Spring Break
Miami joins outreach program
Food stamp project educates, provides aid to Butler County
Jennifer Baker and Sara Stock, For The Miami Student
Issue date: 3/29/05 Section: Community
Butler County will host a new food stamp program in conjunction with Miami University to provide aid to those in need. The Food Stamp Outreach Program began when Lifespan and the Shared Harvest Foodbank received $12,000 in aid from a portion of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant for $125,000.Organizations involved in the program include LifeSpan's Independent Living Assistance program (ILA) and Shared Harvest Foodbank's Feed, Educate, Empower and Deliver program (FEED). Because many people are unaware that they qualify for food stamps and other assistance, they hope to spread the word about the program at multiple food pantry locations.By providing the Butler County community with home visits from social workers, community forums, health fairs and consumer and tenant meetings, the Outreach program aims to help those in need who qualify for food stamps, yet are unaware of its uses.The program includes everything from nutrition and money education to providing food stamp applications to those who qualify.Miami students will have an opportunity to establish the program with the help of Butler County Job and Family Services. Students will reach out to the Oxford community through community meetings, health fairs and visits to homes throughout the county.Maria Citino, a Miami junior majoring in social work, has taken a first-hand role in the Food Stamp Outreach Program through the university's Office of Service-Learning and Civic Leadership. "I felt so compelled to get involved," Citino said. "This project will no doubt be invaluable as a social work internship, but it also feels good to know we are addressing a very real need in the community." Citino is currently training to learn all about the Food Stamp Outreach Program and how families go about applying for its services."The process of applying for food stamps is a complicated one," she said. "But hopefully by really getting a handle on how a family applies for food stamps and who is eligible for them, I will be able to become active in the community and help people gain access to needed assistance."She believes it's important for students to understand the relevance of this program in the Oxford community. There are many families who have difficulties feeding themselves on a day-to-day basis throughout the country, and Oxford is not excluded from this."By becoming involved in service-learning, you understand how to take what you learn in class and apply it to the community in such a meaningful way," Citino said.Details of the Food Stamp Outreach Program are yet to be completed. According to Kathy Adams-Smith, Lifespan's director of program development, particulars of the program will be hashed out next week during an information and planning meeting.
