By Marie Mulvenna

Recent, and ever-growing, inflation of food prices has added twice as much to the cost of living for the poor as it has to the cost of living of the average urban worker.

Dr. Loraine Donaldson, professor of economics at Georgia State University and a member of Christ the King parish, has discussed the rising pattern of food prices in the present economic crisis that continues to spiral, and has issued a call for immediate efforts to reach those poor who are eligible for food stamps.

Based on recent data gathered in Atlanta, Dr. Donaldson has compiled some alarming statistics on the severe economic crunch being experienced by the poor. Her figures are the result of local studies since last January and are considered accurate analyses of the problems facing poor families in filling the weekly market basket.

Dr. Donaldson, who has worked closely with Republican Andrew Young and also furnishes her data to the Congressional Joint Economic Committee, said that March was a peak month for rising costs. “Then it went down a little and stabilized but it is up again now and still rising.” She said the drought in the mid-west had some effect on the situation as well as the poor crop in India which has placed additional demands on the United States wheat crop.

Other contributing factors, she said, are a cyclical shortage in the fertilizer industry, rising fuel prices and the sale of grain abroad which drove grain prices exceedingly high. “We can definitely expect higher rises in food,” Dr. Donaldson said.

What was purchased for $100 in August 1969 would cost $159 today. With the recent 2½ per cent rise, according to Dr. Donaldson’s index figures, the forecast is “for further rises for the poor.” She said “they just can’t cut any more corners,” explaining that the poor have already trimmed their buying to just the basics. Even those have been seriously effected.

The so-called “soul food” items, which she described as hog jowls, pig ears and tails, chitterlings, etc., have skyrocketed, costing $170 compared to $100 in 1969. “There are no more corners to cut,” she noted. Dr. Donaldson said reports that some poor people have turned to eating pet food have been verified, adding that “many pets eat better.”

For the poor person, 35 to 40 per cent of their income is allotted for food, representing a substantial per cent over that of the average urban worker who spends approximately 16 per cent for his food needs. Increases for the average urban pocketbook were up 7.4 to 10 per cent while the rise for the poor family was between 18.2 and 21 per cent.

The figures furnished by Dr. Donaldson are made from price checks of chain stores and are frequently requested by the Congressional committee in Washington as an accurate reflection of Atlanta prices.

Dr. Donaldson said had the study priced ghetto independent stores, the rise would be some 22 per cent. She explained that most chain stores had abandoned ghetto areas and the poor are faced with purchasing their needs in higher priced independent stores. Most of the poor people are immobile she said, unable to travel elsewhere and thereby forced to buy at the local small store.

“Buying at the independent small store can represent 10 to 15 per cent higher cost,” she noted. Many supermarkets in low income areas have closed down over the past five years, most moving to more affluent suburban sites. Dr. Donaldson said interest has been expressed recently in providing bus transportation for many ghetto dwellers enabling them to reach the more modest priced food stores.

Dr. Donaldson’s biggest concern today is the fact that so many families are not receiving food stamps although many are eligible for their use. She said it was urgent that groups, including churches, take immediate steps to reach the people eligible for food stamp programs. She explained that there is no current outreach program to find the people and help them with the time-consuming aspect of being certified for the program. “Church groups in particular should get involved,” she said, “and make this an ecumenical project.”

As of August 1974, figures show that of 520,000 persons eligible for the stamp program, only 395,000 are presently receiving assistance. When the commodity program, involving distribution of surplus food, was halted on July 1, some 40,000 persons in Fulton County alone were eligible for stamps but only 24,000 had been certified for the program as of August 1.

Many people have not signed up for the program either because they feel it is a welfare program or because they are not aware of its existence. Another factor of importance is the time element now involved in receiving the needed stamps. Dr. Donaldson said the current process through the welfare department “is a slow one” and the department has not yet added additional personnel to handle it properly.

She explained that the department has been under considerable political pressure to remove illegal recipients of welfare and that the food stamp certification procedure has suffered accordingly. “We are so worried we could give something away to the ineligible that we leave others starving.” She said she was particularly concerned about the elderly, pre-natal conditions, nursing mothers and the unemployed.

Certification for the stamps is based on net monthly income as well as the size of the household itself. There are a number of expenses that are deductible, among them rent, utilities, child care, hospital expenses, insurance and payroll deductions. Using the current eligibility figures for the stamps, a family of four with a net monthly income (after eligible deductions) of $390 to $419.99 could receive food stamps for $114 enabling them to purchase $142 worth of food. The subsidy varies according to the income and number in a family.

