Hunger Survey Shows Children Suffer the Most : Social services: No one in Orange County is starving, but access to food is a growing problem.

The impact of hunger in Orange County falls heaviest on children, with more than 50% of the people who need emergency food on a daily basis being under 18 years of age, according to a survey conducted by University of California researchers.

More than one-quarter of parents surveyed reported they were forced to send their children to bed hungry some of the time.

Yet the survey found that almost half of those with children eligible for school breakfast and lunch programs and more than three-quarters of those eligible for food stamps were not participating in those programs. Ignorance of what is available, pride and lack of food programs in local schools contribute to this lack of participation, researchers said.

Advocates of programs to combat hunger say that while the survey indicates that no children are starving, chronic malnutrition could wreak long-term havoc on the emotional, mental and physical well-being of the county’s children.

“It’s a kind of starvation that exacts a debilitating toll on young children over their lifetime,” said Michelle Van Eyken, county coordinator of the federally funded Women, Infants and Children nutrition program, at an Anaheim news conference.

The survey reinforces impressions that have been difficult to quantify before: While no one in Orange County is starving, hunger and malnutrition are growing problems that are often masked, said study co-author Ann Cotter, a UC home economist.

The survey was conducted by University of California Cooperative Extension Services, which conducts research and provides educational services to county residents.

Researchers surveyed 60 soup kitchens and pantries that serve about 80,000 people monthly who suffer from chronic or occasional shortages of food.

In addition, more than 7,000 seniors and handicapped individuals are served by four programs that assist them with groceries and meals. Another estimated 100,500 county residents participate in U.S. Department of Agriculture emergency food programs each month.

“What the report shows is that the problem of hunger exists in Orange County despite its reputation for wealth,” Cotter said.

For example, in interviews conducted with 191 emergency food clients--who represented 678 family members--none identified himself or herself as transient and scarcely 18% were homeless.

In fact, nearly 57% of the respondents said they were employed.

“The image we have of the hungry person in Orange County is of a homeless person,” said Alison Armstrong, a member of a review committee charged with making recommendations based on survey results. “But the people we see on the street who are recognizably in need represent only a small minority.”

Other survey results revealed that:

* Families with children accounted for more than 86% of those seeking emergency food assistance, with almost 31% of the families consisting of five or more members.

* More than 84% had incomes below the federal poverty level.

* At least 71% of the clients said they spent at least some time thinking about where their next meal would come from.

* Sixty-seven percent rated the quality of their diets as fair to poor.

The reasons given for the lack of participation in school lunch or breakfast and federal food stamp programs varied: Twenty-eight percent of the respondents said they did not think they were eligible, 18% said they didn’t know about them, and more than 20% said they did not want to apply.

Mark Lowry, a member of the survey review committee and director of a local food bank, said that while many eligible people do not receive food because of the stigma associated with such assistance, many others are not given adequate access.

“Orange County is the only urban county in the state that provides no summer lunch program for its schoolchildren,” he noted.

Angelo Doti, county director of financial assistance, said the county has increased its effort to try to bridge an acknowledged gap in services.

“I haven’t seen the study results, so I don’t know how they arrive at their conclusion,” he said. “But federal studies do indicate that, roughly, only 59% of people who are eligible are receiving assistance.”

Doti said the county has recently simplified registration forms and developed a single form for food stamp and Aid to Families With Dependent Children applicants. The county has also begun a program in South County to mail food stamps directly to clients instead of having them redeemed at outlets, as had been the practice.

“I think I can agree with the survey that the numbers of people who are hungry and need assistance are increasing,” Doti said. “But it looks like government at all levels (is) broke. There are a lot of things out there that do not make it look better for the future.”

Recommendations outlined in the report include:

* Increasing support of all kinds for the county’s two food banks and other agencies that provide a safety net of emergency food services.

* Expanding local gleaning programs and cooperative food purchase programs such as Meal Deal and Food Plus.

* Increasing the minimum wage and availability of job training and child care programs.

* Encouraging local neighborhoods and city governments to cooperate with and support service providers.

* Educating people at risk of hunger about available food resources.

“The recommendations are ambitious, but they are achievable,” said Delores Barrett, a director at the Salvation Army who helped prepare the recommendations. “In a county where the median income is above $50,000, it is not acceptable that a child go hungry or worry about where his next meal is coming from.”