2012 saw a recovery of sorts for Bucks County, with the median family income finally returning to 2008 levels, but there’s little relief in sight for children at the lower end of the economic spectrum. A disproportionate number of children—nearly 9,000 total—in Bucks County live in poverty, and the situation continues to get worse. Most troubling, not nearly enough are getting access to the benefits they need.
In Bucks County, children—especially those under the age of
six—are more likely to be living in poverty than adults. The poverty rate for all children is 25%
higher than the rate for adults; the rate for young children is shockingly
nearly 70% higher than the adult rate.
These figures are alarming, but what do they mean in real terms? They mean that 1 in 7 children in Bucks
County don’t have access to enough food to maintain a healthy lifestyle. While there are resources to help combat the
food crisis Bucks County currently faces, it is clear that not enough is being
done to ensure they get to every child in need.
Less than a quarter of Bucks County’s residents are
children, but nearly 40% of its residents on Food Stamps (SNAP) are. This is due to a 20% rise in the share of
children in low-income families since 2008, in turn leading to a 43% increase
in children receiving Food Stamps from FY2009-10 to FY2012-13. With the 43% increase in children on Food
Stamps, there was a corresponding 42% increase in students eligible for free
and reduced-price school meals from 2008-12.
That, in and of itself, is not surprising. It makes sense, since these are the same
children we’re talking about. But
eligibility does not equal access.
Despite thousands more children needing free or reduced-price lunches,
participation in the program actually fell 5% in the last five years. And only 20% of low-income students received
school breakfast in 2012.
For children, having enough nutritious food everyday should
be a right, not a privilege.
Insufficient nutrition is one of the most basic and formidable
challenges standing in the way of children’s well-being. Children growing up without food security are
more likely to experience higher rates of educational problems including missed
days of school, suspension and the need to repeat a grade. In Bucks County, more needs to be done to
combat the rising numbers of food insecure children. Nancy Morill, President of the Bucks County
Women’s Advocacy Coalition agrees. “Mothers
across the County are doing everything they can to help their children grow,”
she said. “Bucks County Families are
facing increasing needs in this time of economic stress, which we hope our
federal and state elected officials recognize.” As the County has started to pull itself out
of the recession, there is no more important time to focus on its children.
1 comment:
As the expert essay typer in business and accounting I think we need to pause to consider the problem: how do risk averse savers cope with the current zero-bound interest rate environment? Stock mutual funds might work for those willing to accept the possiblity of loss of principal over the shor term with the expectation of inflation-beating returns over the long run, but that is not the group this article addresses. After spending my adult life successfully picking stocks, I've come to the conclusion that either you are wired to be a stock investor or you are not. Furthermore, either you are wired to be a value-oriented investor who can tolerate owning unpopular stocks or you are not. Trying to be what you are not, even if that alternative persona has a better chance of profting, won't work. You will bail out when you should be buying and buy when you should be selling. For risk averse, income oriented savers, there is no good solution. They've been living the Great Crash ever since late 2008.
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