At an Atlanta Conference on Hunger held recently, the first such gathering here, Governor Jimmy Carter was quoted as saying he was “embarrassed to recognize that there is hunger in our state.” Through the conference, suggestions were offered to expedite the process of getting more people on the program including screening of candidates beforehand as well as temporary certification of social workers and the use of more local centers. Volunteer help could also be utilized in getting people to centers and helping them fill out the necessary forms.

Dr. Donaldson said there is considerable effort right now in Atlanta’s urban area to reach the poor Black person in the city but she feared there was not enough effort to reach the rural poor, the suburban working poor, or the elderly.

The Index for Atlanta’s Poor was first compiled by Dr. Donaldson in 1969 when she did a study on the question of whether the stores in ghetto areas gouge the poor. “I found they did not,” she said, adding that for one year she took invoices from poverty area stores. The problem was, she said, that the poor did not have the chain stores to use so they had to utilize the small independent store which naturally has higher costs for rent, utilities, overhead etc.”

“When inflation began,” she said, “I realized I had old data so I got a research assistant and began pricing once again.” She feels very strongly about the food problems of the poor and said she was very deeply moved when on a recent visit to Lenox Square she saw a crippled young man scavenging behind an area grocery store. “You sort of expect this in other countries, but never here,” she said adding, “the United States is the most affluent country in the world. Surely we can feed our poor.”

Echoing Dr. Donaldson’s deep sentiments on the situation is Rep. Andrew Young who has furnished her statistical findings to the Joint Economic Committee and is himself working to alleviate the problem on a national level. Dr. Donaldson met with Rep. Young and also with representative of Economic Opportunity Atlanta (EOA) who came to Young saying, “our people can’t feed themselves.” Young has since stated publicly that the poor have not caused the recent inflation but they have been the victims of it. Mrs. Yong is co-chairperson of the recent Conference on Hunger held in Atlanta.

Dr. Donaldson has gone on record saying that “there is no justification for taxing the poor twice as heavily as the non-poor,” who, she said, “are in pincers.”

The 1969 market basket figures an the current figures compiled by Dr. Donaldson are distinctly different from the market basket of the average consumer. While the poor may purchase some of the same items as the average consumer, the poor will purchase many items not included in food pricing for the average consumer, considered earning $10,000 to $12,000 annually. Among these items are the “cheap” meats and “soul food” items.

The index for the average consumer is determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and is published monthly. The BLS figures cover both chains and independents while the index for Atlanta’s poor includes only chain stores. Dr. Donaldson said that the BLS index from December 1973 through June 1974 averaged 146.6 while the index for Atlanta’s poor indexed at 153.7. The poor person paid $53.70 more for food that cost $100 in 1969 while the average consumer paid $46.60 more – a 15 per cent greater change for the poor.

Dr. Donaldson said the BLS figures assume the average family spends about 20 per cent on food, although recent data place that amount at 16 per cent. The percentage spent by the poor for food however has risen dramatically to 35 to 40 per cent of their income.

Among the problems encountered by the poor buyer is the inability to substitute among the basics. “Even such standby sources of protein as peanut butter have risen dramatically.” The poor benefit less from specials, she said, lacking the ability to “stock up” on food offered as specials, they cannot travel to bargain stores and also do not have enough money to buy ahead.

Latest figures released for July 1974 show the BLS index at 148.6 (to purchase what was $100 in 1969) while the index for Atlanta’s poor rose to 155.4.

Dr. Donaldson said she was very concerned about the fact that so many people attach a stigma to signing up for the food stamp program. “They should consider it as a tax subsidy, just as the middle-income American takes interest payments.” Many of the people are reticent, too proud to ask for help, she said, but “we must reach them and tell them it’s no disgrace, it’s actually due them, just like a tax refund.”

She said she felt local efforts through TV and public service announcements were minimal and had not reached enough people to be of much help. She said, in her opinion, “a national campaign by the Congress would have been much better.”

“The working poor have suffered and really need this tax break,” she said. Dr. Donaldson painted a rather bleak picture of the future stating money would be tight and more unemployment loomed ahead. She said that approximately 23 per cent of all households in the nation have incomes under $5,000, indicating the vast numbers of poor families in the country.

Dr. Donaldson is a native of Florida, received her masters at the University of Florida and her doctorate at Indiana University. She did research in Ireland for her dissertation, publishing a book entitled “Development Planning in Ireland.” She is a member of the Greater Atlanta Arts Council, served as a consultant on economics in housing with the Atlanta Council of Catholic Women, is a consultant to community problems and assists at Christ the King parish in the religious education program.

She is a member of numerous professional groups and has been listed in several “Who’s Who” categories. She teaches international problems of poverty at Georgia State, a course she describes as one concentrating on the problems of the underdeveloped world.

Right now, Dr. Donaldson is concentrating on the poor of Atlanta, Georgia in her efforts to help them cope with the spiral of food prices and adequate nutrition.