FELON FOLLY

Larry Bain - February 2004

If you are a murderer, a rapist or a robber, upon finishing your prison sentence, you can receive food stamps. If you have been convicted of any drug felony including the sale of a small amount of marijuana, you are denied this form of federal assistance for life.

I lead a class at the San Francisco County Jail that teaches female inmates the importance of a healthy diet. A group of San Francisco chefs show them how to purchase good food and to cook simple meals that are tasty, cheap and nutritious. Many of these women are recovering drug users, and consequently most have felony drug convictions in their pasts.

I felt like a fool at one of the first classes when I distributed flyers on where my students could obtain food stamps, and one of the young moms said, ’ÄúWe can’Äôt get those, ever,’Äù I was stunned. Here I am teaching the importance of a healthy diet, and my students are telling me that the biggest financial barrier to their eating properly is being kept in place by the state.

The reason the Sheriff’Äôs Department embraced our class is because he believed that nutrition plays a crucial role in rehabilitation. My research has supported this, studies going back to the early 60’Äôs show that nutrition has direct impact on aggressive behavior and learning skills. A study done in 1968 demonstrates that drug users who were able to kick their diet of fast foods, sodas and refined sugars were more likely to kick their drug habit. And a recent study done in Great Britain (Gesch et al. 2002) shows direct links to nutrition and behavior ’ÄúThe results were startling. Prisoners taking the nutrient pills committed 37 per cent fewer serious or violent offences than the placebo group. When the trial finished, levels of violence quickly returned to normal. ’Äú And lest we think that vitamin pills are the answer a study done her in the U.S. recommends that supplements only be used as when a balanced diet is not an option.

How is it that those in our community who most need assistance, and whose behavior patterns end up costing taxpayers millions of dollars in health care and criminal justice services are the ones being denied modest assistance in purchasing good food? And why am I spending time talking about fresh food when these young moms have no way to buy it? What kind of perverse logic is this? These women can’Äôt afford food, they can’Äôt kick their habit, they commit a crime, and we punish them by denying them food. How did this come about?

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (HR 3734), better known as the Welfare Reform Act, was signed into law by Bill Clinton. An amendment added by Phil Gramm bars individuals with felony drug convictions from receiving food stamps. The basic intention of the Welfare Reform Act was to save the Federal Government funds in a variety of ways. The Gramm Amendment was designed primarily to expand the war on drugs, or in truth- the war on drug users. States have been given the opportunity to opt out and provide assistance to this class of felons. To date 27 states have chosen to do so; in California, opt-out legislation was vetoed in 1999 and 2001.

California is faced with a huge budget deficit, and a primary goal of our new Mayor is to help the homeless. By making it possible for all of our poor, including those with a history of drug use, to be able to use food stamps we can improve their diets, and make them less dependent on our City funded health care facilities. This will also increase the chances that they will not be returning to our County Jails.

The best way to get needles of out of these young mother’Äôs arms is to put good food in their stomachs.

Visit the California Food Policy Advocates website at C.F.P.A. and find out how you can help.

Read an article on the Next Course program.

Visit the Next Course website.

Larry Bain left Toronto’Äôs Mayor’Äôs office to pursue a culinary career, opening the acclaimed Zola’Äôs in San Francisco and is now director of Operations of Traci Des Jardins’Äô restaurant Jardiniere and Acme Chop House. He is also on the board of Chef's Collaborative.

To contact Larry Bain: email: Larry Bain