Topeka ? When her husband left her with three children, no job and no money, there was little Cindy Palmatier could do. She knew, however, that she couldn’t live in her car and let her children go hungry.

Swallowing her pride, Palmatier signed up for food assistance with the state, ensuring she could keep her children fed and healthy as she regrouped her life.

But state officials say there are thousands of Kansans who are reluctant to ask for help. A new initiative to inform residents and the recent changes in how the message is distributed may prevent some poor and elderly Kansans from choosing between rent, medicine or eating.

Kansans ‘getting by’

Janet Schalansky, secretary of the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, said an outreach with Dillon Stores and the Kansas Food Bank offered a way to ease the strain as Kansas emerges from an economic downturn.

Estimates are that as many as 40 percent of Kansans eligible for food assistance are not taking advantage of the program, which is funded entirely by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She estimates an additional $102 million could be coming to Kansas if everyone eligible participated.

“I’ve had some elderly people tell me, ‘Well, I’m getting by, but there are people worse off than I am, they might as well get it,'” she said. “They aren’t getting it, so that money just stays in Washington.”

Reasons for low participation vary, but Schalansky said it was most likely either lack of knowledge or the stigma associated with taking a check from the government or parking their car in front of an SRS office to apply for services.

“Do people not know that they are eligible, or is there something about our process that turns people away?” she asked.

Households going hungry

Palmatier, 28, said she grew up in a “hard-headed” family that saw state assistance as a last resort.

She works at a grocery store to support herself and her children, with hopes of getting off state assistance as soon as possible.

Palmatier’s situation is not uncommon in Kansas, according to a report earlier this year by the Kansas Health Institute.

The agency found that one in 10 households experienced difficulty finding enough food at least once during 2000, the most recent year for which data was available. A third of those households reported one or more members going hungry at some point during the year, while the other two-thirds reported they avoided hunger by eating less-varied diets, getting food assistance or getting emergency food from community pantries.

The health institute study found that a greater percentage of single mothers, such as Palmatier, were likely to be “food insecure,” lacking enough food for a healthy lifestyle, than the national average: 38 percent of single-mother households in Kansas compared with 30 percent nationally.

Of households that lacked food, the study found, 63 percent were likely to borrow or receive food from others, while an additional 30 percent would send their children to eat at others’ homes. Only 23 percent of households would get food from a food pantry or church.

Changes to system

Schalansky said the food assistance program could provide enough resources so eating healthy was not a concern for Kansans. For example, a family of four, such as Palmatier, with a monthly income of $1,913 after other expenses, such as rent and utilities, are eligible for a maximum benefit of $452.

While one group of Kansans were aware of where to get a free meal or commodities, she said, the concept was foreign to many more. Having additional places to apply for benefits, such as the grocery stores and food distributors, will open up new avenues for getting food to households without the stigma of applying at an SRS office.

During the past year, SRS has closed 51 field offices throughout Kansas, moving to a system where applications for services can be handled by fax or Internet through other community locations, such as senior centers.

“In fact, in counties that have closed offices, our numbers are going up,” Schalansky said.

Schalansky said with no cost to the state, federal food assistance amounted to “free prevention” for Kansans who often decide between food or medicine.

Food stamps have changed, moving from paper coupons to a card system that can be used at the checkout line as would a credit card. Schalansky said that removed the stigma for people who would feel ridiculed for being on assistance.

“There’s a lot less fraud and loss of food stamps. Administratively, it’s been a godsend to us,” she said.