Healthy Food, Rate Hikes & Swine Flu

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Healthy foods, stretching dollars

People who receive food assistance checks from Virginia can double their dollars at the Abingdon Farmers’ Market thanks to a $20,000 grant from Wholesome Wave, a private foundation. We roundly support this effort to get more healthy, local foods to people who need it and to boost the efforts of the local farmers’ market.
And the program could be expanded to other farmers’ markets in the region if this effort is successful. We love this idea because it brings local, fresh, healthy foods to more people and gives food assistance recipients a way to double their money. Excellent.

THUMBS DOWN TO:

Credit card companies jacking fees

New credit card rules intended to help customers and more clearly explain the rules took effect this week, but credit card companies that expect the reforms to cost them money raised interest rates and fees to make up the difference.
For consumers, using a credit card will be more costly. Credit card companies blame the rising rates on higher borrowing costs for banks, customers with risky credit histories and a shaky economy. But industry analysts note that the federal changes – like giving customers more notice before raising rates – have threatened revenue sources for the companies, which aim to make up the difference by raising rates on everyone. A recent study of 150 credit cards by a firm called BillShrink found that interest rates on purchases and balance transfers have grown nearly 20 percent since January.
Bottom line? The less exposure you have to credit debt the better. Companies are raising rates for a variety of reasons; all of them are bad for you if you owe on a card. Focus on getting out of debt so you are not caught in their grip.

Ridiculous swine flu recommendation

In an attempt to explain “close contact” and ways to reduce the spread of swine flu, the Centers for Disease Control comes off looking foolish.
A recommendation issued Thursday suggests that if college students are ill, they should refrain from kissing, but it they must smooch, then wear a surgical mask. It’s a ridiculous notion and the result of poor editing. The recommendation is one of several posted this week in a document called “CDC Guidance for Responses to Influenza for Institutions of Higher Education during the 2009-2010 Academic Year.”
They are the same general guidelines issued earlier – avoid contact, regularly wash your hands, call your health care provider if you develop flu-like symptoms. The one that is causing snickers is: “If close contact with others cannot be avoided, the ill student should be asked to wear a surgical mask during the period of contact,” the recommendation reads. “Examples of close contact include kissing, sharing eating or drinking utensils, or having any other contact between persons likely to result in exposure to respiratory droplets.”
In an interview with the Associated Press, CDC spokesperson Tom Skinner acknowledged that the language of the recommendation was confusing and that the agency would “look at rewording” the guidance.
“We’re not telling them to wear a mask when they kiss,” Skinner said. “What we’re trying to do is give examples of ‘close contact.’”
This memo was great for comic relief, but the CDC needs to better edit their memos before releasing them.