today, does provide some of that nutrition education at the market in West Philadelphia and can talk to that issue.

Do any of the larger supermarket chains support in any way financially the farmers markets?

We have actually not approached the supermarket chains with a request.

As we're sitting here talking about Second and South, although you initially testified that most of the farmers markets come at the request of the community, there was a major battle, as you know, that went on with the first one at Fifth and South and then the second one at Second and South. I would probably be willing to say that 23 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 some of the markets that exist that were opposed to the farmers market might actually be willing to contribute some money if the farmers market at Second and South were to relocate. This may get me into trouble with my constituents -- it's one of those no-win situations for me but, you know, it's business, we're talking business. And if Chef's Market is correct that the these farmers markets are in some way taking business out of their establishment and causing them to do less business, it may behoove them, and they may be willing, to volunteer to give some money towards this program. I could be wrong in business but, I mean, I've been in business a couple times in my life -- not successfully, I'm sorry to say. But, you know, it might not be a bad idea to reach out to them. And by doing that, I think what you do is, you can do some sort of advertising on behalf of the market, or markets, that are contributing to the financial support of the farmers market, which givers them a broader advertising for -- I'm using Chef's Market as an example. But the bottom line is the bottom line 24 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 in business -- and I'm not saying that there is, but if there is some negative effect on Fresh Fields or SuperFresh and some of the other markets in and around the Society Hill, Queen Village, Wash. West community, it might not be a bad business move for them to do that, so I just offer that as some talking points. Two questions and I'll be quick. You mentioned something about how we need to do something about the public's policy that creates the disparity, or the redlining, if you will. Could you expound on that a little bit. What is it that public policy -- when you say "public policy," are you referring to government policy that is allowing this or causing this to happen, or is it just the policy of the larger food chains and where they make a decision to go or not to go?

Well, I think it's a complex equation. In part public policies, which are very broad scale, have impacted the ability of business to develop in inner city areas, and the list of those policies is fairly extensive, and it's either 25 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 a federal government policy -- or I guess many of them are federal government policies which date back to the '50s, and then some of them have been certainly state and city policies in terms of where money is invested or where redevelopment occurs in the City. Those policies have -- I don't believe they were intended to deter development from inner city areas, but they've had the effects of, I think, deterring development from those areas. Supermarkets today -- and I would again defer to people who are going to testify later, but supermarkets today require specific footprints, parking requirements, transportation access, which are just very difficult to get in many inner-city neighborhoods. I think the City does have an opportunity perhaps through the neighborhoods transformation effort

I was just going to say that, yeah.

(Inaudible, off-mic.)

Yeah, I'll yield 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 for my last question, then I'll want to come back for my final question.

I just wanted to make a comment about the public policy and supermarkets or policy that doesn't -- inner-city neighborhoods don't have the five acres that Pathmark, ShopRite, etc., needs; but on the other hand, the markets want to follow the other markets just in terms of locations, you know, the critical mass. If Pathmark or ShopRite -- ShopRite wants to follow Pathmark, so that may be one of the reasons why they're just located in certain areas of the City. It's not that neighborhoods don't want them or public policy is keeping them away; it's really what the markets want. You know, we've been approached by numerous supermarkets -- I'm sure most District Councilpeople have, but they always want to come where someone else in the neighborhood is, close by another market for the whole competition and all of those kind of things. So I just wanted to make that point.

Thank you. 27 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 And my final question or comment is: You mentioned about maybe the City should hire someone for $75,000 a year as a public advocate to go and do some studies as to how we can correct some of these problems. Has anyone discussed with the Mayor or the Administration -- you know, the Mayor hired someone a year or two ago -- I forgot the lady's name -- who was supposed to have made us physically fit.

Gwen Foster.

Gwen Foster. I assume she's still working for the Administration, but that may be a resource to go and speak to because her mission, at least as it was explained by the Mayor, was to get Philadelphians fit, and food obviously is -- it's not just the exercise; it's the food that you eat that creates weight problems and things like that. So we already have someone we're paying now, and that may be a good starting point to link up with Miss Foster, I believe her name is. Just a suggest that you start there. 28 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 I have no further questions, Madam Chair. And thank you for yielding.

The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Brown.

Thank you, Madam Chair. And, Councilman DiCicco, I agree with you completely. Prior to these hearings, we had a conversation about Miss Gwen Foster and the critical role she can play as we go down this road. Mr. Perry, please tell us how old the Food Marketing Task Force is.

The Food Marketing Task Force is something that we are just starting to create, so it's not something which is in existence; and, in fact, the funding that we have suggested would provide support for a staff to the task force.

Very well, okay, that's helpful to know because my next question would have been: Given the need, what kind of conversations have been had with supermarkets in our community? And I would imagine that that becomes a question that goes on the 29 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 agenda for supermarkets to look at and consider. Finally, in terms of health benefits for the community, have farmers markets been found more successful than supermarkets or not? We know that they have value; to not have them creates a void. Given those realities, how successful have you found them to be?

I think farmers markets provide a piece of the puzzle here but, as you know, farmers markets are seasonal in nature, so in most cases, they operate from June until November, and in most cases, they operate for four hours a day or maybe slightly longer. Obviously, you and I and everybody eats on a 7-day-a-week, 24-hour-a-day and for 12 months out of the year, so having access to food on a constant basis provided through the normal food retailing channels, I think, is very important. I don't think farmers markets can at all substitute for supermarkets or other types of food market outlets.

My final comment is that you're on the right track, knowing that the opportunities is ripe with regards to the 30 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 task force and the Mayor's blight initiative program, because this can be -- and in my personal view should be -- a piece of the puzzle, to use your word, if we're serious about transforming our neighborhoods. So the time is ripe, and that becomes an opportunity for the members of the task force to register that with the point person to the Mayor's blight initiative program. Thank you for your testimony.

Thank you.

Councilman Rizzo.

The community gardening program that are actually in the neighborhoods where people are growing tomatoes and corn and things like that, I guess I've learned, don't ever assume in this business. Are some of the community folks able to go to those community gardens get a cucumber or get vegetables for consumption; is that available to them? 'Cause that program is, again, something that is supported by government, so I'm wondering what we've done there to get at least that part of it in place. 31 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133

I think that Philadelphia should be very proud of its community gardening program. I'm not an expert in this area, but my sense is that we have one of the largest in the country. And so I think the success and support of the City efforts there should be applauded. As you well know, gardening is not for everybody, and so it's not going to provide an answer for everybody, but it does provide a needed nutritional resource for the people who are doing it. There is some breakdown, I understand, between the garden center devoted to fruit and vegetable and the garden center devoted to flowers. So not every garden is ideal, or not every gardener is not into that, but it's certainly a resource, yes.

You know, I walked in a few minutes late, and maybe in your testimony you addressed the issue. The bigger picture, the bigger problem itself on many the these supermarkets closing and something -- only a fast-food establishment available for people to basically shop, and it's very, very expensive. You 32 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 know, I get sticker shock when I walk in and buy something at a fast-food store versus a conventional supermarket, so I can imagine what some of the people are spending there just to buy the bare essentials. Have you analyzed exactly -- and I'm sure it's just strictly an economic and maybe a safety issue. I don't know why some of the supermarkets have just gone away. The one that I worked in as a kid, and I don't know what the status of it is now. At Broad Street and Stenton was a big Penn Fruit Store there, which I know when that supermarket closed, there was quite a lot of discussion about that. And other supermarkets; the other one was on Ogontz Avenue at 74th or Washington Lane. It's gone, I believe, today. Have we tried to figure out how we can attract back -- and I'm sure that these big supermarket chains have people out there, the same as Wawa does. My God, the minute you turn around, there's a new fast-food establishment. Do the big supermarket chains have people out there, or have they just written off the inner city? Because I'm not sure exactly where we 33 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 are with why we're in the situation we're in and why we can't dig ourself back out, because those folks, I would assume, would rather go to a supermarket and get three of something that are shopping in the fast food rather than going in and get one. So I can't imagine them not supporting. But I've heard about a store on that was on Stenton Avenue; I believe an African-American owned that store. And the complaint was that it wasn't being supported, that people were going to a store that was out of the area for many reasons, I don't know -- bigger selection, newer environment, lower prices. But, obviously, we've got to deal with that issue of why we are where we are and how do we get out of that situation.

I agree, and I think I would defer to my colleagues who are in the supermarket industry to tell you specifically what the reasons are from their perspective. I would just offer one observation, which is that if I went out, which I have, gone out to Genuardi's in Wynnewood and look around the parking lot, and I can see half of the cars have 34 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 that Philadelphia identification on them in terms of the old -- the now-old yellow sicker. So it's not as though people in the City don't value a supermarket or want to shop in a supermarket. I think that there are complex web of factors which are inhibiting or preventing supermarkets from making appropriate investments in many communities.

By the way, PennDOT was supposed to make that now optional. They've stalled, and we're all getting the yellow stickers. So wherever we travel, we are targeted. (Laughter.)

Thank you.

Thank you.

I do know that there was an effort to put a -- and I note that you talk about Olney and Oak Lane a lot in your testimony, and those are the areas that I represent. There was an effort to put a farmers market, but I don't think that there was too much thought given to the location -- not you, but the effort was to put it at Broad and Olney, where 35 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 there's just a lot of congestion. And I think the community would be receptive to it, but I believe you have to find a location where you don't increase the traffic. You have the buses, you have major traffic on Olney Avenue, and I think they wanted to do sort of like a sidewalk kind of thing. And, I tell you, I did not support it because I said, You need to go back to the drawing board and figure out how to look out for the greater good of the entire community, that you find a place for the farmers market where it will not add to the congestion that already exists at Broad and Olney, 'cause you have that large bus depot and the hospital and the parking, and all of it. It's just too much there at the location where they wanted it.

Mm-hmm.

I just have a couple of questions, and I know that the dynamics of the supermarket are complicated because we have been trying to identify a supermarket for Broad and Godfrey, where the supermarket closed, okay?

Mm-hmm.

We also have a 36 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 SuperFresh at Front and Godfrey that is closing. We had a supermarket, not necessarily in my district, but at Broad and Wingohocking that was opened by Triumph Baptist Church that is closed. So I guess we have to look at why people, if there is a supermarket, they're not utilizing the supermarket. What is it? Is it quality of products, quality of service? I mean, those dynamics have to be evaluated as to why people don't go the a supermarket when a supermarket is sitting across the street from you. The other thing is, the reason people go for the fast food is because that's what they see on television. They are marketed to buy the McDonald's, the Big Mac, the Whopper, the sub, all of those things, and they're easy. Education is extremely important in teaching people about the value of nutrition. I came out of the old school, I'm from down South; they taught us the food groups: Vegetables, whatever all those food groups -- you had three food groups, and I said I have to have three food groups to my grandmother, and I'm not eating properly if I don't have starch, vegetable, 37 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 meat. And when I cook, that's what I think of because of the training that I got when I was younger, not just from parents, but from school, in-school education about nutrition, what you should eat. So the education is going to have to extend to the schools and to the parents. And in this day the new technology, both parents are working, and people go to the easiest thing they can prepare for a meal. And, of course, then the children come up from the early age and they don't want spinach or broccoli or whatever the green vegetables are. I say to my grandchildren, What do you want? I want a hamburger and give me french fries. Well, you're not going to get it, you're going to have some vegetables. Well, I don't like this and I don't like that. Well, you're going to try it; you know, you're going to try eating this, you're going to try eating that. Because I'm educated, I'm not poor, but my grandchildren want hamburgers and french fries 'cause that's what they see on television. And so a lot of it has to be -- and I 38 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 appreciate the idea of the farmers market; I support them and I think it's great. But there are so many other factors involved in this, and I'm sure we will hear it as we go forth. The other thing -- Councilwoman Miller said that in your testimony, you know, that we have 180 supermarkets, and she wanted to know, how many do we need?

