09/21/2019
You might have heard that the poverty rate in America has finally fallen below its pre-recession level. But what has been less reported is that the number of Americans living in poverty is still higher than it was in 2007. In fact, it’s even higher than it was in 1964 when the War on Poverty began.
09/19/2019
Federal spending priorities and budgets are moral statements: “Federal spending on children in the United States fell to the lowest level in a decade in 2018, negatively impacting working families with children”
09/18/2019
Currently, SNAP benefits enable families to provide meals for nearly 20 million children, and the NSLP provides 30 million low-cost or free school meals to children each day. With the proposed limitations on categorical eligibility, an estimated 3.1 million SNAP participants would lose food assistance benefits. As a result of families’ loss of SNAP benefits, 500,000 children stand to lose automatic eligibility for free or reduced-price school meals through the NSLP.
09/13/2019
The report does give a nod to the historical and systemic causes of food insecurity, but the policy it lays out seems to ignore the more holistic picture of hunger and its root causes—“affordable housing, systemic racism, systemic classism, and access to affordable, healthy food.”
A Tale of Three Cities: Contrasts in Attempts to Eliminate Hunger
09/09/2019
Being poor is expensive. A 2016 United Way report found 26% of families in Erie County earned income above the federal poverty level, yet could not afford basic necessities to survive.
Thomas O’Neil-White
/
09/05/2019
09/05/2019
Medicaid has been shown to reduce poverty, and a new study finds that Medicaid may also improve housing stability. A common challenge facing low-income families is housing eviction, which prior research has shown has serious implications for physical and mental health.
Health Affairs’ September Issue: Neighborhoods & Health, Medicaid & More | Health Affairs
09/04/2019
The study’s findings support the idea that financial incentives can shape consumer buying patterns and potentially assist in addressing social determinants of health (SDOH).
