As COVID-era benefits near expiration, a recent Child Wellness Summit brought together nonprofits to tackle urgent child well-being and food-insecurity issues.

Missouri families grappling with inflation and high living costs are facing increased challenges, particularly in providing food, utilities and health care for children.

Jocelyn Fundoukos, director of communications for Operation Food Search, said that Missouri's child poverty rate doubled in 2022, leaving one in six children at risk of hunger. She said during the pandemic, her group was able to increase the amount of meals they served significantly. Unlike other states, Missouri has chosen not to retain certain pandemic benefits, such as flexible summer-meal distribution methods.

"It meant that we could serve more meals in a drive-through fashion. Now, it has returned to kids being required to eat the meals on site. So that obviously makes it trickier to get the food to as many kids as we could," she explained.

Data from Missouri Kids Count show last year, 33% of children in St. Louis lived in poverty, and 26% experienced food insecurity, meaning their families had no access to sufficient or quality food.

Fundoukos said getting enough healthy food can also be challenging because of such factors as "food deserts" in rural areas, lack of transportation, and others that prevent families from reaching available resources. She said it's important to understand that parts of the state may not have a local grocer, but perhaps just a convenience store with limited perishable items such as fresh produce.

"Kids may be getting something to put in their stomachs to sort of stave off the extreme hunger, but they're not getting the nutritious food they need to grow and thrive or to even be able to focus in school or sit still and pay attention," she continued.

She said summit participants emphasized the need for greater collaboration across different sectors to address complex issues holistically. St. Louis Area Diaper Bank, United 4 Children and Missouri Kids Win all participated in the dialogue, which was facilitated by Focus St. Louis.


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By Nina B. Elkadi for Sentient.
Broadcast version by Trimmel Gomes for Mississippi News Connection reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service Collaboration

The cost to feed a family in the United States has increased by 50 percent since the early days of the pandemic in 2020. Wages have not increased at the same rate, causing many families to feel burdened by the struggle to make ends meet. Still, corporations are finding ways to make it by; in fact, corporate profits are higher than ever before, including in the egg industry.

A new report from Food & Water Watch details how egg companies have recorded record-profits in spite of the avian flu outbreak. The report looked at the corporate profits of one of the country’s largest egg producers, Cal-Maine, and found that despite not initially being affected by avian flu, the egg producer jacked up its prices. Even though the American Southeast “remained free of bird flu in its table egg flocks until January 2025 …retail egg prices in the Southeast rose alongside January 2023’s national price spikes.”

Amanda Starbuck, Research Director at Food & Water Watch, tells Sentient that corporations are “profiting off this crisis.” In January, a group of Democratic lawmakers wrote to President Donald Trump asking him to investigate price-fixing in the egg industry.

On March 6, the United States Department of Justice announced it will be investigating Cal-Maine and other corporations for price-fixing. This isn’t the first time the company has been investigated for such actions. In 2023, Cal-Maine and other egg producers were ordered to pay $53 million after being found guilty of price-fixing.

Yet by mid-March, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency announced it was taking aim at the DOJ to begin cutting costs at the agency. Attorney General Pam Bondi has agreed to help with this effort and the agency created a committee to do so: JUST-DOGE. Some of the first cuts being made target consultants on anti-trust cases.

The increase in corporate profits illustrates the ability corporations have to increase their revenue in times of crisis, the Food & Water Watch researchers say. During the second quarter of fiscal year 2025, Cal-Maine experienced record-breaking corporate profits and high dividends for shareholders. If, and when, avian flu abates, these egg producers could keep prices high — unless the federal government intervenes or consumer interest in eggs wanes.

In some regions, like the Midwest, egg production was about the same at the end of 2024 as it was in the middle of 2024. Yet prices for a dozen eggs almost doubled. Without intervention, Starbuck says, corporations do not have an incentive to bring prices back down, assuming market demand stays at least constant.

“Even if we were able to eradicate this disease, prices might go down a little bit, but I don’t foresee us ever going back to the days of a carton of eggs for one dollar,” Starbuck says.

The DOJ investigation is in the “very early stages.” Since the investigation was announced, egg prices have fallen to their lowest levels since December in some parts of the country, a trend largely being attributed to decreased demand and fewer avian flu outbreaks. Just as quickly as they increased prices, egg producers are now, in-part, responding to market conditions driven by consumers feeling the squeeze.


Nina B. Elkadi wrote this article for Sentient.


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School staffing shortages can affect nutrition in Kentucky school districts, as many districts across the state rely on frozen, processed breakfast and lunch options from conglomerates.

Now, some cooperatives are helping schools with the bidding process to use their dollars for locally sourced produce, dairy and meat.

Alex Smith, food service program coordinator for the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative, said the food service industry is complex and involves a hefty amount of paperwork but his organization simplifies the process.

"When staffing is an issue, it means your food service directors or your managers are having to work the line," Smith observed. "They have less time to do the admin tasks so important to food service."

Smith added even if a local farmer then wins the bid but is unable to meet all of a school's needs, gaps can be filled by other producers. He pointed out the approach ensures small, rural businesses can realistically meet expectations without overextending their resources.

A study from the American Society for Nutrition found schools with unhealthy school food environments saw steeper trends in the prevalence of obesity compared with schools with healthier food options.

Smith pointed out schools where there are not enough local farmers face the highest barriers to getting produce into cafeterias. He cited an example of the Lee County schools' food service director's quest for local foods.

"There's no one producing flour or breads or any kind of local produce next to him," Smith noted. "I'm constantly just reaching out to people and seeing what I can do for him."

Smith added interested school districts should reach out to the cooperative to see how they can benefit from reduced barriers around the procurement of local foods.

"I think that's where the KVEC bidding process really works," Smith stressed. "It just makes it easy."

Research from the National Institutes of Health has found schools offering more junk foods are more likely to see increased Body Mass Index among students.


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Hundreds of people from across Oregon gathered in Salem for an advocacy day last week, urging lawmakers to pass what's known as the Food for All Oregonians bill.

Supported by a coalition of more than 180 organizations, it would ensure older adults and children could get food assistance regardless of their immigration status.

Research shows hunger rates are rising across the state, leaving one in six children facing food insecurity.

Oregon Food Bank's Associate Director Cristina Marquez said access to food benefits supported her family growing up, and made it easier for her to go to college.

"We know that programs like SNAP are the most effective anti-hunger tools we have," said Marquez, "being able to lift folks out of poverty each year and keeping families stable."

Food for All Oregonians would create a new, state-run program similar to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

Youth and older adults who would otherwise qualify for SNAP except for their immigration status, would be eligible. Opponents of the bill are concerned about its cost.

It is scheduled for a public hearing tomorrow in Salem.

Oregon Food Bank points to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture showing every $1 spent on food assistance generates about $1.50 for local economies.

Marquez added that immigrants of all statuses contribute to the state's functioning, especially in agriculture.

"Many of the folks that would be affected by the passage of Food For All Oregonians are folks that are currently farm workers," said Marquez, "essential workers, critical to many of the industries here in Oregon."

Marquez noted that California and Washington have already enacted similar policies extending food benefits to people regardless of immigration status.

Food for All Oregonians is part of an immigrant justice package of bills, which would ensure legal representation for immigrants and create a farm worker disaster relief fund.