Well, if we were to compare ourselves to the City of Chicago and to come up with the same number on a per capita basis, we would need 70 more supermarkets. Now, the problem with that number is, while that number mathematically works out, it is a big number, and most people say, Well, that's way too many. But I think what it points out is that there's a big gap. It's not just one or two, but we need many more supermarkets if we're really going to meet the need of the people in the City of Philadelphia.

There are other places, for instance, in my district, at Rising Sun and Adams; the supermarket closed. Now there is an Asian market there, but I see a need in that area 39 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 for a farmers market would be good, so as you identify where you may want to relocate or locate your farmers market, you know, we'd like to have that discussion. So I appreciate your testimony. Are there other questions? (No further questions.)

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

The next panel, the Physicians Health Report panel. Those who are testifying, just come forth and move the chairs over. This is a panel. You'll each identify yourselves and make your presentation, and at the end of the presentations by the four of you, we will ask questions. That way we can get the testimony in and we won't interrupt you. Anyone can go first, and you can just identify yourself, please.

Good afternoon, Madam Chairman and members of the committee. Thank you for inviting me, and it's a pleasure to be here and listen to these very important issues. 40 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 I'm Dr. Eugene Mochan. I'm the associate dean for primary care at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. I'm also a family physician that's very interested in teaching medical students, the future doctors, as well as dealing with major problems in the country, and one of the major problems that you have already defined here by members is the issue of weight management. All I can say is that I would confirm all of the facts that were mentioned by the previous speakers as being really authentic. Actually, we might even add that the Surgeon General has recently moved up obesity to the number-one killer in this country, replacing cigarette-smoking, which has moved down to number two. It was very interesting: At the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, we have recently embarked on a weight management program that we call the "Healthy Life Styles Weight Management Program," and today, we've dealt with people from the health-care centers that we serve, and 150 different African-American women who have the problem have attended our program. 41 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 And one of the things they tell me -- and we listen very closely to the issues -- is that access is extremely important to them. And I would just echo that. And also, as we train physicians for the future, we also have to point out that not everyone has access to the kinds of things they should have, particularly healthy foods, etc. Another thing that I think is another recent finding from the research point of view that is very critical in terms of children is that we recently have seen studies come out that say that people who are at high risk of diabetes, their sugar is kind of high but quite not there, when you have them participate in a research study where they eat properly and do exercise, that you could stop the development in the diabetes of those people. So we think that is a real major issue to be concerned about, and particularly when we think about kids, as they've also been exposed to higher weights that -- and the increase, by the way, of diabetes, type and type diabetes, the adult type in kids, has alarmingly increased. 42 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 So we have ways now to perhaps stop this kind of thing, and one of them has to do with the very important role that diet plays in this. What I would say just in summary is that I think that it's very important that access be addressed, and I think we all have to learn how to make that go better. People need that, people want that. It's not the only thing issue involved, but it certainly is a very important issue. And it's -- I think, the Food Trust is to be commended for their attempts to get the ball rolling as many other groups. I do interact with Gwen Foster's group, and I think they do a marvelous job also in terms of bringing out awareness. So I think the access needs to be addressed and also the education issue from the kids, but I also would point out, and I noticed that "families" was in the title, and I'm a family physician, that healthy eating doesn't work just for some people in the family; the whole family has to eat healthy so that everyone feels a part of that process. And I think that kind of support is needed very much. 43 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 Thank you very much.

Thank you very much for your testimony. Next?

Good afternoon, folks. My name is Jim Plumb, and I'm a family physician from Thomas Jefferson University, where I also teach residents and medical students, but also direct a department that has multiple programs throughout the City that are community-based in churches and schools. I represent lots of -- or am wearing lots of hats today. I think one is with the health-care systems that exist in the City, and we certainly have a wide variety of high-quality health-care systems and high-quality public and private human-service organizations. But as this committee knows, numerous indices and markers for the health of Philadelphia reflect poorly on the City, and I'm ashamed of that, I'm embarrassed by that. I call your attention to a report card that was put out by the United States Department of Health Research and Services Administration. It's 44 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 basically a report card comparing cities and communities across the United States and then ranking Philadelphia compared to 30 peer counties across the United States, and to see that Philadelphia has a lower life expectancy, poorer self-reported health status -- we've touched on higher infant mortality rates, but we also have higher breast, colon, and lung cancer rates and a greater report of unhealthy days. I think that's an embarrassment for the City for our public and private sector. I think the folks today have testified about the role that nutrition plays, and certainly in my practice of family medicine for the last 16 years, it's clearly one of the major determinants 17 of health. Six of the ten leading causes of death 18 in the United States are related to diet. 19 It's interesting to me that we were 20 talking about kids, when we really should be 21 talking about adults. If adults choose unwisely or 22 have little choice, then their children follow. 23 And the major nutrition problem for children to me 24 relates to the food choices that children have. 25 Children and adolescents eat on average 3.6 45 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 servings of fruits and vegetables per day, but fried potatoes account for a large part of these fruits and vegetables. So only one in five children eat five servings, but those who do eat the servings, it's fried potatoes that make up the majority of what they eat. I call your attention to the Surgeon General's report, and I brought a copy of that that I'd like to leave it with you, and that's really a call to action, and it provides a great deal of information for this committee to work on. I applaud the Market Trust [sic] for their bringing this attention to me through their report to my medical school and my hospital, and I seriously urge the committee to act on their recommendations, but I'd also like to make three others. Even with supermarkets in a community, one has to change the cultural norms of that particular community. And I think Gwen Foster and her work with Fit, Fun and Free in Philadelphia is making a valiant attempt to change the cultural norms of everyone in Philadelphia through the 76 days of -- 76 tons and 76 days and those sorts of 46 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 initiatives, and she needs support from a much broader constituency, including City Council, to keep abreast of what she's about and what she's been able to accomplish. The second thing is, we can't dismiss the issue of safety in the communities related to the ability to get to places either to exercise or to shop. And, thirdly, the educational system and looking at as the School District reorganizes and thinks about what it's going to be about, one of the components is reorganizing the nutritional program. And, lastly, the workplace, where folks spend a good bit of their time is thinking about ways to impact nutrition in the workplace, either through time allocated for a meal, and then if time is allocated, healthy choices. Thank you.

Thank you for your testimony. You can see we have the bananas and the fruit here for you today instead of cheese and crackers and pastry and potato chips. Good afternoon. 47 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133

Good afternoon, Councilwoman Tasco and Councilmembers. My name is Lorraine Matthews and I'm giving testimony on behalf of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. As an employee of the Health Department for over 31 years, I've spent my career providing food and nutrition services primarily to low-income people in Philadelphia. I started out in the Philadelphia General Hospital -- that gives you an idea of how old I am -- and then I worked at the City nursing home and the City prisons, and now I work in the Division of Early Childhood, Youth and Women's Health. And along the way, I've also raised three children, I have three grandchildren, and I have a hard time convincing them to eat green vegetables as well. I relate all of this to just demonstrate that I have a personal and a professional experience in working with families. And I'm also the treasurer of the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger. So food security is a real issue and 48 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 concern of mine. I do believe that we have a major problem here in the City, and Duane Perry's testimony and the document that you have in front of you is very useful, and I just want to use the example -- I'm a sort of a visual person, I have to see things, and I want to use the example of Lancaster Avenue, which is a major thoroughfare in West Philadelphia. It starts on 34th Street here in the City and goes to City Line Avenue. There is not one major supermarket along Lancaster Avenue. But when you get on the other side, in Montgomery County, and every few miles, there's a supermarket; some of them are right across the street from each other, and it's very striking. I don't pretend to understand the economics, and I'm sure we'll hear about that soon, but I know that it's very tough for those families. And the people in West Philadelphia are left with a variety of small, expensive corner stores and takeout shops. Yes, they can drive to these other places and they can take public transportation, but 49 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 unless you're someone who has tried to carry two or three bags of groceries on the bus with a toddler, I think you should not criticize people who do not want to go too far, 'cause it's a tough thing to do. I have done that in my younger years. We often hear complaints about low-income families' food choices, particularly in regard to public funds such as food stamps and WIC and so on but, again, it is a real struggle for many of our families to do what they have to do and to use the large supermarket. And I would add, we complain about the corner stores that are more expensive and the takeout places, but for many families, their food stamps don't last the whole month, and the corner stores do often give credit. So while we complain about of a lot of things, they do serve a role. So I would say very simply that in a lot of areas in the City, we would like to see more access to food, and we can debate where they should be and so on and so forth, but I would -- it is important to recognize the economic realities of these stores and shops, and most of them are small business that are trying to make a living in the 50 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 area, and they feel fill a void, but I think that doesn't take away from the fact that we need more access to good supermarkets. Now, this morning, I was in the -- I work in the prenatal clinic at Strawberry Mansion Health Center, and we do have a supermarket there within walking distance of the City health center, but this is a very depressed area and it's one of the areas, I believe, where NTI is going to start.

As we move out into the other areas, I hope that we will look at what we put into -- like, if we do new shopping areas and so on, we always seem to be able to have one of the major video stores there, and we always seem to be able to have one of the big drugstore chains there, so I hope as we do new places, that we can add some good food resources as well and to improve the quality of life of these areas. One of the things I wanted to mention about the study that the Food Trust did, and particularly in your interest in infant mortality, if you were to overlay the highest rates of infant mortality over those maps, you'd see those same general areas, so it's a multifaceted problem. 51 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 The Health Department is also focused in providing nutrition information as it relate to all of the residents of Philadelphia. S. Department of Agriculture's food stamp program that enables us to put qualified nutritionists in all of the City's health centers,and they see over 1500 clients a year individually and in groups, and they provide nutrition education and counseling. And we're currently doing a study to measure the effectiveness of that. And my unit also develops educational material for multicultural and low-income groups, and I brought some of that along that you can look at that later if you'd like to. But for most people, the most important thing they can do to improve their health is increase the number of fruits and vegetables that they eat every day. This benefits their heart, their blood pressure, their weight, and may even prevent some types of cancer. We're not all within walking distance of farmers markets and supermarkets that have good- quality produce, and so I hope that we -- and in 52 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 South Philadelphia, even the Italian Market and so on, those are all resources that lots of us use, and I happen to live out in the Eastwick section of the City, and we do have a good supermarket and resources out there. So I hope that throughout this, we can put more attention to this so that we can help some of the folks in our city who don't have quite the same resources as the rest of us do and that we can improve their overall health. And with that, I'll stop.

Thank you very much.

Madam Chairwoman, committee members, thank you for holding these hearings and inviting me to participate. I suspect I'm on this panel because I have a degree in public health, but I'm going to be talking a little bit more about practical aspects. My name is Pat Temple-West. I'm the director of Nutritional Development Services. This is an agency of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia. NDS was established 30 years ago to 53 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 assist organizations to provide food to children and the needy. Over the years, NDS has been asked by community after community in the low-income areas of Philadelphia to help them to develop an alternative to the local corner store and remote supermarkets. In the 1970s and 1980s, NDS helped get started over 100 food-buying clubs, farmers 9 tailgate markets, and a revolving loan fund to 10 assist the development of supermarkets in 11 low-income areas. 12 All of these efforts, while initially 13 successful, ended for a variety of reasons; the 14 single largest reason being lack of funding for 15 administrative oversight and assistance. 16 We have found that we can inspire, 17 innovate, and initiate, but we are not equipped to 18 sustain community and economic development over a 19 long period of time, and these projects require a 20 lot of time. We're very supportive of the work of 21 the Share Food Program and the Food Trust and 22 cooperative food-buying and farmers markets. Both 23 of these organizations are trying to bring food- 24 buying alternatives to the low-income communities, 25 alternatives to the local corner store and remote 54 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 supermarkets; also alternatives to emergency food centers and soup kitchens. About to 30 percent of income is 5 spent on food and, all persons, regardless of 6 income level, have to eat. This is an enormous 7 market that in Philadelphia is unmanaged, 8 unplanned, and to be quite frank, generally 9 overlooked by City government. The food marketing 10 system is very complex and intricate and is not 11 easily understood. The fact that St. Joseph's 12 University, a local university, has an 13 undergraduate degree complexity attests to this 14 complexity. 15 Those of us who are concerned that all 16 persons have access to good, safe, affordable, and 17 food need help in addressing the food marketing 18 needs of low-income areas. We need the City's 19 help. 20 Right now, we do not need big money -- and I defer to Duane for his $75,000 -- because we don't know the best place to spend it. What we do need is your interest and leadership in helping to define the gaps in the food system in low-income areas and to help us prioritize solutions to fill 55 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 these gaps Thank you.

Well, thank you very much and I guess we appreciate all of your testimony. The question I have, having been intimately involved in trying to recruit supermarkets to my district, particularly at Broad and Godfrey, for holding up a business establishment that wants to move into that location because the requirement is that we put a supermarket there because we don't have a supermarket. And the City has been very, very supportive, the Commerce Department, in trying to help us move that forward. The resistance is not on the part of the City but on the part of the supermarkets to move into the City, into the inner city. So what we have to do is try to convince them that there is a market there for their business and that they should move into the City. I mean, I'm embarrassed to continue to hold up this project because we want the project to move forward, and we are, you know, holding up a 56 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 business that needs to be open, because we are trying to find a supermarket for that area. The other frustration is having a supermarket close in the Front and Olney area that was thriving. And I understand that there may be some internal problems with that, not for a lack of business, but for whatever their internal economic problems are, that market moved from Front and Olney to Godfrey and Front. And we have a ShopRite down at Front and Olney. And so we have to engage the supermarkets in some conversation, because I do know the City worked very hard to try to recruit the markets to come into the City. Miss Matthews mentioned the issue of the small stores, and you struck something in my mind when I talked about the grocery store at Broad and Wingohocking. One of the problems that -- one of the issues raised -- and this is hearsay and I don't have the facts, but there are facts around that -- is that the neighbors in that community, while there is no supermarket, had established relationships with the smaller markets. And I believe -- and don't quote me. It was either 57 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 $4 million a year or $4 million a week that these small stores were pulling in. So the dollars are there to support the market, but they had developed a relationship with those small stores because they do take the food stamps and they do probably give the credit. That's probably one of the other reasons. And also, the supermarket probably needed to do some marketing and stuff. So it's not a simple answer but, you know, I appreciate your comments, and I will have some other questions, but let me check with my members if they have questions. Councilwoman?

I do have a comment. Your findings are extremely compelling, and the challenge is, how do we take what you've shared with us today and manage that information in such a way where it makes economic good sense to supermarket chains for them to invest in Lancaster Avenue. And that visual was -- you can't get better than that in terms of the magnitude of the problem. 58 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 So I want to personally thank you for your very compelling, and know that you have the commitment from my office to move this in a real tangible way to the next step of taking those findings to where we need to get them, to a business piece of this puzzle. And before many more persons leave, I do want to acknowledge the fine work of the intern in my office from Bryn Mawr who worked so hard to pull this hearing together today, Alicia Wilkins. Stand up, Alicia, so that we can all see who you are. (Applause.)

That gives you a chance to put the name with the face, because I know she spoke with a number of you on the phone. So thank you for responding to her requests.

Councilman Rizzo, do you have any questions?

No. 22

To the doctors: Does what the mother eats or does not eat predispose the newborn to infant mortality?

I think absolutely that 59 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 there's a direct relationship between the protein, vitamins and so forth that a mother ingests and the ability of the child to develop normally. So those mothers who are malnourished have a higher incidence of premature birth or early birth, yes.

Do you have an idea what percentage of expectant mothers in low-income families are obtaining adequate food allowances and the proper combination of foods to sustain them during pregnancy?

I don't know but I could find out specifically and get that information for you.

I should have asked this of Mr. Perry about the WIC program. Are there any changes in the WIC program? They're going to talk about that? Okay, thank you. Any other questions of this panel?

The relationship between diet and disease, has it proven to be causal or correlational? What is it? Please, any one of you.

We would say that people 60 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 who are overweight are very much at increased risk for developing a whole bunch of disorders that we talked about. So there is obviously something going on when you're overweight that puts you at risk for developing diabetes and heart disease, etc., a number of other ones.

Okay. Thank you all.

Just before you go, Dr. Plumb did you talk about -- no, Dr. Mochan, did you talk about the study that puts Philadelphia high on the list?

Right. Dr. Plumb mentioned that, but that's really an important point.

It's low on the list relative to other cities' life expectancy, rates of colon cancer, breast and coronary artery disease, compared to 30 of our comparable communities across the country. And these are statistics that have been available for a couple of years, and just I found them a few months ago and am just surprised at the number of people who don't know about these city 61 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 report cards. So I have a copy, again, to share with you but, it's caused me to think about the health of the public of Philadelphia and looking for different ways to impact the health of the public.

Would those rates be found in greater numbers in males or females?

It's in both genders.

Both genders.

It's gender nonspecific.

Do you think it has to do with the lack of access to health care? Would that have any impact?

I think it's complex and -- it's complex. I think access, insurance, the environment and on and on. But we have to take another look at why that's happening, 'cause other cities have environment and access and insurance issues, and what's unique about the Philadelphia situation?

Mm-hmm. So is there a move afoot to --

Yes.

To look at that? 62 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133

Well, I'm proposing a dialogue of leaders from across different groups and organizations, and I'm calling it "Healthy Philadelphia," and I hope you'll hear more about that. I want to garner some support for that, and clearly nutrition is just one of the issues relating to the health of our public.

Okay. We'd like to recognize Councilman Ortiz, who has joined us, and earlier, Donna Reed Miller was here to ask a question. So we appreciate their attendance and we appreciate your taking the time out from your busy schedules to come and share the information with us today. Let us hear from you about your discussion on healthy Philadelphia.

We'll talk to you about that.

Okay, thank you. The Chair recognizes the supermarket panel. We have Mary Ellen Gowin and Orien Reed and Richard Savnor. (Witness comes forward.)

Good afternoon. 63 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133

Good afternoon.

Thank you for inviting us and giving us this opportunity to talk specifically about the food and security issue. My name is Mary Ellen Gowin, and I'm vice president of consumer and corporate affairs for Wakefern Food Corporation. Wakefern is the member-owned wholesale cooperative that operates ShopRite supermarkets. ShopRite is actually not a chain; ShopRite stores are owned and operated individually by families, so we're a little bit different. Although we have about 190 stores in six states, these are all independently owned. I want to share with you a study that we did in December of 2000, and it was done just after the national election, and it's called the "ShopRite Partners in Caring Study," which asks 900 people in urban, suburban, and rural communities in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and the Connecticut regions about hunger. And the survey found that a disturbing 30 percent of residents say they know someone in their community who is currently struggling with finding enough food or the right kind of food to meet the nutritional 64 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 needs of their families. Now, equally alarming is that 28 percent of the same people who responded admitted they at sometime have experienced hunger or food insecurity personally or in their immediate family. Now, when we asked the open-ended question, what is the biggest social problem facing your community today? hunger was not mentioned as the top-of-the-line social concern, while drugs, crime, and education were the most common responses. And in an aided question that listed a number of social problems, hunger did not rise to the top as a common problem in their communities. In fact, hunger risks rated dead last in every region, whether it's urban, suburban, or rural, including the Philadelphia area. These are only a few of the contradictory findings that reveal a significant gap between perception and the reality of hunger. And I'll leave a complete copy of this survey with you if you would like to look at this study further. Now, there is obviously a role for 65 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 supermarkets to play. ShopRite has been a key supporter of Checkout Hunger and has enjoyed a 20-year partnership with food banks. One such example is ShopRite's Partners in Caring Program that has donated $5 million in the last three years to the grassroots agencies that help to feed the hungry through a partnership with area food banks. In the greater Philadelphia area alone, this program supports 47 churches, 47 community organizations, 7 senior citizen organizations, 27 food pantries, homeless organizations, health-related organizations, 2 shelters for women, 8 children's organizations, and 4 ethnic organizations. The way this program works is that each ShopRite store selects qualified, local, hunger-fighting charities in the ShopRite neighborhood and sets up an account for them at their local food bank, allowing them to stretch their food dollars further to access the type of food that they need to serve or to provide for their clients. This program is working because it links to the well-established system of those who are 66 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 helping to feed the hungry. It works because it meets a very real need at the local level. It works because each of the partners in the program is dedicated to making sure the resources are going to where they are needed the most. And while having access to food is critical, as we've heard this afternoon, making good choices about that food is essential in the overall health of our families. Certainly, supermarkets have a role to play, whether it's in support of educational programs or being supportive with the communities, schools, and other educational organizations. Finally, we need to realize that as much as there is a need for food to help the hungry, there is also an overwhelming hunger to help.

Oftentimes, folks just don't know how to link up with the neighbors and charities that need their assistance. Connecting those who want to help with local organizations is a vital role we can all play. Thank you.

Thank you.

Madam Chair and members of 67 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 City Council, it is indeed a pleasure. My name is Orien Reed, and it's a pleasure to be here, and I applaud you in focusing on what is a public health epidemic in the City of Philadelphia and one that, with your leadership, I am sure, in partnership with the supermarket community and the other interested constituencies in this city that we can address and get a handle on. My entire career has focussed on helping consumers get information about services that would improve their quality of life. And for me, children are the most important; their public health and welfare is the most important to me. And that's why I'm proud -- you heard Mary Ellen Gowin mention the Partners in Caring Program. I'm very proud to work for that program because this is a program that's addressing hunger and that's addressing providing food, access to food, and proper nutritional food. We're concerned about the continuing struggle of people even after welfare reform; they may be off of welfare, but they're not out of poverty, and they're forming what we're calling the "burgeoning class of the working poor," people who 68 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 simply don't have enough money, even with food stamps, don't have enough money to provide the right kind of nutrition for their children, for their families the whole month, the entire month. This is critical because it undermines the future, the physical, emotional and spiritual well-being of the City's children and their families. We believe the supermarket industry is compelled to address this epidemic. We must develop and accelerate more community-based programs that provide foods directly to families and children. Our ShopRite Partners in Caring Program does just that: Providing a safety net for hundreds, indeed thousands, of children right here in the Philadelphia area. You heard Mary Ellen list the number of agencies. For shelters like, the Roxborough Home for Children; for church and community cupboards, like those at Mt. Airy Church of God, St. Barnabas Mission, and Tenley Temple. We also donate to after-school programs like To Our Children's Future. Now, the director, Dr. Robin 69 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 Foster-Drain of To Our Children's Future in Haddington, told me that she has about a hundred children in her program. And she said, you know, many of the children simply would not get a good meal each day if they didn't get it there. She said by the time she gets them at the end of the day after school, they are really, really hungry. So it's providing, we're providing the access. We at ShopRite want to join the members of Council in developing more opportunities to stem the tide of this epidemic right here in Philadelphia, and we have some suggestions: An awareness program, starting with a Council proclamation and campaign, devoting a period of time to focus on children's nutrition and health. We're committed to working with you to raise awareness. You talked about television; television has a huge impact on children. And just as your grandchildren may want a hamburger, as my grandchildren do, we can really turn children around with a public campaign, and that's what we need to do. So we're willing to work with you to launch a public television and radio campaign with 70 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 newspaper editorials, whatever we have to do. We want to beef up our efforts to get more people in Philadelphia to volunteer and make a donation to a local food bank or community organization that is providing the proper access to nutrition for so many families. We are willing to work with schools to educate children, because that is also an important role that we can play. It's educating children early about what they should eat and how they should eat it. We want to educate them about hunger and encourage the children themselves to volunteer. Kids like to do that.

They need to volunteer so that they can contribute in their own way so that children like them won't have to go angry. Again, I want to thank you for this opportunity, and I think together, we are taking the first steps in fighting this problem. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good afternoon.

Good afternoon.

My name is Rich Savnor, and 71 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 I'm from Pathmark stores. I'm the director of public affairs and government relations for the company. And in my previous career with Pathmark, I was the person who did a lot of the site location and market research selection for the company, so I do have a little bit of background in some of the other testimony that I heard addressed previously by the other Councilmembers. And I join with my colleagues at ShopRite in voicing our support for efforts that can be conducted by the supermarket companies in getting the word out regarding nutritional value. Sometimes you don't realize, I think, how many people actually come through the lot of larger supermarkets -- I can't speak for the smaller mom-and-pop stores but, you know, you're talking about an average of and 30,000 folks who 19 come through our registers each week, so I think 20 from that aspect, we are a vehicle certainly to getting the message out regarding nutrition. From Pathmark's perspective, just to add on to the food bank participation, which we also take part in with the Checkout Hunger Program, we're members of the Five-A-Day Program where we're 72 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 talking about nutritional concerns for children to push eating of the fruits and vegetables of five, a combination thereof. So anything we can as well to support that effort, we would welcome that opportunity. Perhaps I could just speak a little bit then, since my colleagues addressed that issue, on the nutritional side, it's supermarkets looking for locations in the City, and we certainly have a long-standing history of operating stores in urban marketplaces between New York City, the urban markets in New Jersey, as well as here in the City of Philadelphia. We have eight stores in the City, and we've had pretty good success in operating those stores. Most recently, you may be aware of the store we just opened up just north of here on Broad Street at Glenwood in the old train station, which received support from the previous administration, which we were thankful for, and we are getting cooperation from the current administration in terms of continuing to pursue other locations. And I think that there are locations available for supermarkets further to be developed 73 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 in the City. But perhaps thinking of it from the private sector's perspective, there's certainly -- I don't believe any of us are nonprofit organizations, so it still involves a business decision by our company and, I would assume, any member that operates from Wakefern or SuperFresh. I don't pretend to speak for them, but we do our analysis and we go out and we canvass the area and do our market research and evaluate a trading area -- urban, suburban, you name it, we've done it. And I market-researched the Broad and Glenwood location, and I did also the Germantown location, which was occupied by a former SuperFresh, which is the last store we operated. And there's factors that need to be considered, and it all, I think, comes down to the company or the organization or entity's ability to have what their risk tolerance is, because certainly, building and developing a store in the inner city is just as expensive, if not more so, than it is in the suburbs. Our store up in Harlem, New York, for instance, it cost us a huge sum of money, in excess of $15 million to develop that project, and that 74 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 had a certain unique development to it, but that's just an example that it's not inexpensive to develop in a city; it's quite costly. And, again, the risk is returned. For an industry which averages making between a penny and two pennies on the dollar profit, there's not a high margin of error when you make a decision to sign a 25-year lease beyond that, so you want to make as sure as you can when you do decide to operate that store.

So we run a pro forma analysis to determine whether or not the payback is worth it. And, as I said, we haven't, from our perspective, completed our canvassing of the City of Philadelphia. I heard some of the locations that were vacant mentioned earlier, and we've been looking at some of them, to be quite honest with you, as I'm sure the Wakefern folks have as well. But we have, as I said, eight stores, and we have several stores just on the outskirts of the City, which also draw people from the City of Philadelphia to those stores. You're correct, they will go to the suburbs, such as Upper Darby or Cheltenham, to shop. 75 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 So we have to have a strategy that says if put a store here, are we going to impact our existing stores for business. It's not only generating your own business, but you take, you know, $50,000 a week in volume from a sister store that you're currently running, it impacts the profitability of that store as well. And so those are factors that determine whether or not -- not only a store in the City is viable, but a store that anywhere we build, and between the two of us, I would venture to say that we pretty much saturate a lot of our marketplaces so that what we're evaluating now is dropping stores in amongst the sister stores. And so there's a tougher consideration when it comes to determining the impact you're going to have on existing operations. " Wal-Mart is a competitor. They're not considered a supermarket, but if you ever walked out of a Wal-Mart or a Sam's Club or the warehouse clubs, there's people who buy a lot of food in those stores, so that's also a 76 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 consideration. Public transportation is great, and I heard the woman in the previous panel speak about the busing situation, and that's very helpful to have, but when you're talking about operating a supermarket and having mass transit, that's one issue, but we need the folks who can load up a carriage and put it in their car and take it away because that's what help drive our business, and to the end that we can have adequate parking facilities in the sites that we develop, that becomes an issue as well. I just wanted to talk a little bit about -- I heard public assistance program mentioned, and while I wouldn't pretend to be an expert on the area of public assistance, I became involved quite a bit with the electronic benefits transfer roll-out in this state several years when there was a lot of difficulties implementing that system. We had some unfortunate experiences in our store because these customers are very frustrated when the system breaks down. And unlike customers who have cash or credit cards, it's their 77 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 only means of buying food, and we worked as hard as we could but, quite frankly, we didn't get a lot of support from the State of Pennsylvania in holding the fire to the folks who were responsible for implementing that system. And I don't think I'm underestimating when I say there were some unfortunate situations in stores that we had. With regard to the WIC program -- and I'll make this quick comment in closing. When we opened the store up at Broad and Glenwood, the public assistance, we couldn't get a WIC authorization for that store when we opened it. My challenge and my role in the company is to make sure we get those licenses prior to the stores opening because, let's face it, if a store doesn't have something when it opens and a customer comes there and they find out that they can't get what they want, they may not come back. So I couldn't get a WIC authorization. There was a lawsuit in the State that was filed that was holding things up but, as I later found out, even when the lawsuit was resolved, there's a limit on the number of slots available in the geographic boundaries where WIC authorizations are 78 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 permitted.

And at that time, there was no 3 authorizations available either, even if there weren't this lawsuit holding us up. And I think since that time, if I'm not wrong, the State has taken a look at authorizing more WIC opportunities in the City of Philadelphia. I think they've added perhaps more slots, but 9 those are the kind of things that, you know, we 10 counted on when we opened the store. And as I 11 said, when we didn't have it to begin with, I can't 12 tell you that that is the most determining factor 13 in the store's success or not, but it certainly 14 didn't help our issue as well. 15 So just for what that's worth, I'd like 16 to let you know that there's some firsthand 17 experience with both the public assistance 18 perspective from food stamps and WIC. 19 Thank you. 20

Thank you. I think 21 that testimony is helpful to us. And those of us. 22 The locally elected officials, can certainly work 23 with the State Representatives to address those 24 issues in helping you because we want you to come 25 into the community to service our constituents. We 79 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 certainly want to make it easy for you and for you to have the ability to provide the services. So that's good to know. And we say to you if you're going into an area, you should certainly contact the Councilperson.

Councilwoman, if I may, I contacted Senator Kitchen; she knew of the problem, so did senator Louise Bishop. They couldn't help us. They did their best, I'm not saying they didn't try, but that was the frustrating part.

Right, right. We'll work on that. Let me just say I would like for you to look at Godfrey and Front.

No comment. (Laughter.)

A few years ago, Councilwoman Tasco and myself were involved in trying to keep a supermarket in the district, the Acme supermarket at Duncannon, remember that?

Oh, yeah.

'Cause they were leaving. They said in essence that they could not make a profit, and that was not the only one across 80 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 the City that was closing up shop and leaving black and Latino neighborhoods because, in essence, they could not make a profit. The Councilwoman's office and my office and ourselves -- I remember Maria was working with you at that time. We spent countless weeks, because if you look at the place, the area that we're leaving is a mall, and the Acme was the anchor. Without the Acme, that would have turned into a shooting gallery very quickly. Without having an anchor store there, that would become a place of crime, all sorts of things, hanging out and so on. And we could not convince the supermarket, the Acme, the Acme executives, even when we offered, through the Councilwoman's office and my office, to put forward some economic enticements and so on. And we have seen this throughout the City. Right now around 29th and Girard in North Philadelphia, the supermarket closed seven years, and I could tell you because I lived for 20 years at 20th and Parrish, and that was one place where we could very easily go up and shop. 81 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 And from then on, we had to go up to Aramingo, to the Pathmark or the Acme up on Aramingo. And we were lucky that we had cars so that we were able to do that. But supermarkets have consistently -- and we've been trying lately to try to entice them back, and I know that some community folks and 5th and 29th and Girard are getting together. And, in fact, a gentleman just yesterday talked to me about what help we could be in doing that. But they have left the inner city in terms of -- I mean here in the fringes, Fifth and Glenwood, but in the inner city, supermarkets have generally left it, and we have not been able to get 'em back. And I -- you know, what is the process and what's needed, because the mom-and-pop store has gone, and we have not been able to replace that, the small, little supermarket, because of the competition of the supermarkets. And they're really not competitive. So what -- how is that going on? I know that you just spoke about coming in, back into the urban areas, but we have areas in which we need 82 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 markets, and people can't travel that far.

I'll try to take a stab. Do you want me to speak on behalf of why I think the small mom-and-pops are not locating in the City?

The mom-and-pops are not making it because the supermarkets have too much -- they run 'em out, in essence, and the competition, the economic competition is not there.

Well, I can't speak to the fact of why the mom-and-pops are going. It's a tough business, I have to tell you that. It's not easy. I think it's probably as much a competitive business in this part of the country as there is anywhere. Between the I-95 corridor from New York City, we go head to head with these folks in almost every community we operate on, and they're as good a competitor as we have. And the mom-and-pops have the issue -- well, first of all, we have size requirements, Councilman. We can't operate a store that's the mom-and-pop size, we can't make out in operating a store of 10,000 15 or 20,000 square feet. Even the 83 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 store that we just took over in the Germantown section is smaller than we'd like to operate ideally. So there are size requirements for us. The mom-and-pop stores, they have a difficult issue because, depending on whether they're a part of a different distribution network, like "Super Value," it's called, or the Shop 'n Bag or the Thriftway operators, they're distributed from the Super Value organization, and they get some help with advertising and their pricing structure. But by and large, they may be limited on how much business they can do just by virtue of the size and their ability to compete on price, frankly. And I would venture to say that between the two of us at this table as well as Acme, we're probably the price leaders in the Philadelphia marketplace. And price is a very big issue to the consumer. I think, you know, you could say store cleanliness is an issue, but in my mind, convenience and price are two of the biggest issues when you shop at a supermarket. And those folks are have good at knowing price and what we call 84 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 "cherry-picking." You may get them in your store, but they're going to go to their store and the other stores, and they're very savvy consumers because they have to be nowadays. Some of them are living hand to foot. So it's a cut-throat business for the most part. I don't have the answer for you, quite honestly, sir, what the mom-and-pop predicament is. I just think that you're right, they're up against some chain competition. And some of us have more leverage than others, but we have a hard enough time doing well in the City ourselves. While we're not complaining, we have a hard time understanding our own business and trying to make it work in --

We just went through a struggle that I was involved in in the previous to secure loans in order for opening up a big supermarket up at Sixth and Diamond. And Brown's was the individuals that were running that, and they could not turn a profit, and they closed. And we're lucky enough that the same person that we got to move into Duncannon place, Cousins, took over the ones at Sixth and Diamond. But then what you do is quality aspects, 85 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 the quality aspect of the meats, of the foods and so on then come into play. And what we look at is that in certain areas where there are poor people, that certain supermarkets and the quality of their meats is not the same as they would do in Chestnut Hill or up in the far Northeast and so on. The quality of the foods is not just quite same. And, you know, those things I have seen personally, because as the switch-over has occurred, you constantly see the quality of level of certain aspects of the market goes down.

I just want to say that many of the consumers are price-savvy because of the work that I did as a consumer reporter. And I would also say that I would -- and I'm sure, as Rich would say, as a result of that, speaking just for ShopRite, I would stand our stores up against any of the other stores in terms of the quality. We have three really inner city stores, when you look at them, and our quality is it same whether it's in inner-city Philadelphia or in the Northeast or in one of the suburban areas as well.

We thank you very 86 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 much for your passionate testimony. Certainly, I'm sure, Councilwoman Brown will take you up on your offer to expand education and about nutrition. This is her resolution. To the extent that we can be helpful, we certainly will do that, and we encourage the two supermarkets to find additional locations in Philadelphia. I have one at Front and Godfrey. (Laughter.)

We heard you.

And there is a old Hechingers's at Rising Sun and Adams that could be a Pathmark or a ShopRite 'cause we have that Mill Creek housing development and a large community there that goes all the way up to Rising Sun and Cottman. If you look at the demographics, it could be very interesting to you.

We have a store there. It's called "Front and Olney."

Yeah. That's true. That's true. (Laughter.)

But, see, for us, that's a long way. You know, people to Adam and 87 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 Rising Sun, they're not going down there.

Thank you.

Thank you so much for your testimony. We appreciate it. Our next panel is the Existing Programs Panel. (Witnesses come forward.)

Good afternoon and thank you for coming.

Madam Chairperson and members of Council, I would like to thank you for having this important set of hearings and also for the opportunity for me to come and speak to you on issues that concern me and concern all of us. My name is Frank Johnston, and I'm an emeritus professor at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1990, I started at the John B. Turner Middle School at 59th and Baltimore, in West Philadelphia, a program that was to become what is now the Urban Nutrition Initiative, and I've been it's faculty director ever since. The Urban Nutrition Initiative or, as we call it, UNI, is a comprehensive community school-based program that works to improve the 88 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 nutritional well-being and health of the West Philadelphia community through a partnership of the University of Pennsylvania at present with three schools: The Drew School at 38th and Powelton; Turner, which I've already mentioned; and University City High School. This gives us a coverage -- Madam Chairperson, you mentioned early on the importance of children in this whole process of improving nutritional health. Well, at UNI, we have a coverage from kindergarten through the 12th grade. We do this through a related group of projects and activities that are aimed at promoting education and, more important, learning about food, nutrition, and health through a curriculum that is problem-based, it's based on problem-solving, at generating more positive attitudes towards a healthy diet, and at helping children and youth change their behavior. Again, I think, Madam Chairperson, you mentioned that this is about change. Well, I think we need to be able to change the behavior of children in ways that will promote a healthy life style and reduce nutrition-related disease. 89 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 UNI has a number of characteristics, I think, that distinguish it. First of all, it's a collaborative effort. I think the three things that characterize UNI is collaboration, engagement, and participation. This involves both the University of Pennsylvania and its staff, students and faculty, and also the schools themselves, their staff, their teachers, and their students. The overall agenda as well as individual programs and procedures are developed and applied through a process at which all participate in ways that are mutually beneficial. You'll hear from my colleague Danny Gerber in just a moment about the UNI Program as one being the fruit and vegetable stand at the various schools. That fruit vegetable stand was designed in 1995 by 6th-grade students from the Turner School, and that model has been applied to the other schools at which we've worked. UNI also works through the school curriculum, through an integrated thematic learning curricula as well as through a wide array of after-school activities that are in operation (indiscernible). So UNI operates 12 months a year. You'll hear about those programs again from Danny 90 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 in just a moment. While the focus of UNI is upon the relationships between diet and health, we seek also to empower children and youth to gain better control of their lives through the development of an informed decision-making capacity that will lead to a better lifestyle. So UNI is not only thing about food; it's about how living and nutrition becomes the pathway through which children and youth, perhaps the community as a whole, get a better handle on their lives And finally, UNI is a sustainable program whose ownership is the community that we serve. It's not a Penn program or it's not just an administrative structure with a photocopy machine and some telephones; it's really students, teachers, and parents working together to build a better community. The Urban Nutrition Initiative has another important feature: It's operated out of Penn's Center for Community Partnerships, which a few of you on the Council may know.

And university students are closely involved in its activities. Each year, over 100 Penn students learn through the 91 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 integration of their academics with community service through participating in the urban nutrition initiative. They provide most of the people power needed for UNI to reach its goals, working as they do in the local school classroom, in the school gardens, in the fruits and vegetables stands and in Community Fitness Night. The interaction of these students with the local community has a positive impact on all constituencies and all stakeholders: The community, the school, and the university. It serves to guide students towards careers in which they'll bring their experience and their expertise to bear on the social problems that are deeply embedded in our society. And for all who are involved it's a vital component of not just a K-to-12 but now a K-to-16-plus educational system that seeks to promote democratic ideals and practices through a focus on collaborative problem-solving. UNI works. We can show, and we have shown, that school and university students are changed and their diets are changed by the experiences they undergo. I think it's a 92 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 demonstration of what can be accomplished through participation and a problem-oriented program of academically-based community services, and it's a powerful model of what can be done elsewhere using a similar approach. Danny Gerber, one of my colleagues in this enterprise, will describe much more specifically the activities and the programs that make the Urban Nutrition Initiative what it is. Thank you.

Madame Councilperson, members of the City Council, I am Danny Gerber, and I am a co-director of the initiative. I apologize that Jennifer Rulf could not be here today. I've worked in the Philadelphia schools since 1992. I was a public school teacher for two years, 1996 through 1998, and I'm so excited to be here. This is -- my mind is racing with all of these projects and ideas, and I wanted to share some specifics about UNI programs, and then also, I guess, what amounts to some food for thought, some of my thoughts on things that I've heard today. First of all, just something about the problem. UNI is about community problem-solving 93 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 and trying to integrate community problem-solving with the curriculum of public schools, and students and teachers have really led the way in a lot of the work that we've done. As Dr. Johnston mentioned, it was students at Turner Middle School who really came up with the idea in 1995 of trying to improve diet by trying to change access to fresh fruits and vegetables. What started out as a one-time fruit sale after school quickly became a weekly fruit stand that, in 1998, was expanded to Drew Elementary School. At the same time, we see schools having contracts with Coca Cola so that, you know, as we have 2nd graders selling fresh fruits and vegetables to their piers, their teachers, and their parents after school, we also have the School District, or whoever it is that makes these decisions, allowing Coca Cola to sell unhealthy snacks in school vending machines. That's kind of the problem we're up against. I was at a lecture two weeks ago. In 2001, McDonald's spent $500 million on its "We Love to See You Smile" campaign. I'm sure everyone in 94 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 here has heard that slogan. The National Cancer Institute spent $1 million on promoting the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. This is just, you know, a similar kind of NCI kind of stacks up with McDonald's, and it's $500 million to $1 million, so that's kind of the problem we're up against, I think. And you can see again Coca Cola Corporation in the schools. We think that by engaging children as community problem-solvers, that's our best chance for trying to solve the nutritional problems. Other programs that UNI runs now: A community fitness night. I was really happy to see that families were listed in the title of this testimony. We think it's really important to get entire families to do cooking classes together, to start exercising together, to do something other than watching television. I think that the amount of television -- you know, after-school programs, whether they be art or music or sports, can contribute to the fight against the obesity epidemic, because those are hours that children and families are spending in action and not watching television. 95 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 School gardens have been a tremendously important part of what we do. We think that by engaging children in raising vegetables and beautifying their school yards, it not only promotes, you know, self-esteem and pride in the school, but it really encourages children to try fruits and vegetables that they might not otherwise appreciate, like broccoli. We've run somewhere camps for the last three years where students, K through 5 students, plan their own healthy menus and that are involved in cooking meals -- breakfast, a healthy snack and lunch each day. And then, finally, at the high school level, we start children in 1st grade running fruit stands, and we like to think about adding levels of sophistication to this project as children get older. So at the high school, we have students running weekend farmers markets. It was so successful last year that we ran a winter purchasing club for community members.

We have students raising lettuce and selling it to local restaurants, trying to create an entrepreneurial focus that could sustain this project in the 96 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 schools. And we also have students at the high school working with people from every department at Penn really to think about future projects. And one thing that I'd like to say is that in addition to supermarkets, I think food cooperatives are something to look into. There are some really strong examples from Chicago of cooperatives that have been providing fresh produce to low-income communities for the last 30 years. One other thing about farmers markets. I think that other cities really have pioneered the idea of having successful markets in the wealthier parts of town and then making farmers -- requiring them to sell in the low-income community, and that almost is a necessity to have high-end successful markets in downtown Philadelphia if you're going to get those same farmers to sell in Kensington, in North Philadelphia, deep in South Philadelphia, and in West Philadelphia. I think that it's a really important strategy. Finally about UNI. The project transcends traditional models for nutritional education by placing an emphasis on the role that 97 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 children must play in shaping the health of their school, family, and community. And I think it's engaging schools, teachers, and students in problem-solving that makes UNI a success. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good afternoon. Thank you so much for inviting us to come. It has been an education for those of us who have come, and we hope that we can provide you with additional information that will help to keep this project at the forefront and going forward. My name is Linda Kilby and I'm the executive director of North, Inc. We manage the special supplemental nutrition and foods program known as "WIC" for pregnant and breast-feeding women and infants and children age birth to five years of age. WIC provides benefits to families within 185 percent of the poverty level, and many of our families are working families. Here in Philadelphia there are 18, 5-day-a-week WIC offices that are open from as early as 7 in the morning to as late as 5 in the evening. In addition, there are 30 part-time WIC 98 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 offices that are serviced by our mobile WIC staff so that we provide services to members of the community at all levels throughout the City of Philadelphia. I am here today to represent the more than 50,000 families in Philadelphia County who are enrolled for WIC benefits. WIC is a federally funded program, with a 28-year track record. Many studies have been done that have proven that families enrolled for WIC benefits are less likely to get sick, and that infants born to WIC moms are usually full term and at or above normal birth weight. In addition to nutrition and breast-feeding education and counseling, families receive checks that list allowable nutritious foods that are made payable to the participant and the store choice, and this is where our problem begins. As the director of the Philadelphia WIC program and a registered dietitian, I am concerned that many of the families are not receiving the quality of food at a price that they can afford. The WIC program monitors the more than 200 stores that provide benefits to our participants. We are 99 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 very aware of the differences in the prices of foods at the corner stores in comparison to the supermarkets. The cost of WIC food items is controlled, but that is not true for all of the foods. As an example of the differences in the cost of WIC foods that are purchased at a supermarket and those that are purchased at a neighborhood mom-and-pop store, infants from 0 to months -- usually we encourage moms to breast- 12 feed. If this is impossible, there is formula for the first four months that is provided to these infants. Then cereal is added at four months and juice is added at 6 months. In Pennsylvania, the contract formula is Ross, Similac, and Isomil for the soy-based formula. 07. 54 per month for 31 cans of formula, the regular food package for an infant 0 to 12 months of age. The difference in the cost would provide monies to 100 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 purchase an additional cans of formula, if it's purchased at the supermarket. Many African-American and Asian children are intolerant of milk-based formulas. We offer them a soy-based formula. Both the milk-based and soy-based formulas come in concentrate and in powder. 75. 28 per month for 8 cans, the regular food package for infants who choose powder, who are intolerant to milk-based formula is unbelievable. 28 would purchase 5 additional cans of formula if purchased at a supermarket. Children who are 13 months of age through 5 years of age receive food on three checks. An example of the largest check that that child would receive would have three half-gallons of milk, a dozen eggs, two 46-ounce cans of single strength juice, or two 12-ounce cans of frozen concentrate, and 30 ounces of WIC-approved cereal. 101 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 90. 95. The difference in the cost of regular food items affects the total community: The seniors, young families, working parents. The negative impact of high-cost, lower-quality foods is discriminatory.

Large markets have been closing in our county for many years: The SuperFresh in Progress Plaza, the Thriftway at North Broad Street that you mentioned earlier, the Shop 'N Bag on Girard Avenue, the IGA at Linley, which closed and became a drugstore; the Thriftway that you mentioned at Wingohocking and Broad Street; the Acme at Castor and Wyoming; the SuperFresh at Godfrey and Front, which was a beautiful store and had some of the best food that you could find in the City; the 102 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 Thriftway at 54th and Chester; The Acme at 7720 City Avenue; and then the Acme at 8200 Roosevelt Boulevard all closed for no apparent reason. These were all WIC stores, in addition to serving the community. The fact that large markets have closed or have chosen not to come into the City leaves the inhabitants of the City with no choices. Of the 237 stores in Philadelphia who are authorized to accept WIC checks, there are only 41 corporate stores: Pathmark, Acme, Thriftway, SuperFresh, ShopRite. Of the remaining 196 stores, 176 are mom-and-pop neighborhood stores of various sizes, shapes, and conditions. The medium-sized stores 16 that are larger than mom-and-pop but are less than 17 10,000 square feet, and one owner may have more 18 than one of these stores, are located throughout 19 the City. 20 The discount grocery stores that have sprung up in the inner-city neighborhoods, such as Aldy's and Save A Lot are not WIC-approved stores. Philadelphia is known because it's a city of hospitals and universities. What has happened to the grocery stores? 103 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 The public health concerns associated with malnutrition and under-nutrition cannot be addressed with medication alone. The people of all levels who live and work within the confines of this county must have the opportunity to purchase fresh, nutritious food items at a competitive cost. Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Good afternoon. My name's Lorraine Thomas, and I work for the University of Penn School of Nursing. We have a medical center run by nurse practitioners at the Frances Meyers Recreation Center in Southwest Philadelphia. I have lived in Southwest Philadelphia for years, and I now work in Southwest 18 Philadelphia also. There has always been a lack of 19 supermarkets with affordable and nutritious food in 20 our community. 21 Seven different supermarkets have opened 22 and closed in the last twenty-three years that I've 23 lived in the community. Seven may not sound like a lot, but during this period, there was a lot of gaps with no service at all. As the lady said from 104 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 the WIC, we don't have a supermarket now. Thriftway at 54th and Chester has closed, so people without transportation now have to travel now to the Pathmark at Grays Ferry across the bridge or to Olney Avenue or to Acme market, which is an inconvenience for women with children and for our seniors. Our community doesn't have a supermarket, so we do have these small mom-and-pop stores, which don't have healthy or affordable food. I notice in the community that I see a lot of children using cards to buy peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches from these mom-and-pop stores, which that should not be happening when a person should be able to go to a supermarket and can very well buy a large jar of peanut butter and jelly or buy some fresh fruits and vegetables for the family. When I was asked to come here, I thought about one lady that's lived in our community for 37 years. I hadn't seen her. Usually I would see her every Sunday morning. " She became sick and had to have surgery. So now she has to change her diet. Miss Ann can't find 105 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 2 percent milk in our community now because Thriftway is closed. Miss Ann can't find fruits and vegetables in our community 'cause Thriftway is closed. We don't know if we're going to get another Thriftway or what we might get in the community; all we do know is that we have mom-and- pop stores. At the Health Annex, when the University of Penn opened up shop there seven years ago, they planned to take care of the community mentally- wise, and we have mental health there. But in my waiting room, I heard a lady say she's a diabetic and she only had a 5-pound bag of potatoes for that week, so I said, I got to get this lady some food. So because I'm a part of the Greater Philadelphia Food Bank, I have connections where I know about the super cupboards and people that are participating in the food bank, and I was able to go and get this lady some food. So now I'm a part of the food bank, and we actually keep food right there at the Health Annex. I go to the food bank and get the free fruits and vegetables for our patients a couple times a week. 106 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 And so this is unusual. You know, the University of Penn had no idea that they were going to be setting up shop and giving out food, but I live in this community and these are my neighbors, and I said we can't have healthy patient if we don't feed these people or help feed them. So those are some of the things that we've seen, you know, at our Health Annex. Some of the things that are nurse practitioners are running across is children with low iron, and we really need to get that iron for our children because of the lead problems that we have in Philadelphia. Low weight for children because of lack of healthy food. We have a lot of adults and children who are overweight, and we also have a lot of patients who have diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, heart disease. And let's not forget the pregnant women that come in our community who don't have enough of good and proper food. So I'd just like to say to City Council, there should be food for everyone and for every child, and that should be a priority for City Council. Thank you.

107 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133

Thank you.

Well, good afternoon. I am really honored to be here, Madam Chairwoman and fellow Councilmembers. The last time I appeared before some of you was when I was in the child welfare world and I was advocating on behalf of child welfare. So it's an honor to be here today. I speak on behalf of the greater Philadelphia Food Bank, and I was really touched that the previous speaker mentioned the food bank. In many ways, we describe ourselves as "the bridge between those with food and those without," but I think we're also the behind-the-scenes partner in so many ways. We're one of the largest distributors of donated food in Southeastern Pennsylvania. We distribute over 16 tons of nutritious food every day to over 800 charitable organizations that feed needy people in Philadelphia and the surrounding communities. However, make no mistake about it: 75 percent of those 800 member agencies are located in Philadelphia County. We are honored to partner with those agencies, and I think it's safe to say that if 108 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 there is a church or feeding program or a pantry or a cupboard or a soup kitchen, after-school program, senior centers, adult residences, child-care centers, child residential programs, mental health and mental retardation centers, just about all of them, if they have feeding or distributing food as a part of their mission, they belong to the Greater Philadelphia Food Bank. Agencies can access the donations of food, and our goal is to do everything we can to capture all of the excess food that's out there. We work very closely with our partners in this. PhilAbundance is one of our partners, the Archdiocese, Share, the Farmers Trust -- the Food Trust, rather. We work with them to make certain that we can provide the precise quantities of meats, vegetables, juices, fruits, pasta, soups, cereal, snacks, and all of the other critical items, whether dry, frozen, or refrigerated, to our member agencies who are serving citizens in the community in need every day. Member agencies can come to our 49,000 square foot warehouse, which is located, by the way, Councilman Ortiz, right down the street from 109 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 Steve Brown's supermarket that closed. We were there at the opening, and Steve was a great partners with us, and we were terribly dismayed when it didn't work out.

He had incredible quality and they really catered to the community.

They did. They were wonderful, yes. In any case, in any case, the member agencies can come to the warehouse or they can arrange for delivery, or we even have a mobile truck that takes the items from the food bank to those smaller agencies who simply can't afford to come to us and who want to have access and choice. Additionally, because we recognize that providing food for our member agencies is not sufficient, we also in the last five years, have become very active, as have our partners, in nutrition education and outreach. So one of the Kids' Cafes, the after-school feeding program that was mentioned in earlier testimony, the Kids' Cafe Program is a program at the Greater Philadelphia Food Bank. We currently have 23 Kids' Cafes, and essentially, they're supported, the food is 110 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 provided by the Greater Philadelphia Food Bank, the items that are needed to get them up and running, and what we ask is that they serve at least one hot meal a week to children who would not otherwise get it. But in addition to that, we have a nutritionist who works with them and goes in and provides nutrition education programs. We also encourage those after-school programs to reach out to families so that part of what they do if, they want to be a Kids' Cafe, is to provide a family night where oftentimes the children are cooking the food or providing the food, and then food is sent back home with the families. We also provide recipes on a weekly basis to all of our member agencies and additional recipes, of course, to these programs. In addition to that, we are now in the public high schools in Philadelphia, providing nutrition education, life skills, shopping tips to pregnant teens or to teens who are mothers and struggling to care for their children. And in the summer, we have a community garden, and I would certainly recommend that as we 111 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 look at what we're going to do with all of these vacant lots and cleared lands, that we consider the whole issue of increasing the number of community gardens. You have heard referenced in previous testimony the percentages of people that are hungry in this area. The Food Bank participated in a national hunger study with America's Second Harvest last year, and I just have a few of those statistics that are pertinent to today and that is that: 30 percent of the clients served at the feeding programs who are members of the Greater Philadelphia Food Bank are children under 18; 85 percent of the households with annual incomes of under $18,000, percent of those 18 client households have one or more adults employed. 19 And in the previous 12 months, 56 percent of the 20 clients reported that the food that they did buy 21 did not last; 22 And 27 percent of the clients with 23 children reported that their children were hungry 24 at least once in the previous months but that they 25 could not afford any more food. 112 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 I was very struck by the reference to transportation and the role that that plays in the City and access to food. In our study, 78 percent of the clients have no working car, and so that certainly is a barrier. In any given week, over 60,000 people are served by the emergency feeding system, and although many of these clients reported some use of and dependence on public assistance, what we're finding is that what was originally intended as a an emergency feeding network has, in fact, become an efficient and dedicated system of supplemental feeding programs. And these programs have literally become very essential to the well-being of families, children, and seniors as they struggle to survive, and they've become an important part of the communities in which they are located.

But each of these programs, many of which are food-based, are working for the same goals: One, to ensure that folks needing food can easily find it and find it respectfully, and I would venture to say that all of our member agencies do that very well; but, secondly, they're attempting to use their resources in order to lift 113 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 people out of poverty so that they can, in fact, inhabit the world that we inhabit that is a food-secure world, and you gave that reference earlier in your testimony so that I won't repeat it. But I will say is that when these clients are helped out of poverty and near-poverty and are ready to enter the world that we inhabit -- namely that they can go into a supermarket and choose food -- they're really often unable to exercise that newfound independence. And so we're confronted with the dubious distinction of being able very successfully, through much incredible volunteer effort and devotion and food industry generosity, which you heard referenced by our Pathmark and ShopRite partners, they're wonderful, wonderful partners to us, to meet the basic needs of those people who need emergency food. But when these same people go to buy food like you and me, there's not necessarily a convenient place to go. And as we've heard here this morning, that's damaging to the people who have a right to have stores nearby serving this most basic need, to 114 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 the community whose stability is really threatened, and to the City in terms of health and other costs when the nutritious variety of food is not easily and economically available. So what I would recommend to you in this work which you're engaged in, which is just wonderful, is that you look at ways to support the nutrition education programs that have been referenced here this afternoon; that you engage in a dialogue with supermarkets and find out why they can't thrive and work in the City. My experience with the supermarket industry is that they are among the most generous people on earth. They make it possible for us to survive. However, they're business people, and whatever we can do to help them come in to the inner city and connect with a very willing and ready customer base would be time well spent. And, finally, and I say this again, if you would look to ways to link this initiative and this work to what's happening with the clearing of vacant lots throughout City. I don't have any answers other than possibly additional farmers market stands and community gardens. 115 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 And then, finally, America's Second Harvest, a national network of food banks and food rescue programs, of which the Food Bank and PhilAbundance are members, is sponsoring on June 5th a National Hunger Awareness Day, and I'm sure that both of us will be doing something, and we would ask your support of that day. It is an opportunity to raise the level of awareness throughout the City of Philadelphia to the fact that hunger does indeed exist, and we all have an obligation to make it go away. Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Clark?

I'm William Clark, executive director of PhilAbundance. I want to thank you for holding this hearing and especially thank Councilwoman Reynolds Brown for her initiative in this area. PhilAbundance is committed to providing food to those in need. We work every day to end hunger and malnutrition in the greater Philadelphia area. While we are committed to providing this food, we are especially committed to providing 116 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 nutritious food. The low-income communities that we serve suffer disproportionately from hunger in two related forms: Under-nutrition, resulting in not having enough to eat; and malnutrition, resulting from the disproportional consumption of unhealthy foods. We believe access to healthy foods is the key to solving both of these growing problems in our region. We try to do what we can to provide one form of access. We do this primarily by collecting surplus food and primarily from the food industry and distributing it to organizations in need. Our six refrigerated trucks delivery perishable foods, mostly fruit and vegetables, to other 200 charitable organizations serving the hungry in our region. On an annual basis, that works about to be about 13 million to 14 million pounds -- and, again, 80 percent of that is produce. However, we don't believe that philanthropic food relief is a strategic and long-term answer to this problem. We don't see ourselves as an alternative to the commercial sector. 117 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 And I'd also like to endorse the testimony that's been given here before. Our trucks drive every day throughout the streets of the City, and clearly we see what some of these numbers have indicated: That the poorer in the area, the less likely they are to have supermarkets. In North Philadelphia alone, if you just consider the five major fast-food chains, they operate 32 outlets to only 6 supermarkets, more than a 5-to-1. In a more affluent area like Roxborough, the ratio is 1 to 1. The price we pay if don't address this problem is enormous. We know that the diets that most of the poor are forced to access is rich in fats, salts, low in fiber, basically a perfect diet to promote obesity and a wider range of chronic diseases, including diabetes, cancer, and heart problems. But the problem we're discussing here today is a multifaceted one. For the folks that live in these needy areas and are struggling to get by, the sheer lack of access to healthy food is one important obstacle in their way, one more burden that prevents them from lifting themselves up and 118 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 out of poverty. We simply cannot blame a working mom who gives into her kids crying for another Happy Meal when the fast-food outlet is within walking distance and the grocery store is not. And I would refer back to Jo Ann's testimony that let's not forget that 78 percent of the people that come to organizations like ours to receive food assistance don't have the access of a car. So nutritious foods within walking distance is absolutely critical. But I also want to point out something at the risk of compounding the situation, that access to food knowledge is also a big issue. Since I've been at PhilAbundance, one of the surprising things I've had to deal with is how often we deliver fresh produce to an agency and it's rejected. Sometimes we have trouble giving the free produce away. And the answer most often given is that our clients don't know what to do with that stuff. We've had to work through problems with plantains, eggplants, zucchini, acorn squash. And I sense -- and it's just my hypothesis at this point -- that 119 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 one of the cumulative effects of reduced access to food in the inner city is the long-term deterioration of our population's knowledge of how to prepare these foods.

What was common in a grandmother's day is unknown how to process in their daughters' day today, and it's one of the factors that leads to them availing themselves more frequently of a McDonald's, or even if there is a supermarket nearby, the processed food alternatives that are available at that supermarket. Produce, as well as fresh meats and dairy products, require a certain amount of expertise to prepare and incorporate into your diet, and if you've gone multiple generations without having access to some of these things, you can't be expected to all of a sudden know how to use an eggplant an or acorn squash just because a supermarket opened up in your neighborhood. So I just want to just point out that even when we're giving away this stuff for free, we have a hard time. But, to sum up, people have to eat. There is certainly nothing more basic. The temporary relief of the emptiness in one's stomach, 120 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 by any means, is simply just not good enough. A regular, healthy diet is key to preventing a host of the devastating health and development problems we've had heard referenced here today. The science is plain for all of us to see. I urge this committee and the City Council to find a solution, to solve the mystery as to why we can't keep supermarkets operating in our City streets. If we don't, the outcomes in the long term are just disastrous. It will just be simply unjust and unwise, if not immoral, not to provide a strategic ability of our citizenry to access nutritious foods in everyday life and within walking distance of their homes. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much for your testimony and to the entire panel. Are there questions from members of the Council?

I only have two. Those of you who are working intimately with the schools could respond. I'm excited too that there's some connect with the schools in our 121 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 city. With those where there exists a relationship, was it a circumstance where you reached out to the schools they said yes, or they heard about the initiative and wanted to be a part of it?

I mentioned in my testimony that I started at the Turner School in 1990, and that was directly from a teacher at the Turner School, Marie Vogel, who came to the University of Pennsylvania to the Center for Community Partnerships and said, We need a school-based nutrition education program. Beyond that, it's very much a collaborative. Not negotiated in a bad sense, but very much a discussion that leads to that.

I'm thrilled to hear that program still exists. I'm actually aware of her efforts in West Philadelphia. With the high schools, is that citywide?

No, that's not citywide, Councilwoman; that's in a few select schools, and they're primarily schools that have programs that help teen moms and pregnant teens achieve their GED, or who make time during the day for us to come 122 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 in and do that nutrition program. And it was not initiated by the schools. I believe the onset of this preceded my involvement with the Food Bank advocates in the feeding programs. I believe the Food Bank and the Archdiocese and the Presbytery of Philadelphia actually approached the School District and clearly found somebody who was sympathetic. However, the success of it really depends on the willingness of the school to work with us and allow us to come in there. So we're starting small, but we're hoping to grow that program. Thank you.

Could I just say one more thing, and that is that I think these kinds of school-based programs succeed by far the best if they become a part of the mission of the school and not simply an extra.

An add-on.

And I think that's where the discussion and the negotiation, that the common goals become more important.

The schools also then serve 123 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 to promote it to other schools. Like at the high school, we have a group of high school students 4 who are awarding mini grants to other students 5 around the City who are doing nutrition projects. 6 So in that way, students are actually 7 seeking out to replicate fruit and vegetable stands 8 or other projects. So it usually tends to be the 9 schools approaching us for more resources or more 10 programs. 11

My only 12 final comment is as I heard the startling 13 statistics that you share with us and the fact that 14 you fact that you find it difficult to give away 15 free food, that becomes an opportunity as we move 16 forward with the initiative you've offered and how 17 we involve and rope in those who are currently 18 living and breathing this challenge every day. So 19 I suspect that we will do that. 20 Thank you. 21

I would like to ask 22 a question of Miss Kilby. You heard the gentleman 23 from Pathmark talking about the problem in getting 24 the WIC certification. Are you aware of that 25 problem? 124 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 And also, when you answer that question, about the limit to the number of certificates, how is that determined? The money flows down from the federal government to the states?

Yes.

So is it federal regulations or is it state regulations?

They're both. The WIC program is a program that is monitored very carefully. And in Pennsylvania, we have received accolades from the federal government, but we monitor the use of money so carefully. And the stores have to meet specific criteria. Now, the largest stores haven't always been there, and the mom-and-pop stores have picked up a lot of those slots. Prior to, I guess, ten months ago, there were, I guess, 198 slots. There are now over 230 slots. But when you look at our total numbers, only 41 of those slots are filled by corporate stores. Now, it's not that the slots aren't there; the stores aren't there. And we have stores throughout City but you heard me name all of those that have closed, and many of them are in your area. 125 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133

I know.

And the people need places to shop. And what has happened is that the corner stores have picked up the slack, and they have to maintain a specific inventory. It's not that they can just say, you know, maybe I'll carry some infant cereal and some infant juice; they have to have an inventory for infants, children, and women, and they have to maintain it. We visit those stores on a regular basis. If they don't meet the inventory, they can be taken off of the program. They're reevaluated every other year. So they just don't always meet it. It may not be the top priority in their lives at that point.

Well, he did say that there was a lawsuit at the time that they applied for their certificate.

Yes, and that was a major problem, yes. And it's been resolved and it's a federal problem, it's not just a state problem. So it's not something that we had a lot to do with.

Okay.

I happen to know that 126 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 that was certainly one of many factors that Steve Brown ran into. He shared that situation that he waited and waited and waited. And in all of the time he was there -- and it probably was the same time period -- he was simply unable to become authorized for WIC. And he needed it. He was caught, he was. It was very tragic. Because I'm sure that, among other things, contributed to his inability to keep that store. That was a heart-breaker

Did he own the ShopRite at Cheltenham? UNIDENTIFIED AUDIENCE MEMBER: No. 15

That was another Brown? Okay. It's interesting that with my resolution 18 around infant mortality, the reason I introduced it, the resolution to have hearings and to move further into other action, was there was a news article that cited that the increase in infant mortality was in my district. They had the highest rate of infant mortality up around the West Oak Lane-Ogontz area. And, again, as we look at it -- I mean, 127 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 because I've always been told that North Philadelphia, West Philadelphia was very difficult to get programs and funding in the district where I am because, one, the census numbers are so high, your people are so high-income and you can't get this and you can't get that. And then when I saw that article, that's why we looked at the whole issue of this nutrition as related to infant mortality. So when we do our hearing on the incidence of increase in infant mortality, we will invite you all to come back if you're so inclined that that's an area that you want to talk about.

The problem that we run into is that we identify the mothers and the children who are eligible for WIC benefits, but do you know how difficult it is to get them to come for WIC benefits? In addition to getting WIC foods 12 months out of the year, they also get fresh fruit and vegetables coupons starting in June. And there is a problem for them because they don't have anywhere to redeem those coupons because we don't have neighborhood fruit and vegetables markets. 128 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 And the Trust has been very, very helpful in working with Bob Pierson, trying to locate more fresh fruit and vegetable market places. But as you said, you have to be very careful where you put them.

Mm-hmm.

But we can use help from everyone and anyone to help encourage these moms to keep their appointments to come to pick up their WIC checks and then take them and use them. They will come and get them and then not go to the store and use them. Again, going back to what you said, they have lived a life of fast foods. We offer them fruits and vegetables, we offer them dairy products, but they don't know what to use these for. They don't know how to cook

Well, we'll have to give them some cookbooks.

Yes, we provide nutrition education, but we need to provide them more. WIC is in the process now of becoming a super cupboard so that we can then provide cooking demonstrations and cooking schools for them. But 129 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 this isn't just something that we can do; it needs to be done by churches, by schools, by neighborhood community programs.

Well, we have a great challenge for us, and certainly we have the offer of ShopRite to engage in this effort with us.

(Inaudible, off-mic.) (Councilman Ortiz discusses Health Department Momobiles.)

The Momobile was started after we had hearings on infant mortality back in '87, and the City launched the Momobile to travel throughout the City to give prenatal-care information to mothers, prospective mothers. So we are looking now to increase that so that we can get maybe a Momobile in the northwest area of the City of Philadelphia.

The Momobiles are one of the primary recipients of a drive that we run in the spring in churches called "Baby Manna," where we collect as much money as we possibly can to purchase infant formula to supplement in those areas where, you know, they need formula. And the Momobiles is one of the prime recipients of that 130 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 wonderful collection.

Thank you. We certainly appreciate your testimony. It was informative. And we'll see you when we have the hearing on the infant mortality. Probably we'll do that in the fall, 'cause we need some time to get it together. Okay, our last two panelists, unless there are others, are Beth Showell and Lilly cobs of the People's Baptist Church. Is there anyone else here to testify on this issue? (No response.) (Witnesses come forward.)

How you doing?

My name is Beth Showell, and I kind of feel like I might be the knot to tie everything together. I think I should tell you a little bit about myself, since everybody else here has comes with some recognition. First, I'll tell you a little bit about my education. I have a bachelor's degree in health and physical education. I have a master's degree in biochemistry, and particularly 131 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 concentrating on the chemistry of the human body. I did my masters thesis on the chemistry of learning. I have a doctorate's degree in environmental education and did my research on the environmental effects on the chemistry of learning. Just to very quickly sum that up since we're talking about nutrition, fish is a brain food, and sugar interferes with the learning process. I am a veteran of 35 years in the classroom. I taught science for the Philadelphia School District. I have to make some notes for myself because I'm at an age where I forget if I don't. I taught nutrition to student nurses and doctors at the University of Pennsylvania. I'm a community volunteer and do demonstration cooking and nutrition education at the farmers market in Clark Park on 43rd Street between Baltimore Avenue and Chester Avenue. I'm on the advisory committee for the Penn State urban gardening. I garden at the Warrington garden. I'm sorry that Councilman Rizzo has left because I've been a thorn in his side, and I should let the rest of the Councilmembers know that the 132 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 county and City of Philadelphia is the only county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that does not fund the Penn State extension service, there's no 5 money coming from the county of Philadelphia. I served on the board and as president of SETA Park Neighbors. I am rooted in the neighborhood. I was on the Council PCNO back in the days when Angel was also on that council. I served on the board of the National Association of Neighborhoods. People just talked about the programs at the Turner School; I was one of seven people sent with Marie Vogel and Ira (indiscernible) at Penn to Europe to study community schools. At the time, Blondell was one of our bosses. One of the things that I see that we really need in areas of lower economic area is a stress on education. It was mentioned that a lot of people don't know how to prepare. It's part of what I do at the farmers market. But with my own children and with the children at camp, and even with the children at the market, we have a three-bite rule. You've never tasted it before? Taste it now. We've won 133 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 children over to fruits and vegetables. To give you an example, we had one woman who came through -- the farmers used to tear the tops off the beets and toss them, and I told them, Don't do that, sell the whole thing, sell the beets with the greens on them. " And one of the things that we've done is to do some education as well. One of the things that I found during my studies working on my degrees is that if women are nutritionally deprived and if the children that they are carrying are deprived in utero, that deprivation is never made up; it's passed on to the next generation. A little bit of personal information about supermarkets. When I lived at 48th and Walnut and my children were little, I could walk down to, 48th between Spruce and Pine, and shop at the Penn Fruit or the Acme, or I could walk to 46th and Spruce and shop at the A&P. None of those stores exist. There is a supermarket now in the old 134 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 Acme building. Most of the people in the community that have access to it do not shop there because the previous owners, in order to save money, unplugged the freezers at night. So if you went in there early in the morning, the frozen food -- the orange juice and vegetables -- had defrosted. They plugged them back in and they refroze, which is extremely unhealthy.

I live at 49th and Baltimore now, and I've been there for 36 years. I go to Delaware to shop. I'm minutes from I-95 and get right on 13 and shop down on Concord Pike. Only because, one, 14 the food is cheaper; two, the quality of food is so 15 much better. I was taking an 88-year-old neighbor of mine out to the Acme at Penrose Plaza, and I told her, Miss Kitty, you don't want to shop here. As we walked in the door, a roach ran across her foot. I mean, I can understand how people have to shop there, but why would they want to? I drive, so I can go wherever I want. I'm used to shopping in supermarkets in New York State and with my sisters on Cape Cod. It's unbelievable the differences in the stores -- the 135 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 quality, the cleanliness, even the size of the aisles, the presentation of the food, all of these things. So I'm coming to you, telling you my background. I have been very fortunate for the past five years to be able to be a volunteer at the farmers market with the Trust and to be able to serve my neighbors. One of the things that's very ironic is that a lot of the young women who do have their WIC vouchers who come for fruit and vegetables want to know why we don't have bananas or oranges, and we tell them it's because we sell fresh fruit that's grown right here in Pennsylvania. The farmers pick the fruit in the morning vegetables in the morning, bring it in, and sell it in the afternoon. And because the University City area has a large ethnic diversity, they are beginning to diversify in terms of the types of vegetables that they sell. I don't know what else I can say. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to try -- oh, I did not mention one thing that I should. I feel connected to so many people in this room. I mentioned Angel and PC&O, but I should also let you 136 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 know that I'm a 46-year card-carrying member of Delta Sigma Theta.

Glad to have you.

Thank you so much. I do get from Penn State their publications. They invite us to events that they sponsor. I did not know that we were supposed to contribute to their extension program.

Well, as I said, of all of the counties -- last year at the annual meeting, we put Frank Rizzo Jr. on the spot and he said he was going to come back to City Council. At one time when the urban gardening program especially started, the Penn State extension service was a line item in Philadelphia on the budget, and for some reason, it got cut, and it has never been. Philadelphia County is the only county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that does not contribute to the extension service, even though --

The extension services, are they a part of the Penn State University? 137 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133

No. Penn State Extension Service is the service that helps with the community gardens in Philadelphia, with the vegetable gardens, and even now, it has expanded to doing flower gardens, helps farmers. The 4H Program comes out of the --

But are they connected to Penn State?

Yes, Penn State, which is a state university. The extension service is something that has been around forever almost. I think just about every state that has a land grant college has an extension service to help people grow food. We're the only county in the Commonwealth that does not.

We'll have to get our State Representatives to appropriate some money to Philadelphia.

Exactly. Whichever way. Malcolm X said whichever way.

But we do get the information because I earlier was going to mention them as a source of helping to educate, 'cause education, as you said and I believe, is extremely 138 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 important for people to understand the value of --

Exactly. (Inaudible) that is an educational program to help -- and they do conduct classes and other things. I'm on the advisory committee with them. They do a lot of things too. But, you know, it's a matter of funding the.

Yes, I agree. Thank you. Any other questions or comments of Miss Showell? (No further questions.)

Thank you so much for coming in, we appreciate it. And congratulations on your wonderful success in life.

Thank you.

Miss Cobbs.

Yes, good afternoon, Madam Chair.

Would you speak into the mic. You have a soft voice and we want to hear you.

Good afternoon, Madam Chair. My name is Lilly Cobbs, and I serve as the 139 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 coordinator of the food program at the People's Baptist Church, located at 5039 Baltimore Avenue. I have served in this capacity since 1992. Since the tragic events of September the 11th, 2001, the number of people that we serve has increased significantly. I would like to address at least two issues leading to the surge of supermarket closing. The closing of supermarkets in our significantly populated neighborhoods has caused people to drive or pay someone to take them grocery-shopping. They travel a long distance, which limits their ability to store food. This has led to increased usage of convenient stores, resulting in higher costs for food and less nutrition for those on special diets. Income and diet-related death. Besides paying the necessary rents and utility bills for day-to-day survival, what little monies are left for medication and life's essentials leave little left to spend on food that need to be consumed for special diet, and this is becoming an eventual leading cause of many deaths. And some of the -- what we recommend -- 140 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 before I say the little few things that we recommend, I do shop at the Food Bank, and the Food Bank representative that spoke, we get a lot of fresh foods, and whenever we do service, we only service once a week, but when we service them once a week, we try to have fresh foods for them to take in their bags. And when we make their bags, we try go make sure they have, like, three or four days' food. We recommend three key actions that Philadelphia and state and local governments must address this problem. First, we need to erase the gaps in the number of supermarkets between low- and high-income significant public investment; Second, economic- development agencies should convene key leaders in the supermarket industry to develop a strategy to create more supermarkets in the lower-income communities; Finally, state and local governments should create linkage programs and require supermarkets that build in higher-income communities to build new stores in lower-income neighborhoods. And in this way, it will be better 141 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 for all of us in our community.

Well, thank you so much for your testimony. Are there questions or comments from members of the committee? (No questions.)

Thank you. We certainly appreciate you taking time out to come to testify today. And to you, Miss Cobbs, and to all of you who have testified, it has been quite informative and inspiring. (Inaudible) and Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown because we will be dealing with the issue of nutrition as well as infant mortality, which are interrelated, and we need to talk about the farmers market. Thank you all. There being no further business, this Council is -- we'll recess to the call of the Chair. That keeps the discussion open and we can come back at any time and have further discussion without having to do a formal call. Thank you very much. 142 4/19/02 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - RES. 020133 (Proceedings end at 4:23 p.m.) - - - 143 CERTIFICATE I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing proceedings of the Council of the City of Philadelphia's meeting of the Committee on Health and Human Services of Tuesday, April 19, 2002, are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me, and that this is a true and correct transcript of same. RE: Resolution No. 020133 _______________________________, Josephine Cardillo Registered Professional Reporter and Notary Public (The foregoing certification of this transcript does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any means, unless under the direct control and/or supervision of the certifying reporter.)